School of Rock (**1/2)
review by Jon Waterman

When Dewey Finn gets kicked out of a band he started, he becomes disillusioned in his dreams to become a full-time rocker. With rent and expenses piling up and pressure coming from his roommate’s girlfriend, he finally breaks down and gets a real job. He steals his roommate’s identity as a substitute teacher and takes over a class in a preppy private school. So, he teaches these kids the only thing he knows: Rock.

It’s very important to understand that Jack Black is the lead of this movie. There are a lot of parts that make it seem like the role was written especially for him. To me, that makes the movie less funny, because the humor isn’t coming from Black’s comedic acting, it’s coming from someone else writing in Black’s acting style. Basically he plays the same character as in “High Fidelity” except with heart (and also we’re expecting a good performance this time around whereas it was a shock that he was such a stand out in “Hi Fi.”). However, if you are not familiar with Black from that film or from his band, Tenacious D, his wacky antics and his toned down, nice approach to Sam Kinison-like screaming may hit your funny bone a little harder.

As for the other actors, they’re virtually all kids. They are also virtually all bad. I hope these kids don’t read reviews, because I don’t want to really hold back. However, I feel that they probably picked the children more on their musical talents rather than their acting ability. I can’t really say I blame them. I prefer this casting method. It’s better to have kids that can play their instruments than ones that are truly outstanding actors. Children aren’t expected to wow us with their performances, especially in a comedy.

How was the comedy, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It was okay. It took a little long to get any good laughs going. Once they started, the movie did a pretty good job of keeping them coming steadily enough to keep the entertainment level up. Writer Mike White (who also plays Dewey’s roommate) also keeps tabs on the plot. It all flows very nicely without repeating too much or putting unnecessary elements in there just for extra laughs. It focuses more on telling the story effectively than making the audience laugh, thus accomplishing both.

It may not be the funniest movie of the year, but comedy is hard. The story telling mixed with the charm and humor of Jack Black make it one of the better comedies of the year anyway. I’d say this one’s worth a rental.

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