Theatrical Review: Toy Story 5

Date: Sunday June 28, 2026
Time: 10:30am (the actual movie started at 10:57)
Party: 3 (my mom, sister and I)

Review:

Introduction

It's kinda shocking to think I wasn't initially considering going out to see this movie. We all grew up with the Toy Story movies. Even though my sister and I only saw 3 in theaters, it's another of those Disney franchises we've known and loved a long time. Not so much Toy Story 4 for me because it felt unnecessary after how great 3 was. There'd also been a couple of seasonal shorts they did for Halloween (Toy Story of Terror) and Christmas (Toy Story that Time Forgot) we enjoy returning to every year.
When 5 was announced, I was skeptical as I'd been for 4. As much as we love these characters, what's left for them to do to keep things fresh, interesting and overall fun?

The Taylor Swift effect

No surprise- the thing that tipped the scales for me was Taylor Swift getting involved. There'd been billboard sightings for months that Swifties had attributed to the soft-launch of the Taylor's Version of her debut album. I even heard whispers of her being the first person in a while to win an Grammy and OSCAR in the same year. I'm here thinking "wait, what do you mean Oscar? I know she did that song for the Cats movie everyone trashed"... but nope, they were talking about this. 
"I knew it, I knew you" played on the radio station at work the day it came out... unfortunately while my hearing is good enough to pick out that atrocious KPop Demon Hunters song from a mile away, I wasn't able to hear this song clearly other than it being Taylor's signature style. Including today, I've listened to it with full focus and zero distractions three times and at some point, I may have to purchase the mp3 so I have it readily at my fingertips. I'm also long overdue to purchase the other Midnights tracks that were only available digitally, but that's beside the point.

The point is Taylor got us to this movie. And we owe her a big thank you. It was a really fun movie with our favorite characters and the all-too-relatable emotions at its core. It brought back all the feelings we've had watching the previous movies and gave us some new things to ruminate on. 
Actually, the movie was so good I completely forgot until the credits that her song was in it. There's a post-credits scene or two but it's worth sticking around a few extra minutes for the charming animations that accompany her song. 
I haven't fully absorbed the song yet but I agree with all the comments- it definitely shares the same folklore with "Betty" and solid proof that her country roots are never too far behind. 
And the fact that "Karma" happened to be playing on the mall's PA system on our way to shop at JC Penney's afterwards... to borrow from another Midnights track, no way was that accidental...

Movie Discussion with potential spoilers

If you asked anyone who'd seen Toy Story, any of the movies, which moment stood out to them the most, their answer is likely to be one of two things. Either Andy's farewell at the end of Toy Story 3 or "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2.

Can I just say I'm so grateful that this movie only brought back that song's heartbreaking melody and none of Sarah McLachlan's vocals? There's numerous emotional moments in this movie, some hitting harder than others. If her voice came in singing any of it, I wouldn't be able to get through without crying hundreds of times. All of us still remember that first time hearing it and the gut punch that was in the movie.
It makes me all too happy to report that after the emotional rollercoaster Jessie has had throughout this franchise, she finally gets some much needed closure regarding Emily. It takes a long while to get there but the payoff... I won't give away exactly what but it was beautifully done. 

The much-hyped up central conflict of this movie was the whole Toys vs. Tech debate. How devices and screentime have taken over the lives of kids and teenagers. They do a really good job of making LilyPad a formidable enemy, including her not-so-subtle way of removing the toys from Bonnie's room so she can take over. 
But if there's one thing I've learned from this franchise, the baddie is never the first person you expect. Oftentimes, it's the last person you expect and when it comes out of nowhere and it hits you, it hits you. The two characters are extremely different and while I only have the first Inside Out to go by, Riley and Bonnie go through a lot of similar things. Struggling with the changes that come with growing up. 
Mind you, Inside Out had me sobbing almost through the entire movie. It was a lot- the twist at the end about how Sadness is just as valuable as an emotion as Joy helped make up for it in the end. But if we didn't have the toys in the spotlight doing their thing and this movie solely focused on Bonnie's struggles, it would've been a much sadder movie to get through. 

We saw a little of this in TS4 when the one "friend" she "made" was a talking spork she named Forky, but her difficulties making friends is still very much front and center. Her character is only 8 but it's hard not to see a little of myself in her. Making friends has never been one of my strong points... 
Toy Story 5 did a really good job of balancing all of the different emotions and showing off how many dimensions all of these characters have. Woody makes a reappearance to pitch after leaving at the end of the previous movie and he and Buzz Lightyear still have that great chemistry. But Jessie is clearly the star of this movie. Her with her trusty steed Bullseye and some new friends she meets along the way. 

