School Of Rock

"Weak"

School Of Rock Review


Jack Black isn't an actor, he's a clown -- and a one-schitck clown at that.

Compare any two-minute clip of his new comedy "School of Rock" to any of his scenes from "Orange County," "Shallow Hal" or "Saving Silverman," and you'll see the exact same tongue-wagging and eye-bugging mugging, the exact same frenzied, finger-knotting gestures and roly-poly, off-balance dancing, the exact same eyebrow-stitching failed attempts at momentary sincerity, and the exact same set-devouring dialogue delivery.

"Read between the lines, baby! Read between the lines!" he whispers then screams, whispers then screams while giving a three-fingered flip-off to the musicians who have just kicked the embarrassing stage-hog out of their band in this movie's establishing scene.

On the verge of also being booted from the bedsheet-draped corner of his best friend's apartment where he's been crashing for ages, Black's freeloading oaf is desperate for cash. So when a snooty prep school calls looking for his buddy (Mike White, the movie's screenwriter), a highly favored substitute teacher, Black usurps his identity and begins teaching a dutiful 5th-grade class of Central Casting archetypes to loosen up and rock out.

The story is stale formula, right down to the battle-of-the-bands finale -- established as the be-all, end-all of Black's existence in clumsy first-act expository dialogue. After a few days of sleeping through the school day, much to the chagrin of his restless A-students, he discovers the kids all play instruments or sing (or at least have the gift for the fine art of being a roadie), and he begins molding them into the guitar-grinding, drum-soloing band that could make his moment-in-the-spotlight fantasies come true.

Despite such methodical scripting and a litany of common-sense story chasms -- the tightly-wound, gray-tweedy principal (an underutilized Joan Cusack) finds Black very fishy yet never checks up on his class -- "School of Rock" almost gets by on the light-hearted enthusiasm of director Richard Linklater (usually more experimental with films like "Waking Life") that shines through from behind the camera. The movie has a contagious, forgiving cheer-along spirit that will likely sustain those less averse to Jack Black's repetitive antics than I am. (In the interest of fairness, I'll tell you that this week's San Francisco preview audience and most other critics I've talked to enjoyed this movie.)

But even if the picture weren't so trite and even if the dubious moral of the story didn't seem to be "never grow up and never take responsibility for your actions," Jack Black still strikes me as a stubby, baby-gruff, blue-light-special Jim Carrey without the capacity for genuine humanity. While he may have a talent for enjoyable scene-stealing in supporting performances (see "High Fidelity"), that doesn't make him a movie star or give him the chops to carry a feature film -- no matter how much he might make some people laugh.



School Of Rock

Facts and Figures

Genre: Comedies

Run time: 108 mins

In Theaters: Friday 3rd October 2003

Box Office USA: $81.1M

Box Office Worldwide: $131.3M

Budget: $35M

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Production compaines: Paramount Pictures

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Fresh: 176 Rotten: 16

IMDB: 7.1 / 10

Cast & Crew

Starring: as Dewey Finn, as Rosalie Mullins, as Ned Schneebly, as Patty Di Marco, as Theo, Lucas Papaelias as Neil, as Doug, Joey Gaydos Jr. as Zack Mooneyham, as Spider, Jordan-Claire Green as Michelle, Veronica Afflerbach as Eleni, as Summer Hathaway, as Freddy Jones, Robert Tsai as Lawrence, Maryam Hassan as Tomika, Angelo Massagli as Frankie

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews