Movie Review: School of Rock

School of Rock

I'm not a big Jack Black fan (although, to be fair, I haven't seen any of his other movies because I've gotten the impression solely from trailers that I'm not a big Jack Black fan). But School of Rock was generating some significant buzz among critics and so, inveterate critic of critics that I am, I just had to buy a ticket. Turns out, I just might be a Jack Black fan after all.

In School of Rock, Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is an aging wanna-be rocker who, despite the fact he should have grown up by now, can't let go of his rock 'n' roll dreams. But his very intensity and unwillingness to compromise, combined with a healthy ego, see him fired from the band he started. Now, with the Battle of the Bands coming up, Dewey has no one to play with. The $20,000 prize would come in handy, too, especially since his roommates (Ned Schneebly, played by Mike White who also wrote the screenplay, and his girlfriend, Patty, played to the self-righteous hilt by Sarah Silverman) have layed down the law: cough up your share of the rent, or get out. With no cash and even less hope, it's pure fate that makes Dewey answer a phone call intended for Ned. Once Dewey hears the offer of a long-term substitute teaching position at a prestigious private school, he jumps at the opportunity to make what he thinks will be an easy buck. Confronting a classroom of very bright fifth graders, however, requires more effort than Dewey had planned on putting out.

The school principal (Joan Cusack plays the prim, proper, and immovable Rosalie Mullins) thinks there's something funny about the erstwhile Mr. Schneebly, but she's desperate for a substitute and Schneebly's résumé is excellent, so she lets Dewey's odd comments go. The kids are also nonplussed by their new teacher who blithely informs them they can have recess all day and that he doesn't believe in giving grades. But after Dewey hears the talented kids in music class, he gets the bright idea that he might - just maybe- be able to turn these 10 year-old prodigies into a band for the Battle of the Bands. With kids in his band, and the school room's smartest - and most obnoxious - student as the band's manager, Dewey pulls out all the stops to get himself back in the competition. But in the process of working with the kids, he also finds the adult in himself much to his own - and everyone else's - surprise.

As I said, I didn't know a lot about Jack Black. I knew he acted in comedies. What I didn't know is that he's a fairly talented musician and singer as well, and he plays and sings in School of Rock at what I thought was a pretty competent level. Mike White has written a script that's predictable, but which is so amusing - and laugh-out-loud funny at times - that you're inclined to let him by with that. And the kids in the cast are virtually astounding. Summer (Miranda Cosgrove) is a 10 year-old with the flinty heart of a 50 year-old agent. Zack (Joey Gaydoas) plays a lead guitar that will knock your socks off. Freddy (Kevin Clark) is a wild child perfectly suited to be a drummer. Katie (Rebecca Brown) plays bass. And Lawrence (Robert Tsai) rounds out the group on keyboards. The astounding part is that not a one of these kids were dubbed. When you see the band perform, you're seeing these kids perform. Joey is 12. Kevin is 14. Rebecca is 11. Robert is 12. And every last one of them plays at an adult level - a talented adult level at that. Want to be truly blown away? Check out Maryam Hussan, who plays Tomika. She's a big black girl who's afraid everyone will laugh at her because she's big. When Dewey-as-Schneebly points out to her that Aretha Franklin's big, too, and that he has his own weight issues, Tomika consents to get on stage and sing. When she does, remember that this child is TEN YEARS OLD. Even Simon Cowell would be speechless in the wake of her voice.

Taken as a whole, School of Rock is both funny and filled with lessons that range from "don't let go of your dreams" to "be all that you can be" which makes it a great movie for parents to see with their kids. But it's also a lot of fun for the nostaligic part of all of us, not to mention that little piece of us that had a dream once, too.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: School of Rock is rated PG-13 for "crude and sex-related humor, language, and drug references". Frankly, I saw little objectionable in this movie for kids of about age 10 and up, and a whole lot to recommend it for kids - and kids at heart - of almost all ages.