Dewey Finn (Jack Black)'s prospects are quickly sinking. His meek former bandmember/ roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White) is hesitant to make him pay his long-due rent, but Ned's more controlling girlfriend (Sarah Silverman) is understandably eager to have him out of the picture. He's just been kicked out by his rock-n-roll band, so now he jobless and on the verge of being forced to leave his residence. What's a narcissistic, immature, quasi-talented musician to do?
Well, Dewey's first strategy is to sleep, waking occasionally to halfheartedly attempt to recruit new bandmembers and throw insults in Ned's girlfriend's direction. Suddenly, however, he has an idea. Ned wants to become a substitute on his way to be a full-fledged educator, and may get a call if the main teacher falls ill. When that call comes, Dewey says he's Ned Schneebly and fails to mention the message to the real Ned.
The first day, "Ned" comes to school with a hangover and allows the class to do what they want while he catches up on some sleep. Unfortunately, he has the luck to get Summer, a precocious teacher's pet who is the only one in the class who has an eager desire to learn. Finally, he grabs a collection of instruments from his van and decides to teach the youngsters some rock, partially because it's the only thing he's good at and to staunch the kids' boredom.
Apparently the rocking and rolling sounds aren't loud enough to make the uptight principal (Joan Cusack) become sure that something other than math and reading are going on in the classroom, but she is clever enough to make several tries to check on them. Luckily Dewey and the kids manage to hide the instruments and fake other studies (except the guitar incident.) However, the real Ned Scheebly is bound to figure out his buddy's up to something, and Dewey's foil may be detected before he gets to his goal, entering the kids in the battle of the bands competition in a desperate effort to become financially secure.
I guess that maybe many people won't see this because they dislike Jack Black, or have not gotten over some of his stupider roles in the past. Luckily, I rented the movie with a kinder predisposition, because a friend had enjoyed it and I had read some good reviews (plus I really didn't have an opinion on Jack Black.) To my pleasure, I found that I was massively entertained. Sure, it's predictable, implausible, and scattered with bits where Dewey chews up the scenery. But it was funny. It had clever dialogue, entertaining characters, and I personally found it more enjoyable than a slightly similar, older unorthodox-teacher movie, "Kindergarten Cop."
For one thing, it genuinely manages to be halfway family-friendly and please different audiences. Aside from some language, drinking, and a potentially disturbing double-entendre, it can probably be considered in ways cleaner than many Dreamworks productions. Don't get me wrong, I'm no war-mongering 'keep the children innocent' idealist, but I'm sure, that for some families, little sexual content and no violence will be a relief.
Also, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Sure, Dewey's going to become nicer, more responsible, and feel bad for using the kids, but it never gets really sappy. One of the students has a tough relationship with his dad, but "The School of Rock" never tries to dabble in more serious issues such as child abuse. Kids get bullied, the principal is depressed, but this movie tries to keep tongue firmly in cheek.
The problem with reviewing is that you don't know how to rate a film. For instance some of the movies I've seen, such "The Living and the Dead," are flawed but fearlessly original productions that play with genres and challenge the brain. Original they may be, but that doesn't mean they're much fun going down. Than we have "The School of Rock." Cliched, mainstream- but it's purpose is to entertain, ultimately, it's a fun, funny crowd-pleaser. Originality is great, but sometimes you need something that's enjoyable to watch. If your idea of a good movie is one that keeps you laughing throughout, is placed somewhere outside reality, and begins and ends with a rock-n-roll number, I highly recommend this (Rated PG-13.)
Well, Dewey's first strategy is to sleep, waking occasionally to halfheartedly attempt to recruit new bandmembers and throw insults in Ned's girlfriend's direction. Suddenly, however, he has an idea. Ned wants to become a substitute on his way to be a full-fledged educator, and may get a call if the main teacher falls ill. When that call comes, Dewey says he's Ned Schneebly and fails to mention the message to the real Ned.
The first day, "Ned" comes to school with a hangover and allows the class to do what they want while he catches up on some sleep. Unfortunately, he has the luck to get Summer, a precocious teacher's pet who is the only one in the class who has an eager desire to learn. Finally, he grabs a collection of instruments from his van and decides to teach the youngsters some rock, partially because it's the only thing he's good at and to staunch the kids' boredom.
Apparently the rocking and rolling sounds aren't loud enough to make the uptight principal (Joan Cusack) become sure that something other than math and reading are going on in the classroom, but she is clever enough to make several tries to check on them. Luckily Dewey and the kids manage to hide the instruments and fake other studies (except the guitar incident.) However, the real Ned Scheebly is bound to figure out his buddy's up to something, and Dewey's foil may be detected before he gets to his goal, entering the kids in the battle of the bands competition in a desperate effort to become financially secure.
I guess that maybe many people won't see this because they dislike Jack Black, or have not gotten over some of his stupider roles in the past. Luckily, I rented the movie with a kinder predisposition, because a friend had enjoyed it and I had read some good reviews (plus I really didn't have an opinion on Jack Black.) To my pleasure, I found that I was massively entertained. Sure, it's predictable, implausible, and scattered with bits where Dewey chews up the scenery. But it was funny. It had clever dialogue, entertaining characters, and I personally found it more enjoyable than a slightly similar, older unorthodox-teacher movie, "Kindergarten Cop."
For one thing, it genuinely manages to be halfway family-friendly and please different audiences. Aside from some language, drinking, and a potentially disturbing double-entendre, it can probably be considered in ways cleaner than many Dreamworks productions. Don't get me wrong, I'm no war-mongering 'keep the children innocent' idealist, but I'm sure, that for some families, little sexual content and no violence will be a relief.
Also, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Sure, Dewey's going to become nicer, more responsible, and feel bad for using the kids, but it never gets really sappy. One of the students has a tough relationship with his dad, but "The School of Rock" never tries to dabble in more serious issues such as child abuse. Kids get bullied, the principal is depressed, but this movie tries to keep tongue firmly in cheek.
The problem with reviewing is that you don't know how to rate a film. For instance some of the movies I've seen, such "The Living and the Dead," are flawed but fearlessly original productions that play with genres and challenge the brain. Original they may be, but that doesn't mean they're much fun going down. Than we have "The School of Rock." Cliched, mainstream- but it's purpose is to entertain, ultimately, it's a fun, funny crowd-pleaser. Originality is great, but sometimes you need something that's enjoyable to watch. If your idea of a good movie is one that keeps you laughing throughout, is placed somewhere outside reality, and begins and ends with a rock-n-roll number, I highly recommend this (Rated PG-13.)
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