School of Rock (2003)

The film starts off with Black attempting an Ac/dc signature guitar move then stage diving however landing as no one carried him. That one sentence gives you an insight of what the film is truly about promoting bands. You thought School of rock was going to be a musical comedy? Think again! I have nothing against these bands, in fact I listen to a lot of their music however it just saddens me that a film with such potential has to fail. Only fifty four minutes and thirty three seconds through I have already seen their logo plastered everywhere or them being referenced to. The bands are: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Ac/dc, The Who, Ministry, Ramones, Cannibal Corpse, Megadeth and numerous other bands. It is almost like this film is just one big advert. It has your classic 2003 comedy formula an over the top egotistical lead role, the shy person, the person only considered about school work and a grouchy head-teacher. When Zack is trying out the electric guitar and Black is playing tunes for him to repeat, he plays Black Sabbath: Iron man, Ac/dc: Highway to hell and Deep purple: Smoke on the water all an octave (or two) lower. Unsurprisingly Jack Black is in a comedy rock band Tenacious D so he should know how to play these songs right. At the end of the film Zack does a guitar solo in the style of Slash. I thought that I could get to the end of the film without a Guns n' roses reference how wrong I was. Not that I have anything against Slash it's just the fact that this film was already so crammed full of references that it got to the point that I couldn't stand it anymore! Also before they are going to perform the concert Black quotes from the lyrics of Ac/dc "For those about to rock I salute you". When it should be "For those about to rock we salute you" because it's a direct quote which does not give Richard Linklater a valid excuse to change the lyrics. Apart from those small things overall school of rock is an entertaining comedy which is best saved for a rainy day. However the film didn't have much emotional depth unlike how some comedies manage to be tragic and funny at the same time. Before I was going to see School of rock I was told that it was a great film. Unsurprisingly, yet again another comedy with Jack Black in has failed to meet my expectations. One of the highlights of the film is it's soundtrack which features: Substitute by The Who, Sunshine of your love by Cream, Immigrant song by Led Zeppelin and many other classic rock tracks. The film ends with the credit rolling whilst Black and the pupils are performing Ac/dc's "It's a long way to the top (if you wanna rock n' roll). This film features what Black is best at being over-reactive and pulling bizarre face expressions. Verdict: No matter if you like or dislike rock, it's an entertaining film for anyone.