I went to see School of rock last night and thought it was one of the most entertaining movies I’ve seen this year. It’s a standout performance for Jack Black, it knows its subject (rock-n-roll) and the kids could really rock.
It wasn’t all that realistic (I think a real principal would have sniffed out Black as a fake within about twenty seconds) but Black’s scenes in the classroom were laugh out loud funny. My theater was completely full and the audience laughed hard all the way through the movie and applauded at the end.
It’s a little more formulaic and commercial than you might expect from Richard Linklater but it definitely works better than some of the other “comedies” I’ve seen lately.
Has anyone else seen this? Did you like it as much as I did? Did anyone think it sucked? All opinions are welcome.
I’ve been curious about it, simply because upon seeing the previews, I immediatly dismissed it as “just another stupid teen flick” and have been very surprised by the universally good reviews(I mean, the two local papers both like it and they rarely both like the same movie, which says a lot to me). I’m definatly going to see it eventually.
I really liked it too. It was pretty cheesy, but I was expecting that from the get-go so I took it in stride. Diogenes is right, those kids could really rock. I also liked the message it gave to kids, especially the insecure types.
Resurecting this thread to say we saw this last night and it was great!
I read in EW that they cast kids who were musicians and not kids who were actors, so they kids could really play. Zack on lead guitars and Tameka the singer were amazing.
Joan Cusack was awesome as the uptight principal.
This is the second Jack Black movie that wasn’t nearly as dumb as I expected it to be. Orange County was also much better than I thought it would be - it was not Dude, Where’s my Orange? though that is what I thought it would basically be. I think he has a great deal of skill in playing that particular wild and crazy character. Now I wonder if he has any range and can play something different.
School of Rock? Great, fun film. I see why it is getting very positive reviews.
I enjoyed it, especially for the positive message it gave to quiet/shy/smart/quirky/geeky kids, that they can be cool too. I was one of those kids growing up, and playing in a band was instrumental (no pun intended) for me to come out of my shell. It was nice to see Jack Black’s character drawing them out and giving them things to do in line with their talents and convincing them they were cool.
Mr. Caricci, Preschool Caricci and I adored it. If you really want a movie that’s great for the whole family, this is it. You know how some movies are supposedly great for all, but what that means is the kids loved it and the parents managed to stay awake? Not so here. The kids weren’t overly cute. The music was very entertaining. The relationship between the immortal Jack Black and the delightful Joan Cusack remained a friendship, so no yucky kissing took place. Mr. Caricci and Preschool Caricci fancy themselves to be guitar gods so it was extra special for them.
After reading the reviews, I talked my wife and SIL out of seeing Intolerable Cruelty (which we eventually did go to) and into School of Rock instead.
They were skeptical, given other Jack Black movies they have seen, but all three of us loved it. I thought it had a great message for the kids, it was really funny, and suprisingly clean (safe to take your kids to).
I liked it a lot. I think my wife would like it too, but she loathes Jack Black. This movie manages the nearly impossible by making Black accessible to non-fans while still giving fans what they expect.
The way the kids are handled is great. This is exactly the sort of family movie nobody seems to know how to make any more. Instead, parents leave their kids at the mall cinema for shit like Good Boy! and go shopping. School of Rock is something everybody can enjoy together. Why is that so hard?
Took my kids - 5 and 3 - and the neighbor kids - 14 and 8 - and we all really liked it. It isn’t great cinema, per se, but a fun romp with a couple of nice twists on a known formula.
I also liked the way the kids were of different sizes, shapes and colors - sends a good message…
Another big positive vote, and I’ll even go so far as to say that what people may write-off as “cheesy” is simply a genuine, uncynical, non-pandering approach to the material. Dewey is like Harold Hill from The Music Man, who lies and manipulates others to further his end, but is finally redeemed, not by Love, but by the steadfastness of his own convictions: Open minds and open haerts are cool, and hypocrisy and falseness aren’t. Dewey never really changes–he just finds the perfect venue to channel his beliefs, and his natural character comes through. He doesn’t empower the kids because he thinks he should; he does because that’s simply who he is. The film never collapses into sentimentality, so all the Feel-Goodness that’s a natural product of the feel is 100% earned. Absolutely terrific.
I hope it’s a big hit, since it’ll give Linklater the opportunity to continue to approach his more eclectic subjects while still demonstrating that he can make an effective “commercial” film without selling out.
I was pretty underwhelmed by this movie. Wasn’t “JB” enough to register with my sense of humor, and didn’t make me like the characters enough to make up for that.
I just saw it and though it was brilliant. Richard Linklater generally makes films I enjoy immensely, but his subtle genius combined with JB’s decidedly un-subtle genius was a real winner. I haven’t seen a G-rated movie in years, but this one was definitely not infantile, there’s something profound hiding beneath the numerous belly laughs.
Well, I seem to be firmly in the minority on this one. I was so excited when I heard about this movie, thought it would be gut-busting. I was completetely underwhelmed.
Jack Black has played that character better before (High Fidelity and the Tenacious D albums are the examples that come immediately to mind), and the rest of the movie was pretty weak.
Sure, it had its moments, but it couldn’t make me care enough about the characters to come across as anything but a glurgey pile of sugary crap. JB just wasn’t on, IMHO, and the fact that he clearly knows his subject so well makes the final product that much more of a disappointment. The real reason that this bugs me is that this movie won’t get made again. It’s been done now, so we won’t get to see a GOOD rockfest movie with JB at the center. Oh well.