I had never heard of Jack Black until 2002, and my first exposure to him
was in the dubious vehicle of an MTV parody of the Council of Elrond.
My next was in Shallow Hal, which I expected to find really crude and stupid but was surprised. Thus encouraged, when I saw the previews for School of Rock and thought it looked like a cute movie, I decided to go for it. While I encountered strong echoes of both Sister Act movies, I didn’t mind, and given the direction of the film, I doubt they were intentional.
Jack Black stars as Dewey Finn, a burn-out wannabe rock star – recently
booted from the band he founded – who loafs around his timid,
good-natured friend Ned Schneebly’s (Mike White) apartment and refuses
to get a day job, much to the annoyance of Ned’s snippy, career-driven
live-in girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman). Motivation to make a quick
buck arrives in the form of Patty’s shrill ultimatum that he pay up his
part of the rent or get out, and opportunity knocks when a prestigious
private school comes calling for Ned, a substitute teacher, to take over
a class for several weeks. Dewey has no experience whatsoever, but $600
a week sounds pretty good, so he impersonates his friend in order to
score the “gig,” and the fun begins.
Some suspension of
disbelief is necessary while watching this film, especially early on.
Dewey comes across as so completely incompetent, no way would any
real-life administrator hire him. But it does make for some amusing
moments. Once he meets his young charges, it’s clear that they are no
fools; they smell a rat, even if uptight principal Rosalie Mullins (Joan
Cusack) doesn’t. But they are willing to give their clueless substitute
a chance, and when he discovers that several of them happen to be
talented musicians, he finds a way to connect with them – and maybe gain
a little bit of fame in the process.
The kids are engaging,
and we get to know several of them fairly well throughout the course of
the film. There’s goody-goody Summer (Miranda Cosgrove), the Hermione of
the class; Lawrence (Robert Tsai), the shy, nerdy pianist; Zack (Joey
Gaydos Jr.), the guitarist whose father disapproves of rock and roll;
Freddy (Kevin Clark), the percussionist with a bad attitude; Billy
(Brian Falduto), the effeminate costume designer; Tomika (Maryam
Hassan), the insecure singer; and others. Their interaction with their
initially delinquent teacher is delightful, and the musically inclined
ones of the bunch are impressively talented. I’m reminded of Sister Act
with the premise of a person going incognito in a job for which he
seems particularly unsuited and eventually becoming a far better person
for the experience. Its sequel comes to mind, meanwhile, as the children
prepare for a major non-school-approved musical contest.
I
confess I find Joan Cusack inherently annoying, and such is the case
here, but her character is at least ultimately sympathetic – reminiscent
of the harsh administrator in Anne of Avonlea
whose shell Anne finally manages to crack. She’s not nearly as
irritating, however, as Ned’s girlfriend, and I felt terribly sorry for
the poor guy who is so used to being utterly ignored by women that he’s
grateful for the absolute shrew he is stuck with. We don’t see a lot of
Ned, but when we do, he’s most endearing.
All in all, School of Rock is a sweet film about the power of music to change lives, and while it’s not quite as compelling as Mr. Holland’s Opus,
it should still do the trick in getting people to appreciate the
importance of having active music programs in schools. The laughs and
the message, together with a great cast, earn School of Rock an A from me.
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