School of Rock (Widescreen Edition)
Picture: A- Sound: B+
Extras: A Film: A-
School of Rock (2003) offers something that very few films manage
to do these days and that is to combine intelligence with entertainment. Lately, you either get one or the other, but
rarely get a nice dosage of both. This
is also Jack Black’s finest performance as a lead character or even as a side
character. The film rotates around his
character, which he plays so perfectly some may say he was born for the part,
or at least born to rock.
While the storyline may
seem too much like Mr. Holland’s Opus,
this is by far a more realistic approach to teaching students. This film
actually addresses the question of what education really is. I once saw a T-shirt that said “I was born
intelligent, but education made me dumb” and I think that certainly applies in
many of the schools across America. Schools
have become these institutions that are so concerned with passing on the
tradition of the teacher/student relationship that seldom to they meet the
needs of the actual students. Therefore
many talents and gifts go to waste and not to mention they are not prepared to
hone their abilities for a higher education.
Jack Black plays Dewey
Finn, a parasite on his friend Ned Schneebly, who is a respectable substitute
teacher. Dewey is in a band in hopes to
win a Battle of the Bands competition, but there is one
problem, Dewey likes the spotlight. This
leads to him being kicked out of the band, so in his despair one day he happens
to get a call, well a call for Ned, but Dewey answers the call and ends up
getting the substitute teacher position at a nearby high-class school. These
students wear uniforms, have advanced lesson plays, and last but not least…know
nothing about Rock N’ Roll. That’s about
to change though. Dewey (as Ned) quickly
finds out that these students have talents deep within and before too long they
start having music lessons rather than the actual lessons. Only one more challenge lie ahead, how does
Dewey disguised as Ned manage to get the band ready for the Battle of the Bands
and be a teacher all in one.
Our audio is presentation
is in conjunction with Paramount’s normal Dolby Digital 5.1 option since they rarely do DTS. The 5.1 mix is good, but not great since it
does not have the fidelity and depth that the DTS could have offered especially
considering that this is a very music-heavy film. The dialogue is richly spread across the
front soundstage while the surrounds only become engaging during certain music
numbers. The 1.85 X 1 image looks good with accurate flesh tones and colors
giving life to a somewhat muted palette of colors. The cinematographer Rogier Stoffers, A.S.C., was
able to give a nice feel to the film and his work in the past is of great
reputation with films like Quills, John Q., and Enough. His work is never
flashy, but provides a nice overture of colors, angles, and depth that allows
the characters to be presented in a realistic setting. Sometimes a good cameraman is able to create
an experience where you don’t realize you are watching a movie, but instead
their work becomes transparent to the fact.
Paramount has a winner on its hands and they have done it
great justice for the DVD-Format. This
is certainly a well-appreciated edition for those that enjoyed the film because
the DVD has about four hours of bonus material, all of which are just as
entertaining as the film. There are two
commentary tracks, the first with Jack Black and Director Richard Linklater,
and the second one is with certain kids from the movie. Both are engaging and will make you want to
watch the movie again listening to various odds and ends about the production,
the acting, the origins of the film, and many other facets. There is also some humor spread throughout,
so those expecting that will be satisfied as well.
Most of the features are
quite fun like the Lesson’s Learned in ‘School of Rock’ segment that is about 25-minutes and deals with
all aspects of production from the perspective of Jack Black and some of the
kids. Most of these young talents have
never worked on a major film before. Then there is the short pitch that Jack
Black presented to Led Zeppelin in order to get permission to use the Immigrant
Song because they have turned down others for trying to use their
material. The Kids Video Diary is another program more from the kids’
perspective and how much they enjoyed working on this and learning from this
with clips from the Toronto Film Festival.
MTV’s Diary of Jack Black
deals a little with his contribution to the film and his association with his
own group Tenacious D, for which he is the founding member. For those with DVD-ROM capabilities you will
not want to miss the expansive Dewey
Finn’s History of Rock, which goes beyond what was presented in the film
about how the “tree” of rock music has sprouted and where all the great bands
fit in.
You won’t find too many
films from 2003, or even the past few years that come close to the energy and
excitement of this one. It is also a treat
to see Richard Linklater spurt out a successful film after his terrific Waking Life, which was shot digitally
and later animated over the actually footage.
The film dealt with Philosophy in a fascinating way that should NOT be
missed. This will certainly secure him as a director to look for in the next
few years and hopefully he will live up to his reputation. His career began with another rock-oriented
film called Dazed and Confused,
which many will remember more for the soundtrack than anything else. Jack Black now has a solid leading role under
his belt with some freedom to hopefully pick smart projects from now on and
stay away from things like Shallow Hal,
Orange County, or The
Jackal. So without further ado, get
ready to rock…School or Rock style!
- Nate Goss
