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Compiled by Jack Foley
INDIE director, Richard Linklater, looks to have delivered everyone's
favourite, Jack Black, the type of role he has been threatening
ever since his glorious turn in High Fidelity.
School of Rock opened in US cinemas over the weekend of October
3-5 and drew some exceptional reviews, most of which hailed the
energy of Black's performance.
The film finds Black as a luckless rock star wannabe who gets
a job substitute-teaching and, over the course of several weeks,
takes a class of private-school students and molds them into a
rockin' band.
Leading the way with the tributes is the New York Times,
which opined that School of Rock is 'a very funny for-kids-of-all-ages
delight that should catapult Mr. Black straight to the top of
the A-list of Hollywood funnymen'.
The Toronto Star, meanwhile, referred to it as 'not only
a glove-fit of a movie for the volcanic Black, School Of Rock
proves a surprisingly deft foray into pure, unadulterated fun
for the gifted indie smart guy Linklater'.
Entertainment Weekly gave it a straight A and described
it as 'the most unlikely great movie of the year.
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Hollywood Reporter stated, simply, that 'The School of
Rock' rocks', adding that it is 'a high-energy comedy that takes
its hero seriously when he declares, 'I serve society by rocking!',
while the Chicago Tribune reffered to it as 'the cinematic
equivalent of a near-perfect three-minute pop song'.
The New York Daily News went one better, stating that
'this is fun for everyone, even those (like me) who hate contemporary
rock music'.
While the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that it is 'n engagingly
screwball comic vehicle in which the actor and Tenacious D frontman
goes through an inventory of heavy-metal moves and makes a mockery
of them at the same time'.
The Newark Star-Ledger, meanwhile, was pleased to declare
that 'Linklater's direction - right from the tossed-off opening
credits - is the happiest and most relaxed it's been since Dazed
and Confused'.
While the Houston Chronicle felt that 'Linklater strikes
just the right power chords here. He respects rock enough to keep
it real, and he has enough rein on Black to ground his wildness
in warmth while avoiding easy sentiment'.
And the hits keep on coming, with the Washington Post
stating that this is 'a movie for almost everyone, from boomer
parents (who remember their teens and twenties) to their teenage
kids (who can't wait to get started with same)'.
The San Francisco Chronicle, meanwhile, felt that it is
'coherent, hilarious and surprisingly sweet'.
Rounding off this overview in typically strong fashion, however,
is the Miami Herald, which concluded that it 'achieves
its ecstatic, giddy high because it is peopled by immensely likable,
endearing characters, all led by the tireless Black, who could
make even the staunchest country music fan believe that rock 'n'
roll can, in fact, change the world'.
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