Product Description

The New York Times Jack black gives a roaring star-making performance his incandescent comic energy should establish him as the screen s most popular rock-fueled wild man the wall Street Journal This joyous film is a big deal and jack black is nothing less than majestic an epic star turn Entertainment weekly Jack black makes the joy the passion even the innocence of rock and roll just a little bigger than life the band rocks and so does this movie System Requirements: Running Time 109 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 097363385141 Manufacturer No: 338514

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8570 in DVD
• Brand: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
• Released on: 2004-03-02
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: English
• Dimensions: .31 pounds
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.com
Turbo-charged comic Jack Black shakes School of Rock to its foundations, wailing with born-again metalhead passion as Dewey Finn, a guitarist who gets kicked out of a band because he grandstands too much--or, to put it another way, enjoys himself. Through an intercepted phone call, Finn gets a job as a substitute teacher for a fifth grade class at a private grade school. Neither students nor teacher quite know what to do with each other until Finn discovers that some of his young charges can play instruments; at once he starts turning them into a blistering rock & roll troupe that can crush his former band at an upcoming competition. School of Rock is silly and formulaic, but director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused), writer Mike White (The Good Girl), and especially Black and co-star Joan Cusack invest the formulas with such glee that the movie is irresistibly fun. --Bret Fetzer

DVD features
Like the movie, the DVD extras are smarter and a lot more entertaining than your average flick. The making-of feature ("Lessons Learned") has the usual behind-the-scenes banter but Jack Black is in fine form--that is, something special--interviewing as much as being interviewed about the making of the film. His unique pitch to Led Zeppelin to use their song is alone worth the price of the DVD. Black is more his maniacal self and a bit more grating in MTV's Diary segment, but his commentary track with director Richard Linklater is as insightful as it is funny. Ok, it's a lot more funny, but entertaining throughout. The commentary track featuring just the kid actors is less so, but any preteen would love listening to it. To top it off, the DVD-ROM has Dewey Finn's instantly famous blackboard history of rock. You can drill down to the bands mentioned and get a brief history of each. Class dismissed. --Doug Thomas

From The New Yorker
If you're a fan of Jack Black, your cup runneth over. He's Dewey Finn, a mediocre but enthusiastic guitarist who "serves society by rocking!" In need of cash, Dewey bluffs his way into a substitute-teaching position at an exclusive, private elementary school. At first the job is purgatory, but then it's paradise: some of the fifth graders turn out to be skilled classical musicians, and soon Black begins instructing them in the finer points of power chords. The movie nostalgically celebrates the liberating power of "rock!"-the way it could impart coolness to all true believers. The kids (mostly non-actors) top the charts in adorability, and their acting, for better or worse, belongs to the amateurish tradition of "The Bad News Bears." Mike White's somewhat generic script (for him) sets the stage for Black to cut loose. The actor has a knack for moving his body in funny ways-watch for the double arm wave he does after putting a Stevie Nicks song in the jukebox-and he sings and prances for the camera in a risky and aerobic performance. Joan Cusack offers fine support as the tightly wound principal. Richard Linklater directed, with his trademark touch of conveying milieu: the rocker's van, the school lunchroom, and backstage at the battle of the bands. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker