School of Rock

Wow; cannot believe it took me twenty years to finally watch this awesome movie, but I finally made it to the party. And, surprise... It rocked!

I love Jack Black and this movie was clearly MADE for him. His joy and passion and humor was infectious. I smiled the entire time of watching this movie. He had fantastic chemistry with all of the kids as well! Not everyone could pull off that role, but JB nails it and then some.

A few moments that could've been done a bit better in my opinion that stuck out to me, but nothing that can truly derail the joy of the ride!

I can't wait to revisit this one over and over now that I've finally gotten to it.

Glancing at what other people have written about this movie, it seems that these individuals are taking this film a bit too seriously. Worrying about the "messages" this movie is delivering? Come on, there is no way that the con that Jack Black's character pulls off could ever get far in the real world! I don't think any sane person watching this movie would take this seriously. This is a comedy, for crying out loud, made to make us laugh!

I thought Black was fine in this movie. Sure, maybe his character is a little one-note with his proclamations of "rock on" and "stick it to the man", but Black somehow manages to do it over and over without being boring. He's unbelievably energetic AND versatile, delivering these same things in different ways each time that prevent the movie from getting into a rut. I think it's safe to say that only Black himself could have made this role work so well.

There is plenty of humor and great music. Even my senior citizen parents kept laughing, and told me after it was over that they enjoyed the rock soundtrack as well. It's a great movie for the whole family. Why was this rated PG-13? Sure, there are some references to stuff like alcohol and groupies, but they are not emphasized at all in their brief passing - and your kids will already have seen these kind of things treated much worse elsewhere! In fact, here in British Columbia, the ratings board gave it a "G" rating.

Dewey Finn is a lazy freeloader and a guitarist in a rock band who plays gigs every night and sleeps every day, in his friend Ned Schneebly's apartment. One day as he shows up late for band practice he notices a new guitar player who is replacing him. Poor Dewey feels so bad about it and also about Ned and his girlfriend threatening to kick him out since he doesn't pay any of the bills. After a few days of trying to sell his guitars, which doesn't go very well, the head of a school calls and asks for Ned Schneebly, who is a talented substitute teacher with a good reputation. In a desperate attempt to getting money fast, Dewey impersonates Ned and conveniently finds himself the teacher of a third grade ( or something like that ) class for several weeks ahead. Yet another one of his crazy ideas strikes him and his plan to turn his class into a rockband to win the Battle of the Bands competition is set in motion.

School Of Rock is a great feel-good comedy, fun for just about anyone of any age, kids or adults. Jack Black does carry a lot of this film on his own but I won't be too harsh on the kids in the movie, they did very well also. If anyone else should play Dewey Finn rather than Jack, it just wouldn't be the same. Since Jack is actually in a rock band in real life, and has played a few characters in films before who are also into music, he just seemed to fit right into this film. His real passion for rock music helps a lot in this film, and makes Dewey Finn one hell of a good character. The plot to this film is really good I think and Mike White did a great job on the screenplay. As did Linklater on the direction of the film.

This comedy should not be ignored just because there are kids in it, I enjoyed it a hell of a lot and you probably will too.

9/10

Jack Black gives a very lively and even astoundingly hilarious performance. The movie was well-made for the time and it's not only about a fake teacher/wannabe rock star trying to get a job and make quick money and instead ends up teaching rock and roll to kids at a private school, but about young individuals learning to uncover their hidden talent, foster a sense of self-confidence, and express themselves in a fun artistic way! The extras in the film did well too and I can see why Miranda Cosgrove was chosen to play Megan in Drake and Josh since she acted brilliantly as a young girl in this movie as well.

I wish they made more of these kinds of films. It's refreshing to see a G-rated comedy that had kids but was also funny without having to resort to body function jokes.

It's a film about accomplishment. It's a film about deception to achieve your dreams. It's a film about how children can achieve remarkable things. It's a film about how they can still make good clean movies, even if they're made with kids in mind they can still be funny without being too saccharine.

I just don't get why they don't make more movies like this. Jack Black is in his usual rare comedic and terrific performance form. And the supporting cast is also dynamic, especially the kids who do a bang up job.

There's a bit of three stooges here. There's a little bit of Jerry Lewis. There's a healthy dash of classic post 1950s rock injected into this film, but again clean enough that children and their parents can enjoy it.

The plot is pretty basic, a conman of a want to be rock star who's on the outs with his former band and one friend, does a bit of double dealing to help bring rock to young minds, enlighten their parents, and make his way back into the thing he loves most; music.

Definitely worth streaming, possibly buying the bluray when it becomes available for your library.

Enjoy.