Along with the main storyline, we also have a few interludes featuring a bunch of Buzz Lightyear toys. They emerge from a shipwrecked shipping container and get into various situations before intersecting with the main story. Let's just say they're full of surprises, which they should considering that they're the latest model of the toy.

Easily the highlight for me was the play aspect. Whenever the toys are played with in this series, the imagination of these kids is always a wonder to behold. My favorite was when Jessie is brought into playtime along with the early-gen devices she meets. I can't give away what happens but seeing the plot twists that play out and how much fun they are to watch... it reminds us all what attracted us to these movies in the first place. It brings that kid in us back to the surface. 

All that's left to say is if you're one of those people who skipped out on TS4 or have skepticism about coming back to this 30 year old franchise.... please reconsider. The proof is in the cinematic picture but if the behind-the-scenes special on ABC that aired a few weeks ago was any indication, the people at Pixar love what they do and it's reflected in their work. 
It still blows my mind to think that one of the writers was born the same year the original Toy Story came out... not because it makes me feel old but the fact that opportunity came and she was able to take it and make something amazing... it doesn't get much better than that.
Also, I can't remember the last time I watched any movie and was so absorbed that I didn't check to see how much time was left.

Grade: A (can't quite give it an A+... maybe 97 or 98 out 100... one storyline could've wrapped up a little bit sooner)

Trailers:

We need to stop getting to the theater so early because all of these ads and commercials are so annoying...

I know that Toy Story is technically a kids' movie but it was a little awkward having to sit through all these kiddie commercials.

Of course we had the trailer for Minions and Monsters and latest Paw Patrol movie.
And Moana again... hopefully our next time to the movies will be to see it because it still looks fun. 
At least to their credit, the minions trailer was funny. I have it in my notes as "death by Lego."

There's a new Spider-Man movie subtitled Brand New Day... I know I hadn't watched any of the new ones since Endgame. To the point I think I've flat-out refused to see this series without Tony Stark. But it feels like I definitely missed something because Peter didn't seem on familiar terms with Bruce Banner or Mary Jane. Is it a multi-verse thing or amnesia? No idea... but I don't really care enough to find out.

There's a teaser for Pixar's next movie, Gatto. Where it's two cats interrogating another and they all get distracted by the swinging lightbulb.
Hexed is another Disney movie coming out this fall. It's about a teenage girl who discovers she has magical powers and winds up in a magical world. I wonder how all of the die-hard Owl House fans feel about it, whether they'll support another Disney property about a magical world or they'll just bemoan the fact their beloved show was unceremoniously put out to pasture before its time. I didn't see much of that series but I saw enough that I did enjoy it and I feel bad for the fans for how it ended.
(I googled it- there is a thumbnail for a video connecting the two so yeah, it's still a sore spot)

The two non-Disney animated movies were Forgotten Island (which I still very much want to see in the fall) and Wildwood.
Wildwood, I'm still figuring out what it is. They say it's by the same people who brought us Coraline so it has to be magical but also a little creepy and weird. 

Ice Princess (2005)

Director: Tim Fywell
Writers: Meg Cabot (of "Princess Diaries" fame) and Hadley Davis (Scrubs, Spin City, Dawson's Creek)
Composer: Christophe Beck

Cast:
Casey Carlyle- Michelle Tratchenberg
Joan Carlyle- Joan Cusak
Tina Harwood- Kim Kattrall
Gen Harwood- Hayden Panettierre
Teddy "The Zambonie Driver" Harwood- Trevor Blumas
Nikki "The Jumping Shrimp" Fletcher- Kirsten Olson
Tiffany Lai- Jocelyn Lai
Zoey "Skater Thief" Bloch- Juliana Cannarozzo
Michelle Kwan & Brian Boitano as themselves (ESPN commentators)

Personal History

I don't know whether I first encountered this movie on Disney Channel or at Blockbuster. But Michelle Tratchenberg (aka "Harriet the Spy") attracted me to it initially. It was the first time I'd seen her since "Harriet the Spy" (another movie I loved as a kid, but hadn't seen all the way through in ages) and I wanted to catch up with her in this next role.
Since this movie, I believe she did "Entourage" for a couple shows and more or less disappeared. The last time I saw her was on "Hollywood Game Night." (Going through her bio, I do remember seeing her in "17 again" where she was Zac Efron's daughter).
I think I also wanted to see it because Hayden Panettierre played Kairi in "Kingdom Hearts" (I saw at least half a dozen Haley Joel Osment movies because he played Sora. I knew David Gallagher [who played Riku] from "7th Heaven" but hadn't seen him since I started playing the game).

