School of Rock
Classic rock seems to be what most people have forgotten about these days. Well Jack Black is here to make sure it's never forgotten about again. So let's learn the ways of rock with him and several 5th grade prep students.
So the story starts with us seeing Dewey Finn (Jack Black) in his band, No Vacancy. The next day, his roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White), and Ned's girlfriend, Patty Di Marco (Sarah Silverman), telling him that he's late on paying his half of the rent. Dewey discovers that he's been kicked out of his band for basically being an idiot. So now he's jobless and soon to be homeless. He gets a call for Ned about a substitute job at a prep elementary school that pays a lot of money. Naturally, he pretends to be Ned and gets the job. After meeting the students, he lets them go to their music class where he overhears them playing. He thinks that they really rock at playing classical music, so he decides that they could be his new band. He tells them that it's part of a project called Rock Band, however, it's just the Battle of the Bands. So now Dewey has to teach these kids about rock and keep pretending that he's Ned.
Now with a title like School of Rock, you would want to hear a bunch of classic rock songs. Luckily, the best of the best were shown off here, even if some only get a few seconds. From AC/DC to Metallica to Brand New Sin to The Velvet Underground, there's music for everyone that loves rock music. The entire soundtrack to the movie is amazing and really has no bad songs whatsoever. As for how the music is implemented into the movie, they're all used for their best effect. Whether it's just Dewey playing part of the song to help teach a student or just for added effect. Then there's the original music created for this film. There's very few, but they're all great. Especially the Battle of the Bands sequence. The song they choose to play, which is called "Teacher's Pet", is one of the best original pieces I've heard in movie history. Alright, alright, enough with the music. Let's move on to the actors. Jack Black really steals the show with his knowledge of rock and his hilarious antics. This is most likely one of his most memorable performances out of all of his movies. As for the kids, there were a few that I grew a liking too. Freddy Jones (Kevin Clark) is really likeable. He's that kind of kid that never wants to work and only wants to play. Actually, all the kids are really relateable. Alongside Freddy, there's Summer Hathaway (Miranda Cosgrove) who's the teacher's pet, Lawrence (Robert Tsai) who's that kid that thinks no one likes him, Zack Mooneyham (Joey Gaydos Jr.) which is that silent kid in the class that never talks to anyone. If you can't relate or know someone that was exactly like these kids back in your school days, you were most likely home schooled.
While this movie seems perfect, it has a few flaws. The script can get a little weird for the kids. There's a scene where Summer learns what a groupie is and confronts Dewey about it. She furiously states that they're sluts that sleep with the band. Now, why does she know what sex is? She's a 10 year old in a private prep school for rich families. In a public school, this would be believeable. However, this is a private school, most likely filled with proper kids that don't know much of the matter. Then there's Zack. Oh God, is this kid boring. Every other kid in the class at least has some form of personality or excitement to them that makes them fun to watch. They all look like they're having fun doing this, but not Zack. He never looks like he's having fun doing this. Even at the Battle of the Bands, he still looks bored out of his mind. Can't this kid at least crack a smile without it looking fake?
So would I recommend this movie? Hell yeah! This movie has something for everyone. It's one of the best musicals, if you can call it that, of recent movie history. It's an instant must see for everyone. Now, in the words of AC/DC, for those about to rock, I salute you.
So the story starts with us seeing Dewey Finn (Jack Black) in his band, No Vacancy. The next day, his roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White), and Ned's girlfriend, Patty Di Marco (Sarah Silverman), telling him that he's late on paying his half of the rent. Dewey discovers that he's been kicked out of his band for basically being an idiot. So now he's jobless and soon to be homeless. He gets a call for Ned about a substitute job at a prep elementary school that pays a lot of money. Naturally, he pretends to be Ned and gets the job. After meeting the students, he lets them go to their music class where he overhears them playing. He thinks that they really rock at playing classical music, so he decides that they could be his new band. He tells them that it's part of a project called Rock Band, however, it's just the Battle of the Bands. So now Dewey has to teach these kids about rock and keep pretending that he's Ned.
Now with a title like School of Rock, you would want to hear a bunch of classic rock songs. Luckily, the best of the best were shown off here, even if some only get a few seconds. From AC/DC to Metallica to Brand New Sin to The Velvet Underground, there's music for everyone that loves rock music. The entire soundtrack to the movie is amazing and really has no bad songs whatsoever. As for how the music is implemented into the movie, they're all used for their best effect. Whether it's just Dewey playing part of the song to help teach a student or just for added effect. Then there's the original music created for this film. There's very few, but they're all great. Especially the Battle of the Bands sequence. The song they choose to play, which is called "Teacher's Pet", is one of the best original pieces I've heard in movie history. Alright, alright, enough with the music. Let's move on to the actors. Jack Black really steals the show with his knowledge of rock and his hilarious antics. This is most likely one of his most memorable performances out of all of his movies. As for the kids, there were a few that I grew a liking too. Freddy Jones (Kevin Clark) is really likeable. He's that kind of kid that never wants to work and only wants to play. Actually, all the kids are really relateable. Alongside Freddy, there's Summer Hathaway (Miranda Cosgrove) who's the teacher's pet, Lawrence (Robert Tsai) who's that kid that thinks no one likes him, Zack Mooneyham (Joey Gaydos Jr.) which is that silent kid in the class that never talks to anyone. If you can't relate or know someone that was exactly like these kids back in your school days, you were most likely home schooled.
While this movie seems perfect, it has a few flaws. The script can get a little weird for the kids. There's a scene where Summer learns what a groupie is and confronts Dewey about it. She furiously states that they're sluts that sleep with the band. Now, why does she know what sex is? She's a 10 year old in a private prep school for rich families. In a public school, this would be believeable. However, this is a private school, most likely filled with proper kids that don't know much of the matter. Then there's Zack. Oh God, is this kid boring. Every other kid in the class at least has some form of personality or excitement to them that makes them fun to watch. They all look like they're having fun doing this, but not Zack. He never looks like he's having fun doing this. Even at the Battle of the Bands, he still looks bored out of his mind. Can't this kid at least crack a smile without it looking fake?
So would I recommend this movie? Hell yeah! This movie has something for everyone. It's one of the best musicals, if you can call it that, of recent movie history. It's an instant must see for everyone. Now, in the words of AC/DC, for those about to rock, I salute you.