all i had to do was look at the cast/crew and i knew i'd really enjoy this film. directed by richard linklater (who did probably my favorite teen film of all time with Dazed and Confused, and one of my favorite indies of recent years with Tape, and the highly acclaimed Waking Life (which i need to see)) and starring Jack Black... it's not gonna be bad is it?

storywise, plain simple silly and harmless. think sister act without nuns, and you're halfway there. black is sacked from his rock band (peasants) and to raise money to pay his rent, steals his flatmates substitute teaching job in a prep school. as he has no idea how to teach anything of real educational value, he breaks out the instruments after hearing the kids play during music.

rated pg-13 in the states, its a pretty clean movie and suitable for family entertainment, but my god... jack black is absolutely on fire this time. after the abysmal Shallow Hal, i thought maybe he was suited more to supporting roles or tv work at best.. but black is so refreshing and feels so perfect for the role its hard to think how the movie would work without him. he leaps around like a man possessed and teaches the kids all the crucial things, like metal poses and refers to true classic rock, rather than the easier approach of just mentioning recent MTV bands. in fact, the film defies MTV in an early scene, which just felt great

the film gels so well cos you know black was having an absolute ball during the making of it, and the kids used are really really good (all the musicians in the film play their own instruments... another fuck you to the "real" music industry when a bunch of 10 year olds can outplay most of the top 40). if you were expecting something a bit deeper due to linklaters involvement, then you might be disappointed, but for jack black fans its gonna be one of the best movies of the year.

9/10 without a doubt. out in the US currently, out in the UK in february 2004.

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Heheh yeps, enjoyed this one too. Although i thought for me, 8/10 because i found some jokes didn't work and the movie waned a tiny bit 3/4 through.

But yeah, it's a goodie.

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yeah forgot to mention it was a bit long (altho tons of this years flicks are suffering this atm. except kill bill which was a good 90mins too short :P ) and also i forgot the awesome ac/dc homage at the end

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