And of course I love watching figure skating... which is the reason I ultimately watched this movie again [according to my Facebook timeline, it was Saturday 2/22/14... I remember it being a Saturday], got it on DVD and watched it the other night.

This is my way of kicking off the ISU Grand Prix series, which begins next week.

Originally, I was going to go through my history as an avid figure skating fan and how Evgeni Plushenko and the Sochi Olympics reawakened the fan in me...
but I decided it's better to focus on the movie.
I have another platform for all that craziness :P

Movie Discussion
"Ice Princess" is one of those sugary sweet predictable Disney movies... not that that's a bad thing. And at second glance, this movie is a few elements short of being a LifeTime movie. That's how dramatic it gets at certain points.

The movie revolves around science geek Casey Carlyle who has a knack for physics. Her teacher introduces a scholarship opportunity to her, which involves putting together a personal science project that involves physics. She's raised by a single mom and the two of them have spent years planning to get her into Harvard. It's that old cliché of "I want you to have a better life than I ever had." While it does from a place of love and good intentions, it also involves a lot of pressure about fulfilling expectations.

We get a similar storyline with one of our figure skaters and her mom/coach. Tina Harwood was a former athlete in the sport, but was banned from the sport after an incident at warm-up where it was believed she intentionally crashed into and injured another skater. She not only built a local skating rink from the ground, but she's also pushing her daughter, Gen, to become the champion she wasn't able to become. (By the time this ban was lifted, she was 26 and too old to compete... although these days, what constitutes as being "too old" is being challenged more often).

There is a lot of drama in this movie and had it been written any differently, it would have worked as a soap opera or made-for-TV movie. And it might not have been as fun or accessible as it became as a Disney movie.
The only feel-good cliché that's missing is Casey going on to win the final event of the movie... but she places well enough.

The fact that the story is co-written by Meg Cabot helps a lot. She wrote the Princess Diaries book series, so she understands how to write for teenagers for sure. As for parents... well... they're written as teenager see them, which is overbearing and expecting too much.

While Casey watches Sasha Cohen compete in the 2004 US National Championships, she has a lightbulb moment-- she can apply physics to figure skating.
She travels to the local rink and is able to convince Tina and the other skaters' parents to allow her to film them for her project.
And it really is an interesting idea that has some real-life applications to it. But as Casey says, the computer doesn't make the jumps. However much skaters train and replace bad habits with good ones, there's always room for error to creep in. Whether it's an equipment issue or a compromised mindset.

What ultimately gets the ball rolling that alters the lives of both mom-daughter teams... Casey's friend Ann suggests that she puts herself in the project to make it more personal. Casey had always skated for herself on the pond behind her house, but she'd never taken any lessons.
She enrolls in a novice class during the summer and steadily falls more and more in love with the sport to the point where she's competing.

When I saw the movie back in February 2014, I wanted to double-check a certain line of dialogue-- something about the importance of nailing the short program.
At first, Gen tells Casey not to freak until after the long program, but later she says you don't have a chance if you mess up in the short.
That situation wound up fitting Japan's Mao Osada at Sochi. She had a really bad showing in her short program and even though she nailed her free skate, the damage had already been done. Luckily for her, she was able to redeem herself a couple months later at the World championships. She's one of those skaters that is heralded as one of the best yet I'd only seen her perform well a handful of times. But when she's on her game, she is fantastic.

This time around, it was interesting to watch the girls doing all these jumps and being able to actually recognize what they were. I watched an YouTube video once where two athletes explained the difference between all the jumps... if I'm going to be watching the sport this much, I should learn to recognize what I'm looking at.
From a factual standpoint, the movie appears accurate to me. And these girls, whether or not it's the actresses or stunt-people making the jumps, are really talented.

Another thing I learned from this movie: you can't compete on new skates until you've spent at least 10 days breaking them in.
It was a turning point in the movie that I really didn't see as foul play until later on.

During a sectionals competition, Casey does an amazing short program, which included triples Tina and the skaters didn't know she had in her. Tina decides to take her out and get her new skates because one of them gave her trouble during her skate. On the surface, I still feel like she meant well by it, but the timing of it is pretty suspicious. Especially because Casey's mishap on the ice allowed Gen to get 4th place (just enough to qualify for regionals).

