Review of School Of Rock

Introduction

If you`re anything like me, you love music, but you can`t play for toffee. I`ve been there, done that, and frustrated myself, as well as my parents, at my lack of perseverance when it comes to learning a musical instrument. I was good with the recorder, but how many cool 11-year olds do you know that play something as uncool as the recorder? It`s the same story with the clarinet, violin, piano and xylophone. I had a go at drums once, and thought that I found something I liked enough, but I didn`t have the room for a practise kit at home. Oh well, the minor consolation was that at least I was in the choir.

Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is a music teacher with a difference; music, and that`s rock music, is the only thing that he`s good at. Having been kicked out of his band he`s on the verge of being kicked out for loafing on his friends` sofa too. What`s more, how on Earth is he going to win the "Battle of the Bands" contest now, with no band? Dewey`s desperate for cash. A chance phone call from the local prep school head teacher calls looking for his flatmate, Ned Schneebly, to be a substitute teacher; the lure of money lights a bulb above Dewey`s head. He impersonates his friend, takes on the substitute teacher role at the school and finds a talented bunch of young musicians at the school. Could he win the Battle of the Bands with these kids?

Video

Presented with a 1.85:1 widescreen enhanced video transfer, School of Rock looks good throughout. Colours are well balanced and contrast looks good too. Some scenes however look a little softer than others and not quite as sharp, but it`s a moot point and doesn`t spoil the film. Minor flecks of dust aside, I couldn`t notice any signs of compression or other problems.

Audio

A film about music with so much music has got to get it right in the sound stakes, right? It does and with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that sounds good. Dialogue is clear from the centre and the front speakers create a nice wide soundstage, which works really well with the music. There are some nice discrete surround effects throughout to enhance the film and it`s very pleasing.

Features

Easy to navigate menus with quite a few extras to get through.

• Audio commentary with actor Jack Black and director Richard Linklater - This is as you would expect from a commentary. There`s plenty of info from both with a laid back leisurely pace. Worth listening to if you really liked the film.

• Kids` Kommentary - If you want to hear pre-teen kids talking the way they do then choose this. I was totally bored after a mere 2-minutes as there`s nothing, for an adult at any rate, to gain. Pointless.

• Lessons Learned in School of Rock (24:50) - This is the main making of featurette and goes behind the scenes and talks to cast and crew. Quite interesting.

• Jack Black`s pitch to Led Zeppelin (3:35)- Jack`s video begging letter to Led Zepp for permission to use "The Immigrant Song".

• School of Rock Music Video (3:37) - A simple video with Jack assembling his band members from various locations.

• Kids` Video Diary: Toronto Film Festival (8:13) - A little featurette following the band from morning through to evening stopping en route at Chanel for hair and makeup. They do their schoolwork, do a press conference, attend the gala premiere of the film and then rock out at the party afterwards. Not a bad distraction.

• MTV`s Diary of Jack Black (16:32) - Rock with Jack Black for the day from wake up to sleepy time. Oh and don`t forget to have the occasional burger or four as he talks about rockin` out to the max...and that kind of thing. He goes to band rehearsals, the studio and just talks to camera a lot about rock music. Interesting at least once.

A theatrical trailer rounds off this slew of extras. All the extras except for the School of Rock Music Video are subtitled.

Conclusion

This is a very basic meat and potatoes film; the concept and plotting are simple enough to allow Jack Black and co to perform over zealously for the film and to have fun. Be warned however that the predictability of the story becomes all too apparent in the final act, so much so that it does feel contrived and like many genre films it runs out of steam. How to end the film is the weak point and one that seems cobbled together all too conveniently. Despite this minor writing difficulty, the film does manage to have plenty of fun along the way and this is largely due to Jack Black.

As far as Black goes, this film was written with him in mind and it plays to his strengths. His bumbling buffoonery is neither too over the top or too understated. In fact, I could believe that he`s just letting loose his normal everyday personality, minus the foul language, and is all the more engaging for it. A film with barely teenage kids has the potential to be downright annoying, but they`re not the stereotypes I initially dreaded and came to like some of them. Lastly, without the music the film would only be part of the picture, so to speak. It`s great to hear Hendrix, Led Zepp, Bowie, Clapton and loads more and just watching the kids get into it was pretty satisfying.

School of Rock has good picture, good sound and a fair selection of extras. I honestly didn`t think watching the film more than once would yield much in the way of repeated play; nevertheless I was pleasantly surprised by how watchable it is (up until the end…). Minus the predictability of the story, School of Rock still works as entertainment so kick back and enjoy it.