School of Rock (2003)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

School of Rock (2003) – R. Linklater

Somehow, I went 20 years without seeing this film, not for any particular reason other than that it seemed like a kids’ film and I am an adult. Now that my kids are old enough, it happened.  Jack Black plays Dewey Finn, a perpetual adolescent who has just been kicked out of his classic rock band and just before the city’s battle of the bands is about to begin. He’s also about to be kicked out of his apartment, if he can’t get together his share of the rent.  So, when the principal (Joan Cusack) of a prestigious prep school calls looking to offer his roommate (screenwriter Mike White) a substitute teaching job, Dewey decides to take the gig, masquerading as his friend (“Mr. S.”).  Of course, he doesn’t know how to teach, but what he does know is ROCK.  You really need to have a high tolerance for Jack Black and his schtick to enjoy this movie – personally, I like him, so it worked for me, but it is definitely all high-octane goofy improv action. (Director Richard Linklater must have been a fan of Tenacious D.). Basically, Dewey takes his 5^th grade class and teaches them to be a rock band who he imagines will eventually back him in the battle-of-the-bands. It’s your traditional bad-news-bears-styled plot, the underdogs make good: you’ve seen it before. The kids vary in their performances but no one is too terribly cringe-worthy and under Linklater’s expert direction, some heartstrings are pulled. Classic rock fills the soundtrack.  It’s a feel good affair, occasionally funny, and good for 5^th grade kids (and not bad for parents).