There are several times throughout the movie where Tina comes off as unlikeable. She may be harsh a lot of the time, but she is always honest with Casey, particularly about what she needs to succeed in this sport. You have to want it more than anything.

Although she does well with her scholarship project, she realizes, despite the mishaps between her and Tina, that she loves skating and doesn't want to give it up to fulfill her mom's dream for her.
This seemingly last minute decision to change the trajectory of her future puts a rift between them, but because this is a Disney movie, all the kinks get ironed out before the final curtain call.
This cliché of the parent seeing their kid perform their given talent and changing their mindset... I've seen it happen so many times.
It's just too bad that it doesn't always happen in real life [although here I'm thinking more about how some parents are unable to accept that their children are something other than heterosexual... while many do come around, there are several that do not and that leads to otherwise preventable suicides ] and it doesn't always happen in movies...
"Dead Poet's Society" is an amazing movie, but it's brought down by the fact Neil's parents can't accept him wanting to be an actor and his suicide is blamed on Mr. Keating just because he broadened his horizons and encouraged him to follow his own path. This is the only movie where I've seen this non-acceptance happen and I sometimes wonder if that's why this cliché exists in the first place.

I'm sorry that I'd been overly harsh with this post. But watching the movie the other day, I just had a lot of these thoughts coming out. Maybe because I know this movie isn't exactly brilliant and it's predictable so I wanted to be realistic for a  change.

I also want to add that I somehow doubt that Michelle Kwan and Brian Boitano, let alone ESPN, would cover a local junior figure skating event :P but of course we need to have some cameos by important figures in the sport.
To this day, Michelle Kwan is still very much celebrated and looked up to by her contemporaries and younger up-and-coming athletes. Brian Boitano on the other hand... I think more people are obsessed with his sexuality than his actual talent. Unlike Johnny Weir [half the people who know of him roll their eyes at his flamboyance and I'm part of the other half that adores him for his talent and his open/honest persona], I don't know if Brian is doing shows anymore. Last I heard, he had a Cooking Channel show...

and just like that I'm back to positive. As much as I love to be positive about things, every now and then, there's a need for brutal honesty to balance it all out.


...also forgot to mention it has some great music. The opening song is "No One" by Aly & AJ and after seeing this movie, I picked the album up for the first time in years and found another reason to fall back in love with these songs.
It also features "Set Me Free"- one of my favorite Michelle Branch songs.
"Ray of Light" by Madonna is the music for Casey's short program. IMDB notes a mistake that skaters cannot use lyrics in their competitive programs. This was a rule that was changed in 2014 and last I heard, Johnny Weir & Tara Lipniski still aren't fans of it. For me, it depends on the program and the skater. If lyrics enhance the program, I'm all for them. Otherwise, it's a distraction.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (book- 1999, movie- 2012)

Writer (book AND screenplay) /Director: Stephen Chbosky
Type: Coming-of-age high school dramedy

Cast:
Charlie- Logan Lerman
Charlie's mom- Kate Walsh
Charlie's dad- Dylan McDermott
Charlie's sister, Candace- Nina Dobrev
Sam- Emma Watson
Patrick- Ezra Miller
Brad- Johnny Simmons (young Neil from "Scott Pilgrim vs. the world")
Mary Elizabeth- Mae Whitman
Alice- Erin Wilhelmi
Aunt Helen- Melanie Lynskey
Dr. Burton- Joan Cusack
English teacher, Mr. Anderson- Paul Rudd

Personal Exposition- My Life as a Wallflower
Yet another topic that begs for an AA reference:
"Hi, my name is... and I'm a wallflower."

Other than my time participating in concert choir, high school musicals, that's probably the best way I could describe myself in high school. I was a wallflower... and I was okay with that. Most of this was to maintain my grades. Can't say that I'm a huge nerd because my grades were above-average (I believe I was 136/522) so I wasn't exactly among the best and brightest.
And the rest of it... I just have trouble making friends. I'm afraid to participate socially because when I was younger, I had a few experiences where I wanted to get involved and nobody wanted to hang out with me. Either because I was weird or they thought they were better than me.

Ultimately, that wound up defining a lot of my social life. I've had occasions where I made a friend or two, but a year later, they'd make other friends. People with stronger personalities that I didn't feel I could compete with for my former friend's attention. I got really lucky in middle school when I had classes with a couple of  the same people and things naturally worked themselves out.
But high school kinda felt like hell because, except for lunch period one year and concert choir, I never hung out with anybody. Just didn't have that confidence to put myself out there to form friendships.

