School of Rock

You can’t fake passion. This became evident to me half way through viewing School of Rock, the newest movie from director Richard Linklater — the man responsible for such offbeat hits as Dazed & Confused and Before Sunrise. What reminded me of this passion was a combination of things. Jack Black’s character, Dewey Finn, can’t let go of his love for rockin’ out. Dewey pulls a few illegal strings to fund his life as a starving rock artist. It results in him landing a spot at a private school where, you guessed it, he teaches his love of rock and roll to a group of talented youngsters. Next, you have a director who excels at capturing a slice of life that, even if people can’t relate to, has its characters boasting conviction and real life from one scene to the next. And most importantly, you have a film that has the sub-theme of how important it is to follow your passion. With Jack Black in top form, nailing his character with comedic, Tenacious D-like energy, pelvic-thrusting jolt, and each of the pre-teens playing their music together, it is very easy to see this theme played out.

This movie is all about the craze surrounding the international language of the middle finger: rock ‘n’ roll. Certain scenes in this film are so powerful at displaying this that you overlook the everyday mediocrity underlying the film. And I thought History of Rock kicked ass