SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003)

School of Rock Poster with Jack Black Playing Guitar — Images: Paramount

“Maybe it’s time to give up those dreams. I did, and things are going really great for me.”

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Comedy, Music
1h 48min PG

We’ll let you know when School of Rock is FREE.

School of Rock is what I call a compulsively watchable movie. A CWM is defined (by me) as a flick that has so many good scenes that tuning in at any random point will result in an irresistible urge to watch until the end. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it, that random scene will hook you and keep you watching.

CWMs are probably different for everyone. Mine are Martin Scorsese’s Casino, Goodfellas, and Gangs of New York, Luc Besson’s The Professional, and Richard Linklater’s School of Rock. One of these things is not like the others. Maybe that’s why School of Rock always stood out to me as something special.

In one of two roles he was born to play, Jack Black is Dewey Finn, a rock and roll frontman who just got kicked out of his band. The rent is due and his roommate’s new girlfriend has put an end to Dewey’s mooching. So the only logical thing to do is pose as a substitute teacher and recruit the students as his new backing band.

Three important elements come together to make School of Rock successful: the cast, the direction, and the music. Jack Black brings nothing less than his A-game to the part. The kids he schools about old-school rock are all funny and engaging. Richard Linklater’s direction keeps the movie flowing at a brisk pace, and the music is well-balanced between rock and roll classics and catchy original tunes.

I recently streamed School of Rock on Tubi TV and I’m impressed by the presentation. Modern digital films have a slick, processed appearance while School of Rock benefits from natural colors and subtle details carefully transferred from the film source.

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