Then in college, my junior year, a couple people started asking me to hang out with them... they were a bunch of weirdoes too and I couldn't imagine why they were interested in me. But after a while (can't remember if it was weeks or months), I took a chance simply because I was in no position to turn down friends.
(So I guess you could say that was my "Cady Heron meets the Plastics" moment).

It's a little trickier in the workplace... because I want to maintain the façade of professionalism, but I also don't want to come off as a snob or worse because I don't socialize. What I need to do, I think, is learn how to read people so I know which ones I can be gregarious with and which I can't.
I'm not sure if that makes me more of a wallflower or a people-pleaser. :P

Exposition

I'd seen this book on the shelves for a couple years, intrigued by the title. But I think I need the extra push from the fact it'd become a movie... I didn't get to see it until it came out on DVD (thanks a lot, Hollywood, and your stupid wide-release-only movies).

According to my Goodreads page, I read this within a month. But if I didn't pace myself, I could have done it within a day. It was the most compelling book I'd read in a long time.
The first one I devoured and connected with since "Twilight" (fall of 2008) and the first that affected me personally since "The Giver" (2000-2001)- where it stayed with me for weeks afterwards.

I guess you could call it divine intervention or perfect timing, but it was like this book was something I needed to read because it corresponded with something I was going through.
Or what I had been going through a while... periods of depression where it was hard for me to participate in my own life... being unemployed, putting all this energy into the application and interviews processes, and my efforts going unrewarded... [this went on between 2011-2013 and I finally got "the call" last March]

The Book
Spoilers Ahead for who we hadn't read or seen this book/movieThe book wound up being different than I pictured it would be. I thought it'd just be about a shy protagonist struggling to survive high school. I didn't know Charlie had a history of depression or that his best friend had committed suicide. Or had any idea about the troubling secret in his past that he'd just come to grips with.

This was a heavy book in a lot of places. I remember multiple times where Charlie talked about bursting into tears, crying and such. Some was warranted as were the periods of depression and loneliness he experienced. I've had those kinds of moments myself. But after a while, I started to feel self-conscious about him being so emotional all the time. All while hoping "please don't have this be a reoccurring thing in the movie."

The book had a lot of sex and drugs. Not that I'm totally vanilla about all that. I just never grew up around all that. At least not until college where half the population were smokers and some of my roommates frequented frat parties and such. Charlie recalled a situation he was in where he was at a party and walked in on a girl being forced to give a guy a blow job. His new friend Patrick was gay and had a complicated relationship with a football player. After his [football player's] father caught them together, Patrick started taking Charlie to a certain park where he'd pick up random guys. And his other friend Sam used to have a reputation- when she was a freshman, she got taken to a lot of parties, got drunk and such...

They don't sugar coat much in this book. It's realistic, but not to the point where it's overbearing.
I remember reading it was one of those books that got challenged by school systems. With all the sex and drugs, it's hard to imagine why that might be.
There was also another scene that stuck with me. Throughout the book, Charlie's sister was really mean to him. Her boyfriend hit her once and their parents found out later on. But there was a point where she asked Charlie to take her to the abortion clinic.
What shocked me most was that their parents never found out about it, and in a way, that's a good thing. For both parties.

Despite everything going on, how challenging some of it was to get through emotionally, it was a cathartic read. I loved that Charlie was an avid reader. His narratives read the way I often write. They meander, touching on multiple topics at once, and just going on forever. And I didn't get sick of it. Loved the way he talked about the book he read for class (and that Mr. Anderson gave him for additional reading).
Mr. Anderson was such a great character. Probably will go down as one of my favorite fictional teachers because he was very supportive of Charlie. I liked him so much that I was afraid that of some big reveal later on that would undo this amazing teacher-student relationship he and Charlie had.

All the characters were defined so well that you could either relate to them because you saw yourself in them or people you knew.

The Movie

Because I'd already read and loved the book, I really didn't need to worry about not liking the movie. I already knew Logan Lerman from the Percy Jackson series. Of course Emma Watson from the "Harry Potter" series. Nina Dobrev ("Vampire Diaries"), who didn't look anything like how I read the character in the book, played his older sister.

