Country: USA / Germany
Date: October 3rd, 2003
If there is a comedy every man should watch that’s surely “School of Rock”, produced by Richard Linklater by scenario of Mike White. You don’t have to be a musician to understand this great movie but to be familiar with metal, for sure. Jack Black in the main role did an excellent job to present what passion is and sometimes those kinds of madness he did are allowed. I watched it a really long time ago but whenever I watch it again it’s like the first time. I am one of those who watch movies many times. Is it a sickness or whatever, I don’t know, but I do that and I am weirdly proud of it. You know that moment: “Aaa, I know this song!” And then start singing along with the actors. Yeah, that’s me.
I started marching into the metal world at a really young age, when I was ten or eleven years old. From this perspective, that was really brave move. You know already, a small city, a big school full of just little kids who still don’t know anything about themselves but you can always find a few outsiders in that sea of screaming kids.
Mister Dewey Finn (Jack Black) was one of those outsiders who can be categorised as grown-ups only by the number of years. He played metal and rock in his own way but it didn’t fit into the lame rock bands of early 2000s. His dreams of being a rock star went a bit far in someone’s eyes but he only wanted to play rock. As he said, when those guys with make-up and coloured nails kicked him out of the band: “You forgot about one little thing, it’s called the music!” That’s why I understand and admire that guy, honestly. Because at the end he nailed it! With that sentence he described many bands who cared about their image more than music.
One day things got better for Dewey and his life changed in a funny and weird way. He did a horrible thing and took a chance to be a teacher but his rules were different than other professors’. About those kids who were in his class can be made a special sociological study. Every class ever has one or two smart and clean kids, one fat good guy, one silent guy, one pretty girl and others. The funny thing in every teamwork is like that with the crazy boss, of course. Mister Finn, led by his wish to win the battle of the bands, dug out the secret talents of kids in his class and made a band. As rock was and still is considered a boogie satanic music, bad for kids, he changed that and made them love what they do with him.
Every girl who was bored with stickers and those colourful notebooks with teddy bears had her own version with lyrics and drawings of skulls on the side. I sound like Wednesday Addams, but I still have that notebook. No judge, okay? In that notebook was also an organised list made in this movie about metal genres. It is part of rock and roll lessons made by Mister Finn and we were all delighted by this. Schedule he made to replace the boring school subjects is a dream of every young metalhead.
Next to the funny scenario and Jack Black who made this movie a masterpiece only by his appearance, a choice of music and versions made by Andrew Webber are beyond good. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Steve Nicks, The Ramones, The Doors, Kiss and many others can be the first lessons for young rockers.
As the song said: “It’s a long way to the top if you want rock n roll” was a message of this movie. Recommendation in any sense and it deserves a second part, just to check up on these amazing kids and after school association “School of Rock”. All hail Jack Black and rock ‘n’ roll.
