While Richard Linklater returned to indie film prominence in 2001 with his rotoscoped fantasia of ideas both provocative and half-baked, WAKING LIFE, and the stripped-down, three character drama, TAPE (based on a blistering one-act play by Stephen Belber), mass audience acceptance eluded him. Actually, that’s being too kind to a filmmaker I greatly admire. These movies were ignored. Even the art film audiences failed to turn out in significant numbers, which would’ve been unheard of in the director’s heyday (sandwiched somewhere between DAZED AND CONFUSED and BEFORE SUNRISE). Such a disheartening rejection of two challenging and exceedingly well-crafted works must’ve been a professional wake-up call for Linklater; how else to explain his presence behind the camera of the unabashedly commercial, stand-up-and-cheer trifle, SCHOOL OF ROCK?

Written by Mike White, whose work on the criminally short-lived FREAKS & GEEKS redeems the rest of his spotty oeuvre (sorry, I’m just not a fan), SCHOOL OF ROCK is principally a Jack Black vehicle that stands ready to test the boundaries of the general public’s willingness to endure the Tenacious D. warbler’s lay about charm. Skeptics of his fitfulness as a leading man will certainly get plenty of ammunition for their cause in the early going, where Black is a little too front-and-center as the hapless Dewey Finn, a man committed to the higher calling of rocking the complacent masses out of their lives of quiet desperation. Problem is, his enthusiasm translates into an on-stage selfishness, where he’s prone to hogging the spotlight with interminable solos. This hastens his being voted out of the band, sending Dewey out in search of a new batch of dedicated rockers. Meanwhile, he hasn’t paid rent to his roommates in ages (they’re played by writer White as the spineless Ned, and Sarah Silverman as Ned’s shrill, domineering girlfriend, Patty), lending a sense of urgency to his quest, which might have to fall to the wayside while Dewey takes a day job. Lucky for Dewey, he intercepts a call intended for the substitute teaching Ned, and, suddenly, he’s posing as his roommate at a prestigious elementary school out in the ‘burbs. Even luckier for Dewey, his adolescent charges are also musical prodigies. Thus, the “happy idea”: what if Dewey recruited the entire class as his new group, and entered them in a local “Battle of the Bands” contest?

The film is a bit laborious in its set-up, which isn’t helped at all by Linklater and cinematographer Rogier Stoffers’s decision to employ such a drab, wintery color pallatte on what is an otherwise sunny, feel-good film (not that I’m opposed to mixing up formula; it just feels needlessly incongruous with the material). You also get a sense of sheepishness from Linklater’s timid direction, as if he’s somewhat embarrassed by the clichéd quality of his premise. But once Dewey starts putting the band together, the movie comes alive. The indefatigably casual Black establishes a fun rapport with the kids, who are pretty sensational. From the rebellious drummer, to the quiet lead guitarist, to the group’s pushy, burgeoning bitch-on-wheels “manager”, they all get their moments to shine (my favorite of the bunch is the proper Indian keyboardist). Sure, their types may sound familiar, but the performances are suffused with a genuine appeal that can’t be faked. Still, what’s most remarkable is that nearly all of these child actors are actually playing their own instruments (even though I suspect their work has been cleaned up considerably in post, that’s still impressive). I can see the morning talk show appearances now! Finally, rounding out the cast, and operating as the main hurdle in the way of the band’s road to glory, Joan Cusack is typically great as the straight-laced principal with a fatal weakness for Stevie Nicks (this sets up a killer music cue later in the film that I won’t dare spoil for you now).

I don’t think it’s a spoiler, however, to reveal that the film ends with the band making it to the big show to prove their mettle against their grown-up competition, by which point, the film will likely win over the most jaded moviegoer as a kind of COMMITMENTS Jr., minus the mangling of 1960’s R&B classics. There are many dependable, workmanlike directors who could’ve gotten this film to the finish line with the requisite rousing appeal, but I doubt that a single one of these hacks would’ve done it with the effusive, groovin’ élan of Linklater, who, as in DAZED & CONFUSED, connects ecstatically, and to great cinematic effect, with the classic rock aesthetic that is Dewey’s lifeblood. If this is the beginning of the director’s attempt to establish a Soderbergh-like “one for me, one for them” relationship with the studios, they’d do well to reward his splendid, crowd-pleasing work here with something more adventurous next time out. Because Linklater’s certainly done well by you, Paramount. And those profits that you stand to reap due to his concessions to what conventional wisdom defines as “popular taste” could very well put a rosier complexion on what’s suddenly become, after last week, a less-than-stellar year at the box office.

Or maybe MARCI X is better than its quarter-century on the shelf indicates (I think it was Richard Benjamin’s follow-up to MY FAVORITE YEAR). You’ve got Moriarty’s $10.50. He hasn’t been able to shut up about that movie since he got back from Montreal, and I’ve had just about enough.

Faithfully submitted,

Mr. Beaks

Nice to be back and catching up on everything that’s happened while I was gone, including Beaks’s TEXAS CHAINSAW review. I'm surprised by his TIMELINE piece because I remember liking George Nolfi's script when I read it. Lauren Shuler Donner was kind enough to grant me an interview around the time X-MEN 2 came out, and the transcription of said interview went down with my old hard drive, never to be recovered. She was pretty pleased with this film, and seemed to be looking forward to its release. Talking to Beaks, he didn't have much good to say. Seems like they've been working on this one for a while, too. I've disagreed with Beaks before, but never when he was quite so vehement. I guess I'll always keep my fingers crossed for Richard Donner and hope he makes a good film. I've got a lot of good will for him because of all his work over the years, and giving up on something of his this far before release, even when it's a reliable spy like Beaks, just doesn't feel right.

"Moriarty" out.