Overall, I was very pleased with it as a teen movie and also as a book-to-movie adaptation. A couple of scenes didn't make the cut. Most were for good reason (toned down the sexual content and Charlie only had one major breakdown scene, which was in the epic 3rd act climax... I write that as if it were a cliché, but I felt like it was handled very well). One scene I kinda missed was Charlie taking his sister to the abortion clinic because that was a great bonding scene for them. Luckily, that was available via the DVD extras.

I liked how it was approached as a dark comedy where it knew where to be light, but also to go very dark. And it did so without completely losing me. Certain movie overdo it with the drama and I never felt that here.
The tunnel scene is probably the most iconic in the book, where Charlie says "I feel infinite"... that was done so well... it was really something special.
All of the actors played their roles so well. Especially loved Ezra Miller as Patrick. I'd only seen him in one other movie since ("Beware the Gonzo"), but he was born to play this character. Nobody else could have made him so hilarious and also grounded and angsty.
I'd never seen "Parenthood," but I can't imagine anyone else playing Mary Elizabeth (the opinionated Buddhist vegan) except Mae Whitman.

With him playing so many idiots, it's good to see Paul Rudd play a nice straight character with a really good moral compass... my only nitpick was that Mr. Anderson wasn't in the movie nearly enough for my tastes :P

Great use of music throughout. I'd only heard "Asleep" by The Smiths one other time... and it was part of the "Sucker Punch" soundtrack. Personally, I still prefer Emily Browning's voice to those lyrics :shrug: but that's just me.
Using "Come on Eileen" at the homecoming dance was inspired... especially how it was like Charlie's soundtrack for when he approached the dance floor to meet up with Sam and Patrick... and that's saying a lot because I HATED this song. I still don't like it a whole lot (sounds like a bunch of hillbillies who can barely carry a note), but I can't help appreciating in this one instance.
Then David Bowie's "Heroes" for "The Tunnel" scene... powerful stuff... wow

Aunt Helen and Dr. Burton

As for comparing to the two mediums (book vs. movie), the movie did one thing that the book really didn't... it explained Aunt Helen's presence in Charlie's life, their relationship and how it contributed to him being [pardon the language] fucked him up.

Towards the end of the book, something happened in the 3rd act that resulted in Charlie being hospitalized... to me, it was very vague and never fully explained.

I literally had to read on Goodreads.com (where I posted my review of the book) that Aunt Helen molested him. Then other people commented how he psychologically exhibited those signs of abuse throughout the book- how it explained him being so emotional and such...

Not so much the fact that it happened to him, but I was frustrated that so many people picked up on this and I had no idea. Frankly, it made me feel like an idiot because to them, it was glaringly obvious.
In my personal defense, I had never experienced any of that and never personally knew anyone who experienced any of that... so how am I supposed to pick up on that?

I was also thrown off because Charlie kept saying Aunt Helen was his favorite person and he had nothing but good things to say about her. [Another thing that should be very obvious... that sense of shame and betrayal because it was at the hands of someone you really cared about and trusted].
And the way I read her character in the book, she read a lot older to me... someone as beautiful and young as Melanie Lynskey surely didn't come to mind. I expected someone much older with some gray-hair at least.

They were kinda vague about it in the movie too, but there was a bit of pay-off at the end. Where it was addressed. The breakdown scene begins where Charlie and Sam start kissing and she's rubbing his leg, startling him to the point where he stops... this image flashes on the screen multiple times and we see Aunt Helen's face intermingle where she says "don't wake your sister"...

Joan Cusack is in this movie only for a couple scenes as his doctor at the hospital. I loved her in this. She had such a comforting on-screen presence. One of those actresses I'd only see so much of, but enjoy being around them when they're doing their thing on screen. She was really good to Charlie where he was having difficulties. Definitely a quality over quantity type of deal.

Other Comments

Both medias have their give and take. I miss hearing Charlie's thought-provoking narratives, how he spoke about the books he read. The characters were represented well in both versions.
One negative I can derive is that we really didn't see much of his parents. Not a lot of interaction between them. I watched one of the deleted scenes and the writer/director talked about how great Kate Walsh was in it... I appreciated that she was good in the scene. I just wish the movie spent more time on her and his dad. I never fully connected with either of them.

This is one of those movies where, later on, I would like to see it with commentary. Just getting to know some of the actors more. Getting inside the director's head... it's amazing to me that the guy who wrote the book got to write the screenplay and direct the movie... it's so rare where writers have so much freedom with their material.
Apparently, John Hughes had bought the rights to it... but the movie got put on hold after his death. I read that it was Emma Watson's favorite book and I'd been under the impression she was the reason the movie happened at all. As much as I love John Hughes, I'm glad that this movie went to someone else. His work is great and I will love him forever for his Brat Pack movies, but something like this... I don't think it would have worked out quite as well with him behind the camera.

