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Dancing_P [ 8.0 ]
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School of Rock does what I thought impossible: take an age-old, timeworn concept usually relegated to direct-to-video live-action Disney movies and make it so enjoyable that it actually works. Jack Black is an unemployed, guitar-playing slob (obviously) who passes off as his roommate to get a substitute job at a prestigious school for gifted children. Since he doesn’t know anything about school, he decides to teach the kids what he knows best: rock. He gets a band together so he can play at the battle of the bands and pocket the 20,000 dollar price. Yes, it’s a really, really crappy idea for a movie. Yes, the Mighty Ducks did this with hockey years ago and it sucked then… but this is a rare beast indeed. Director Richard Linklater (!) never lets this become a treacly, predictable film. It shatters all of the genre’s clichés. Black is practically the whole show here… but what a show. This is the first time Black has to carry an entire movie by himself (except maybe for Shallow Hal) and he more than pulls it off. If he’s not a top star within five years… well… I’ll be wrong. The kids, miraculously, actually come off like real kids and do very little mugging. The music is awesome, too. School of Rock is a great surprise.
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chapter11 [ 8.0 ]
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As per everyone else's recommendation, I, too, find it difficult to put my finger on what makes "School of Rock" so good despite it's well-worn inspirational-teacher formula. But it IS good, as moving as a rocked-up version of "Dead Poets Society" can be, and very funny. Jack Black's infectious brand of humor here is infectious, inoffensive, and very hilarious, and Joan Cusack, as can be predicted, lends ample supporting comedy as the uppity principal of a prep school. The kids, too, are a talented bunch, and surprisingly believable as characters beyond their obvious musical dexterity. Easily one of the most recommendable films of 2003, if not the best mainstream comedy.
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kcremer [ 9.5 ]
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Being a singer/songwriter myself, I thought this movie kicked ass! It doesn't get such a high rating for being funny (though it is that also - I couldn't stop laughing when he nicknamed the one girl "Turkey Sandwich"), but for being such a perfect movie for people who are as moved by and are as passionate about music as I am.
Jack Black was the perfect choice for the lead role. Being an actual musician it wouldn't seem like much of an acting stretch for him. However, he brings an amount of realism and sincerity to the role that no other actor has: I like how he hears that the kid on guitar wrote a song, but is unconfident about showing it to anyone. Black gets the kid to show him the chords and the lyrics, tells him it's a great song and suggests a couple things to help finish it. To me, that's what being a musician is all about. There's nothing more exciting than when you finish writing a song that you really believe is great and then performing it in front of people.
The movie is so loyal to its theme that it's infectious. Also, the fact that the kids are real musicians and not doing some cheesy "Saved By the Bell" performance earns it extra points.
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scottwblack [ 6.0 ]
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Matt's right: Mike White's script is pedestrian and cliché-ridden, but Jack Black is such a force of nature as the slacker-musician-turned-prep-school-teacher that it doesn't really matter. Overall, it's cute and fun, but hardly a revelation.
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jim [ 8.0 ]
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Funny, if fanciful, story of a rocker who finds his calling teaching fifth-graders to rock. Jack Black is his usual frenetic self; the kids are likeable without being sickeningly sweet.
Did anyone else notice that, 15 years down the line, Joan Cusack seems to be having the same "I used to be fun" conversation that she did in Say Anything?
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jeff_v [ 8.0 ]
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I had a great time at this movie. I suppose you could argue that the story and characters are cliches, that message is a platitude with all depth of an AC/DC song, etc. but who freaking cares when you laugh this much, and yes, are even moved. Jack Black has that Jack Black thing down, no surprise there. And it's also no surprise that Joan Cusack is once again excellent comedic support. I'm still trying to figure out what weird alchemy made this tried-and-true formula stand out exceptionally well...
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| Weighted Rating | : 7.2 |
| No. Ratings | : 23 | |
| No. Reviews | : 9 | |
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