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THE SCHOOL OF ROCK/ Malcontent's Mark: A
October 31, 2003
Dewey Finn: Jack Black
Principal Mullins: Joan Cusack
Ned Schneebly: Mike White
Patty: Sarah Silverman
Directed by Richard
Linklater.
Written by Mike White.
Rated PG-13
Before I say anything about The School of Rock, I have to warn you that I think everything that Jack Black does is hilarious. I probably would have enjoyed SOR even if it only showed Black reading from the telephone book. I loved Black so much in 2002’s Orange County that I bought a copy of OC for my father and, on his first viewing, fast-forwarded to all the Black parts.
In The School of Rock, Black plays Dewey Finn, a failed rocker, recently fired from the band he founded. To get some quick cash to pay the rent, he fakes his way into a job as a substitute fifth-grade teacher. After discovering true musical talents within the group, he ignores the lesson plans and turns the class into a rock band.
It’s a forgone conclusion that
Jack Black is the best part of this SOR, and his is the funniest comedic
performance of the year. But I’ll keep my Black-mania in check and focus on the
other elements that make The School of Rock the funniest movie of the
year.
Though a newcomer to comedy, indie director Richard Linklater (Waking Life)
displays all the right instincts – namely, letting Black be Black. Black works
best when playing off others; maybe that’s why he’s in the musical duo Tenacious
D instead of doing solo albums. I found Black’s role in the Farrelly Brothers’
Shallow Hal deplorable chiefly because they tried to lift Black up to
leading man status. No, Black comedy works best when there’s a straight-man
ensemble, like the ultra-dry combo of John Cusack and
Todd Louiso in High
Fidelity or the even dryer celebrity kids Schuyler Fisk and Colin Hanks in
Orange County. In SOR, Black has a whole classroom full of
prep school kids. Can you imagine a dryer ensemble for Black to play off?
Some may consider SOR to be a sell-out movie for Linklater. Yet the director transcends modern comedy by forgoing the usual pretense and reintroducing the genuine and authentic to the genre; he made sure to cast real music prodigies for the prep school rock band. And he doesn’t allow the kids to lip-sync. Probably the piece de resistance of Black’s performance is his tutelage on how the prodigies should pose as a rock stars. In this way, The School of Rock is the best rock and roll satire since Spinal Tap -- Jack Black is a one-man Spinal Tap.
Linklater’s versatility in
straddling between indie films and mainstream comedies should make him the envy
of all indie directors who’ve yet to tap into the mainstream - are you listening
Kevin Smith?
Also a great straddler of the mainstream and the irreverent is SOR writer
Mike White. He’s written dark and twisted comedies like Chuck and Buck
and The Good Girl, yet also churns out mainstream comedy gems like
Orange County and SOR. He’s the current king of comedy writing,
always wielding a rapier sharp wit and always unpredictable.
But back to Black - the man is the antipathy of all that’s wrong with modern comedy. The man’s every move vibrates with irreverence. He can make you laugh with the twitch of an eyebrow. Every line is delivered reeking with satire. His mock arrogance cuts through all the self-important hooey of most modern comedians. He reaches into your soul and….
All right, enough already. Go
see School of Rock for yourself and join me in Jack Black fandom forever.
Copyright (c) 2003
Bryan Stumpf.
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