This movie was ultimately the reason I watched "Rocky Horror Picture Show" a couple years ago... I wanted to understand the whole phenomenon of it... I still don't quite get it :P but I'm still interested in giving it another go. Only next time, I'd like to watch with other people and preferably at an earlier hour so I don't FALL ASLEEP halfway through.
The last thing I remembered was the "Touch Me" musical number and I woke up halfway through the cabaret scene... I didn't know what the fuck was going on! Reading the synopsis later on, it said how they were coerced into it... I missed that entirely, so mentally, I wasn't engaged for the final 40 minutes.

I promise, I'm really good with weird :P but I'd like another chance to wrap my head around all that.

This is going to sound a little messed up, but I'll try to explain this:
This is one of those movies I like to watch when I'm going through something... where I'm feeling down on myself, lacking energy, PMSing or whatever reason... in an odd sort of way, it makes me feel better...
Not so much the "other people have it worse than you" cliché as the fact that it feels kinda good to explore things I'm feeling through these characters. It's healing :shrug:
That's all I can say, really... plus the fact I should see it with my friends, Sam and Dave, at one point so we can experience all those feels together :P

57. School of Rock (2003)

Code-name: Stevie Nicks

Type: Comedy, Music, Inspirational Teacher

Director: Richard Linklater

Musical Score: Craig Ledren

Cast:
Dewey Finn- Jack Black
Principal Rosalie "Roz" Mullins- Joan Cusack
Summer- Miranda Cosgrove
Zack- Joey Gaydos Jr.
Larry- Robert Tsai
Freddy- Kevin Alexander Clark
Katie- Rebecca Brown
Tomika- Maryam Hassan
Ned Schneebly- Mike White (who also wrote the screenplay, amazingly)
Patty Di Marco-Sarah Silverman

Golden Globe Nomination- Jack Black- Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical

Write-up:

First of all, I've made a horrible habit of disliking certain people in show business on the basis of one character they played.
However, I'm not entirely positive that the fact I can't stand Sarah Silverman began with this movie... but it certainly contributed.

It's funny that I was talking about "The Hangover" a few weeks ago because I found myself making comparisons while I watched this movie last night.
Firstly because Sarah Silverman was almost as bad as Rachel Harris in "The Hangover." They play the dominant force in the relationship and act as a source of conflict for the protagonist.

The other common link is the role of "lovable idiot" and who played it better: Jack Black or Zach Galifianakis.

Tread lightly, there be spoilers afoot

From the start of this movie, we know how much of an idiot Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is. He's a deluded man-child who's part of a rock band... and after the gig we see in its opening moments, he's kicked out. Clearly, he's acting the part (or what he believes the part entails, between the crazy antics, making faces and "20 minute guitar solos"), but he doesn't appear to have any legit musical talent.

He's also a free-loader living with his brother Ned (Mike White) and his brother's girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman)... according to Dewey, his brother had no problem with him living rent-free before he started dating Patty. Now she wants him out of the apartment, under the impression Ned is letting him "walk all over him."
How I LOATHE the irony of her opinion... she's the one he's letting walk all over him...

Unfortunately, she does have kind of a point...

After being kicked out of No Vacancy and Patty threatening him with eviction, Dewey takes the next opportunity that comes up and runs with it:
He takes down a phone message for his brother, who is wanted to substitute at Horace Green Prep school. When he hears about the pay, Dewey assumes his brother's name and takes the "gig" in his brother's place.

Being the slacker he is, he goes through the motions, letting the kids have recess while he's nursing hangovers.
All of that changes when he hears them in music class and has a "light bulb" moment.

Dewey wants to live out his rock n' roll fantasies AND get back at his band for kicking him out.
Say what you will about our unreliable protagonist, he does know his stuff when it comes to rock music. Except I don't believe as he does that they deliberately write music that make no sense and put all their energy into rocking as loud as they can.
My knowledge of classic rock goes as far as I know who Pink Floyd, Led Zepplein and Jimi Hendrix are, but I don't know many of their songs or their histories.

Dewey puts together the band, telling the kids it's for a school project where all the other schools will be competing against each other.

