School of Rock

Starring: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Nicky Katt
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Musical
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A music loving guitarist (Jack Black) is kicked out of his band for being overly energetic during shows. He falls hard but begins to pick himself up after impersonating a friend and landing a gig as a substitute teacher at prestigious grade school. He throws out the boring curriculum and proposes a new class project- starting a rock band. He hopes to take the group to stardom, but the truth about him may cost him and the band everything.

Review:

Tim: I found this entire movie to be pretty unfunny. This surprises me because I heard nothing but good things about the movie. I see where the humor should be, but most of it just falls flat. I can't recall a single time I laughed. In fact, more often than not, I found Jack Black to be scary rather than funny. He has a few good moments, but most simply aren't.

The film is also pretty slow and boring. There are a few humorous moments here and there, but much of the movie is not entertaining. This is a serious flaw in the film. The concluding show and the film's finale are memorable moments, but are not enough to compensate for the annoying and slow period of the film.

To make matters even worse, the band's songs aren't even that good. Better songs would have at least made the movie more enjoyable. Even the last song, though decent, is nothing spectacular. Movies about bands need a catchy and fun tune to hold the movie together. Look at That Thing You Do- features a great and very memorable song that ties the whole movie together. There is no such bonding agent in School of Rock. By the way, I have no idea if the movie is called School of Rock or School of Rock. I looked everywhere and have seen it reported as both. I know it is a minor detail, but overlooking enough minor details makes for a bad film. I suspect that is exactly what happened here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: That Thing You Do, Orange County, In & Out, Shallow Hal