Three Great Scenes : "School of Rock"

Howard Hawks, the director of His Girl Friday, once said that "A good movie is three good scenes and no bad scenes." And in this modern-day era where a lot of our best media and ideas can be summed up with a short YouTube clip, this kind of ideology becomes important to know and harness. I mean, of course bigger and more ambitious filmmakers would rip their clothes off and set themselves on fire at the very thought of reducing their movie into three good scenes, a bunch of filler, and nothing else; otherwise, the formula would definitely prove interesting to test and know.

One of the best movies I know that adheres to this formula well is School of Rock, and boy, does that adherence pay off in a splendid, precisely written movie that, in any other circumstance, would not work at all, but in this case, created this gem of a movie that seems to transcend time more and more as the years go by.

School of Rock is a 2003 rock comedy directed by Richard Linklater and starring the ever-absurd and ridiculously fun Jack Black in the role of a rock musician who commits fraud by pretending to be a substitute teacher. While committing that fraud, the students and Jack Black find a true connection to each other that the movie sells as the purest form of friendship: rock music. And with that kinship, he creates a band of brothers amongst themselves, and teaches these kids lessons about living life ala Dead Poets Society, but with rock and roll.

It's a cliche plot, but it still feels fresh and authentic in the pantheon of 2000s-era comedies, as well as 2000s-era teacher films (films like The Great Debaters or Mona Lisa Smile). What's fresh in here--the big major shift from other "teachers help kids" films--is how the independence of these kids was shown.

See, in those other "teachers helping kids" films, these teachers were very willing to mold these kids as what they think success should be: a job, passion for the arts, and so on and so forth. It always had to be within the standards of society, or it wasn't a success. In School of Rock, though, the lesson being imparted in this movie is that you shouldn't have to care about that bullshit. Win or lose, success or not, we stay true to who we are, society be damned. Every other film like this always battle for respectability; School of Rock tells you to fuck respectability, and pursue what you want and fight for the freedom to do that.

After the film was released, Green Day set the world by storm with their anti-Bush concept album American Idiot, there was big boom of independent rock at the time, with the Strokes, Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, and LCD Soundsystem, and punk-pop acts like Fall Out Boy and Paramore showed that there was clearly a large subset of people who could relate to angry, pissed-off rants made with simple drum lines and lots of screaming. And School of Rock just states the idea that music gives out a freedom that isn't possible under normal means and within normal circumstances--allowing you to revel in rebelling.

So, in this film, what are the three focal quote-unquote "great" scenes that redeem this movie above all others?

The opening musical number with Jack Black's grunge band No Vacancy efficiently and entertainingly sets up a lot of what you need to know about his character: he's a great guitarist obsessed with holding on to the past greatness of rock while his friends and the society around him perceive him as a loser who can't move on with his life. The wicked fall at the end of scene where nobody caught him for crowd surfing is the saddest image you could think of for any musician and it sets up the redemptive arc of his character from wannabe loser to a true rock star, with him even getting to crowd surf at the end of the film.

You can see the seeds of freedom being planted to the kids best in the "Step Off" scene. There, Jack Black teaches the children that rather than keeping their emotions bottled up, they can use the power of music to release their emotions and frustrations with the world in a refreshing and constructive way. It's probably the most honest response that Jack Black's character could have given, and it's in that raw, spontaneous honesty that a true teaching moment appeared: don't keep your emotions hidden, but rather fight for them to be recognized and responded to in a clear and beneficial way.

It's just a great distillation of the rebellious spirit of rock and roll, and also shows off the camaraderie between the kids and Jack Black, who was rightfully made a star for selling that kinship and camaraderie with the children he's acting with. Watching a lot of movies with kids in them, a lot of adult-child relations feel forced and unlikely. However, Jack Black schmoozes his way into these kids' psyches, turning from their substitute teacher who hates teaching into a confidant and friend. It makes the scene land so very well because of that, and makes for an effective and qualified choice for a "great" scene in this movie.

Before I give off the third "great" scene that makes this movie so great, I want to set up the big arc the movie has for everyone: how can rock and roll free your soul? Because a lot of this movie was built on the idea that everyone in society is stuck up their asses and unable to get in touch with their inner youth without rock and roll to bring it out (for example, the principal played by Joan Cusack was portrayed as cold and domineering until a Stevie Nicks song played on the jukebox). So, what's Jack Black's answer?

One great rock show can change the world.

That's what I love about this movie more than anything, the big dramatic pay-off at the end: Zack's Song, this little ditty that encapsulates the entire philosophy of the movie in and by itself. The entire movie talks about how one great rock show can change history, and while the audience should rightfully be skeptical of that, the movie shows you what it meant by changing history through rock: it turns the insecurities and anger and feelings of the audience into a battle cry for all to chant along with, for all to sing along to. That was something that bands like Green Day or Nirvana or R.E.M. tapped into, and that made the movie all the more excellent because while its ending doesn't make sense logically, it makes sense emotionally that playing their one song with the passion of burning suns would take away all of the transgressions and the pain that Jack Black's character caused.

When they talk about how one rock show can change the world, they were talking about catharsis--release of frustrations into something great.

This film has no bad scenes, at least not in the sense of terrible to watch or unbearable to hear. The film's writing is impeccably witty, and because of its focus on older rock acts, nearly none of the film is dated to the 2000s. And hey, we can all learn to be more rebellious every now and then, even if it's just in the small ways. And it has these three great scenes that just make the movie work better than it would've in any other circumstances.

So, yeah, hard yes on recommending this film.