At its core, the players include:
Zack Attack on Guitar
Larry (aka "Mr. Cool") on keyboards
Patty on bass
Freddy "Spazzy McGree" on drums
Blondie, Alicia & Tomika on back-up vocals

and of course, Dewey on lead guitar and vocals  :roll:

Miranda Cosgrove (who I knew as the Nickelodeon star who got her start on "Drake & Josh" and got her own show "iCarly"... I stopped watching new Nickelodeon shows around that point) plays Summer, the pet's teacher who tries to tell Dewey how he should teach them... he then appoints her as band manager...
She does play the part pretty well, admittedly (nowadays, I know her better as Margo from "Despicable Me").

While watching this, there are tons of moments where I was thinking: this could only happen in the movies.
It's the only place you will find an idiot who means well, actually knows what they're talking about in a given area and somehow, against all odds, they come out on top... not to mention escape incarceration, lol, considering a couple of laws that he breaks... all for the sake of rock n' roll and "sticking it to the man"

Despite all that, he really is great with all these kids. When they're unsure about their part in the band, he talks them back into it and gives them great advice. That's probably the biggest thing I love about this movie.
I wouldn't necessarily rank Dewey Finn among my top "inspirational movie teachers" (one of my favorite archetypes in movies, btw), but he does help the kids quite a bit. Most of them come from really rich families and don't let them cut loose and be kids.

One of my favorite scenes is where Dewey gives the kids a rock album for homework, catering to each of their given talents.
"Blondie" got Blondie
Larry got Yes ("listen to the keyboards in 'Roundabout'")
Freddy got Rush's 2112 album
Zack got Jimmy Hendrix
after Tomika expressed her desire to sing (great voice, Dewey compared her to Aretha in a future pep talk because she was unsure someone as heavy as her could sing), he gave her Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon ("vocal solo in 'Great gig in the sky'")

I've heard of all these bands and I have heard some of Blondie & Yes... I should get on the rest of them to see what he was drawing reference to.

The next obstacle: getting Principal Mullins to loosen up and allow him to take them on a field trip (which is really the "battle of the bands")...
When she's stressing out about the upcoming parents' night, the faculty tells Dewey about one time she got drunk at the Alumni dinner and did a great Stevie Nicks impression...

The reason why it's my code-name for this particular movie.
Dewey takes her out for a couple beers after work and gets her bopping to "The Edge of Seventeen" while selling her on his idea.

Stevie Nicks is also someone who I've found more reasons to love as the years have gone by. It started with that song and extended to her work with Fleetwood Mac. She's one of my favorite female voices to listen to... I also love how she wrote "Stand Back" after being inspired by Prince's "Little Red Corvette" and he actually came into the studio to play keyboards on the track.

There's also a great reference to Sheila E., who played drums for Prince but had a great career in her own right before and after she worked with him...
Katie said to Freddy how she's an amazing drummer and "she's a better drummer than you."...he reminds me a little of Draco Malfoy because he plays the tough guy of the group. (There's also another kid in the class who looks like Crabbe from Harry Potter)

Sure enough, the truth does catch up with Dewey on Parents' Night.
He just about survives the barrage of questions the parents are giving him about their exposure to rock music... when the bitch calls the cops and ruins everything.

Ned and Patty find out that Dewey took his teaching job... Patty has every right to be concerned that Dewey assuming Ned's identity will ruin his credibility and career... but her timing is TERRIBLE.
Heck, when the cop shows up at the school, the circumstances make he look/sound like a pedophile... not to mention insane.

What's really insane is the fact Dewey evades arrest... and returns to his apartment... don't you think that's the first place the cops are gonna look for you?

But this is a movie and not all the pieces are supposed to line up. That's what makes it fun. Especially the fact the kids know where he lives and convince him to come to the competition with them.... the fact that the kids are still talking to him at this point is amazing in itself.

The biggest difference between Jack Black and Zach Galifiankis in the two movies...
Allen Gardner is always going to be an idiot, but he's endearing all the same because he's actually intelligent in a backwards sort of way.

Dewey Finn actually learns something and becomes a better person for it. He made just as much an impact on the kids as they had on him. In most other cases, the character arc of the teacher doesn't change nearly as much as the kids they're teaching.

At the end of the day, you can't help but be grateful that the power of rock magically makes everything okay between Dewey and the kids and the kids and their parents...
and it results In him starting an afterschool program where he teaches music theory and rock appreciation from 3 to 6.

And for the record, the School of Rock does not win the battle of the bands... No Vacancy still won, but School of Rock won because the entire audience demanded an encore performance. Now that's powerful! 8-)