The School of Rock
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring:
Jack Black - Dewey Finn
Mike White - Ned Schneebly
Sarah Silverman - Patty Di Marco
Joan Cusack - Rosalie Mullins
It is so refreshing to have comedies which don’t pander to one audience. It is so refreshing to have comedies where parents and kids can go to the same film, friends can all go to the same film, mortal enemies can go to the same film and a good time will be had by all. It is so refreshing to have films which don’t go for the easy laugh and choose heart over cynicism. Such films are rare but they do exist. The School of Rock is such a film.
The film focuses on failed rocker Dewey Finn. Dewey knows how to serve the world by rocking. Unfortunately, his band doesn’t think so and they fire him. Also doubting his ability to rock are his roommate Ned (Mike White, who also wrote the film) and Ned’s obnoxious girlfriend (Sarah Silverman) who will evict him if he can’t come up with the rent. Dewey needs to find a job and as fate would have it, he decides to take Ned’s. Ned’s a substitute teacher and when Horace Green elementary needs a sub for a few weeks, Dewey decides to pretend that he’s Ned. When he gets to the school, he’s content just to dress as a pompous teacher and give his 5th grade class recess all day. But when he overhears the kids during their music class, Dewey decides to take his ruse one step further and use the kids to help him win Battle of the Bands.
Reading over my description, Dewey probably sounds like a real bastard. Here’s a guy who steals his friend’s job and then uses children to try and achieve rock glory. But it’s Jack Black’s star-making performance which makes the film come alive and never makes Dewey come off as anything but loveable and an underdog we can all root for. Black’s exuberance and vitality electrifies the entire film and every scene crackles with energy. Every line, whether comedic or mundane, becomes sensational when uttered by Black and if you don’t fall in love with the character of Dewey, you're probably dead inside.
But any Tenacious D fan knows that Black can meld rocking and comedy like no other. The real surprise for me was the work of director Richard Linklater. I have seen Slacker, Waking Life, and Dazed and Confused and have dislike all three (that’s right, I’m one of the four people on this earth that doesn’t like Dazed and Confused). I just think that while he has an interesting directorial style, he has no idea how to tell a story. But with this mainstream flick, Linklater makes all the right moves. School of Rock is a film which could easily collapse under meanness at one extreme and sappiness at the other. Linklater walks the line brilliantly. Part of what makes Dewey such a likeable character is his willingness to help these kids feel better about themselves. But before the mentoring scene can start ripping at the heartstrings, Linklater pushes the film forward and leaves the viewer with a good feeling with none of the schmaltzy aftertaste.
The film does have a few week points. Having such a blatently gay 5th grader as the band’s costumer seems like a cheap laugh and some of the kids aren’t the best actors (although they’re certainly tremendous musicians). But such small flaws ultimately don’t detract from such a strong film. School of Rock is a film that you need to see and take everyone with you. If you’ve already seen it, see it again and take everyone with you.
Words by
Matt Goldberg
10.30.03