Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)

Director: Stephen Herek (also directed "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure")
Writer: Patrick Sheane Duncan
Composer: Michael Kaman (also did music for the "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" franchises)

Cast:
Glenn Holland- Richard Dreyfuss
Iris Holland- Glenne Headley (RIP 2017)
Coltrane "Cole" Holland- Nicholas John Renner (age 6)/Joseph Anderson (age 15)/Anthony Natale (age 28)
Coach Meister- Jay Thomas (RIP 2017)
Principal Jacobs- Olympia Dukakis
Vice Principal Wolters- William H. Macy
Notable Students
Louis Russ- Terrence Howard
Gertrude Lang- Alicia Witt/Joanne Gleason (adult) Hall
Rowena Morgan- Jean Louisa Kelly
Bobby Tidd- Damon Whitaker/Forrest Whitaker (adult) 

Award Nominations:
OSCAR- Best Actor- Richard Dreyfuss (lost to Nicholas Cage for "Leaving Las Vegas")
Golden Globe- Best Actor- Richard Dreyfuss (lost to Nicholas Cage)
Golden Globe- Best Screenplay- Patrick Sheane Duncan (lost to "Sense & Sensibility")

Write-up:

Introductory Notes

I really need to get more in the habit of using this blog more often... there have been a few movies I've rewatched lately that I hadn't written about previously that I'd like to make time for. 

This is one of them. I watched a couple of weeks ago and I figured there were enough talking points and things I picked up for the first time that i don't want to wait too long to write anything. 

Why I love this movie-- first off, it's one of those inspirational teacher films I'm just a big sucker for. I don't know what it is, but I enjoy them so much. It's a subgenre I realized I liked and decided to see as much as I could. Kinda like how I had to see all the Brat Pack/John Hughes movies because I liked "The Breakfast Club" and "Ferris Bueller" so much... none of the other ones I'd seen, I liked nearly as much, but at some point, I'll get around to writing about "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink" and "St. Elmo's Fire." 
I think this was in the running for my top 100 movies, but maybe I wanted to get a little more variety so I didn't... watching it again, I don't know what I was thinking passing it over.

Also- I checked out the nominations that it got and couldn't believe it didn't win anything. Richard Dreyfuss did win an Oscar another role, but still... he was AMAZING in this movie. Plus, he got passed over for NIcholas Cage... not to knock Nicholas Cage, but somehow I doubt "Leaving Las Vegas" left nearly this much of an impact. I think the only reason he won over him was because he's a Coppola and the results were fixed in his favor.
And the Screenplay thing... Sense & Sensibility is an old classic remake dozens of times. Why not give it to something brand new that its likes won't be seen again? I just don't get it...

Another big reason I like this movie... it's about music and it's a time capsule of past decades. Makes you think about how much times have changed. 
Sadly, music and arts programs are suffering more cuts as the years go by. My thoughts in complete sarcasm: "God forbid the school cut any major sports programs :cough: football :cough:" 

Me randomly gushing about bits of trivia I found out and also actors I discovered had been in other things I'd seen...

One cool thing I found in the trivia: Michael Kaman (whose name I did recognize from the "Die Hard" credits... I maintain so much random trivia, it's ridiculous) was so inspired by working on this movie that he actually started a non-profit to donate musical instruments to underpriviledged children. We need more people like him in the world.

For other things I'd picked up... I'm one of those people who recognizes faces, even if they have the smallest roles, and I look it up on imdb to see if my instincts are right. The first few times, I remember recognizing Terrence Howard and Forrest Whittaker... funny thing I discovered today: in high school, the character was portrayed by Damon Whittaker and as an adult he was played by Forrest- who's 9 years older than Damon. The two of them look so identical, it's crazy.
This time, my mind was blown over the adult version of Gertude Lang who appears in the last scene of the movie, which is a big reunion scene where Mr. Holland receives a tribute from all of his former students who'd since graduated. She looked so familiar to me, so I looked her up. Her name was written as Joanna Gleeson. To me, Gleeson makes me think of Brenden Gleeson who played Mad-Eye Moody and I'm thinking "she's not a ginger, so she can't be related to him"... her maiden name is Joanna Hall. I looked through her credits and had a huge ah-ha moment. She played the Baker's Wife in the "Into the Woods" production where Bernadette Peters played The Witch-- also she won a Tony for that role. She's also been married to Chris Sarandon since 1994. Anyway, long rant over... I love that production so much and it's cool to see her in a different capacity. 

Back to the Movie at hand...

I gotta stop gushing and actually talk about the movie... SPOILERS will follow immediately...


The essential story is that Mr. Holland is a struggling musician who wants to one day be remembered for writing one epic song- hence the titular opus. 
But to make ends meet, he needs to take a teaching position. In his words, he said he got a teaching degree to fall back on, but never expected that he'd need to use it. In his case, he teaches musical theory and appreciation as well as instructing his band how to play their instruments. 
The movie follows him from when he starts in 1965 all the way to 1995... when the school decides they need to cut the entire music program to save money. There'd been talk of budgets and saving money throughout the money and certain things that take place are a direct result of that. There are a couple instances of irony displayed in the money and this is one of them. Naturally, he ends up falling in love with this position and sorry to have to leave it. But he isn't just fighting for his job in the final moments- he's fighting for the future of youth and how they need their minds enriched by music and the arts. 

Another irony manifests in his family and becomes a major plot point. 
There are a lot of compliments about how people with disabilities are cast in movies. A popular one is why characters confined to wheelchairs are portrayed by actors who can walk. And shows like "Speechless" were revolutionary because they had characters with cerberal palsy that were played by people with that condition (kinda sad that was cancelled- I saw it once a few times, but each time I really enjoyed watching it).
The irony how Mr. Holland loves music and lives for it... but when he and his wife have a kid, they discover later on that he's deaf. All of the actors who played Cole as well as the people in the school he went to, they were portrayed by deaf actors. 
None of the other actors went on to do anything major except Anthony Natale, who played the oldest incarnation of Cole Holland. This was an interesting find even though I never watched the series. "Switched at Birth" had characters that were deaf and he was a production assistant on the show, so his knowledge from living with this condition helped make that show more authentic. 

It's a big shock when the Hollands find out that Cole is deaf. Probably more to Mr. than Mrs., devestated that Cole will never be able to appreciate music the same way he does. The scenes where the two of them are struggling with how to deal with his deafness are a little difficult to watch and they still turn my stomach to this day, but this is something that happens in real life that a lot of people struggle with. Having that dose of reality shown so well is great. 
One of few complaints I have about the movie-- there's the 4th of July parade scene where Mr. Holland is leading the marching band and it's this big epic thing. The parade has a fire engine that sounds its horn and everyone is covering their ears and Iris checks on Cole to find that he's sleeping through it. Something about how this one scene is portrayed doesn't work for me. This movie takes place, presumably, in a small town and I assume they have this parade every year. They should know about the fire engines in the parade and not be so shocked by it making noise... and they shouldn't have brought their kids to the parade if they wouldn't handle the loud noises. But when the camera slows down to show Cole asleep in his stroller... the first time I saw it, I didn't understand why this was so dramatic where Iris was taken aback about it. When his diagnosis is revealed, it makes sense, but without knowing what to expect, I thought the problem was that he'd suddenly died. That's what scared the hell out of me about that scene. (Plus, I also have an aversion to incessant sirens... when I was younger, but also a couple years ago at a beach where a distant fire engine blared for what had to have been 5 minutes straight and I was so freaked out long after it stopped that I couldn't wait to leave). But what made her immediately think he couldn't hear it? Was so crazy to consider that he slept through it? I mean, the chances are slim to none, but still... it was almost dramatic how that was orchestrated. 

A major part of the movie is Mr. Holland dealing with Cole's deafness and coping with it. When first diagnosed, the first person they saw told them how Cole will use gestures to attempt to communicate and not to use them back because they won't help him in the hearing world. Iris insists after an episode that they need to enroll him in a school for the hearing because she needs to be able to talk to him. She also makes a comment that that first guy was an idiot because he thought of deaf people as mentally handicapped. I never really thought about it like that. I thought the guy meant that the gestures he'd try to use were incorrect because he hadn't been taught properly yet. 
But yeah, I think back in the 60's, people with deafness really weren't understood or appreciated the way they are now, so it had to have been realy difficult. 
Of course, Mr. Holland throws himself into teaching, so he doesn't really spend a lot of time with his own family and doesn't know how to communicate with his son well. 
One significant moment is 1980 after John Lennon was killed. He's very upset about it, but doesn't think Cole will be able to because he can't hear music. They have an argument (with Iris translating) where a lot of frustration boils to the surface. Cole tells him how he must think he's stupid because he doesnt know who John Lennon is or what music is and he could teach him what music is like, but won't. 

Personally, this was the first time I'd heard about John Lennon being killed. My knowledge about The Beatles was very limited at the time. It still isn't great, but I do know a lot more than I used to. Somehow, that was the one scene I always remembered. And later in the movie, at Christmas time, Cole put on some records and sat on one of the speakers and his parents came down the staircase to find him chilling to the music. Even if he only picks up the vibration of it, that was kinda cool. 
Mr. Holland later conducts at a concert that has people from the school of the deaf in the audience and he incorporated flashing colored lights in the show to make them a part of it. And of course he does a tribute to Cole, singing and signing "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon. He prefaces this by saying the deaf in the audience will be thankful they won't be able to hear him sing it. Yeah, he doesn't have the best voice, admittedly... 

One major part in all of these inspirational teacher movies is how the teachers impact their students. The movie begins with the principal giving him a hard time for not giving 110% to his students and how she'd never seen a teacher break for the doors at the end of the day with as much gusto as his students. 
Then he starts to make an impact. Teaching Gertude how to play the sunset on her clarinet. Helping Louis Russ find the beat. Encouraging Rowena to aim high and go for her dreams.

One reason I wanted to watch this movie came from Rowena's story arc. He casts her in the school play where they're doing a Gershwin revue. In other words, a lot of classics. I don't know what is about this song, but this movie and the 2009 Fame remake- "Someone to Watch Over Me" is performed by someone in the movie and the teacher always asks them what they think the song is about because they don't seem to be singing it from the right perspective. 
Don't know why, but that song came to mind a lot for me a few weeks ago and I guess I wanted to revisit it. Rowena was singing it with a smile on her face, but after Mr. Holland explains what the song is about, she loses the smile and starts to put her heart in it. 
That's why I liked Harry Connick Jr. as an American Idol judge- he was more honest than the judges on the show had been in quite some time. And he always asks the contestants what they think the songs are about because that is essential to giving a good authentic performance. 
Taking current events into account, there was a storyline here that could have derailed this whole movie. It's hinted at that Rowena has a crush on him and even asks him to run off to NYC with her. He even names a song he's writing for her. If anyone heard about any of this, they would have launched an investigation and had him fired even though he was innocent.

The final scene where all of the students come together to wish him well and he gets to perform his opus with former students in the band... that's a great scene.
I know this is a fictional story, but I always groan that the movie ends with the performance and fades to black... because I want to know what happened to the other characters. What does Mr. Holland go on to do after he loses his job? Cole is doing well at a school for the deaf, where I think he is teaching. But I feel like other story arcs need to be concluded. Maybe that's just me wanting more. 

It's cool seeing the years go by and seeing the newsreels showing current events. But I almost feel like they skipped over too much time. We go from 1965 to 1970 to 1980 to 1995. I didnt think to calculate how much screentime is spent in each time period, but we really didn't get to see much of the 80's. It's also cool to see the fashion change from decade to decade. It starts with the girls wearing skirts and the teachers being adverse to Mr. Holland using rock music to demonstrate his points to skateboards and boomboxes. 

Speaking from personal experience, music has always been a big thing in my life. With my own music teachers, I remember my music teacher in elementary school having to travel to classrooms because of budget cuts that caused him to lose his classroom. It's been a long time, but I don't remember much about his teaching style, but he was a fun teacher. 
I went back to music in high school with concert choir. I also participated in all of the musicals with a company... I never got cast in any of the roles, something I'm still bitter about because they always went to the same people. As talented as they are and how much I admire them, I still kinda hate the favoritism, even if they were the best for the role. I really liked Ms. Cloak and gave a lot of effort in class. But it was annoying how everyone else, except the lead actors in the shows, treated it like study hall and would spend a lot of time talking when we need to be rehearsing. There was one year where it was the winter concert coming up and we still had a lot of rehearsing to do and she was very upset with the class for talking so much and saying we aren't even cloes to being ready for the show. 
Admittedly our drama class kinda turned into study hall after a while too, but it sucks being in class with people who don't really care to put in a full effort. 

Makes me think about one scene early in the movie where he's grading tests and the scores are terrible and he reads some of the "best" answers aloud. So it does take a little effort on both sides and trying to meet each other on the same level to really make progress. And obviously a lot of progress is made. 

52. Freedom Writers (2007)

Code-name: Gruwell

Writer/Director: Richard LaGravenese
Type: Inspirational Teacher, Drama, High School

Cast:
Ms. Erin Gruwell- Hilary Swank
Scott- Patrick Dempsey
Erin's father- Scott Glenn
Dept. Head Margaret Campbell- Imelda Stanton
Superintendent Dr. Cohn-
Eva- April L. Hernandez
Marcus- Jason Finn
Ben- Hunter Parrish
Andre- Mario
Sindy- Jacyln Ngan
Jamal- Deance Wyatt
Victoria- Giovannie Samuels
Miep Gies- Pat Carroll

Write-up:

"In a World.." says the epic movie trailer voiceover guy

My interest in this movie began with the very first trailer. I remember that it came out Spring of 2007 and right away, I pegged it for best picture and further Oscar contention...

Why that didn't happen, I still don't understand.
..this was before I learned that the majority of Oscar contenders don't premiere until the end of the year...

Of all my "inspirational teacher" movies, this is my favorite and the one I wanted to represent the genre on my countdown.

The Premise

The movie begins with newsreels from the 1992 Rodney King riots in Long Beach, California. After they came and went, racial tensions escalated in the region to the point where if it had a pressure dial, it would be pushing critical mass.

Through the eyes of a few high school kids, we see how the Latinos, Asians, Blacks and Whites see each other and constantly get into violent altercations. Heck, even life in your own circle isn't free of violence.

Enter first-year teacher, Erin Gruwell. She gets a job at Woodrow Wilson High School. It once was known as one of the most prestigious schools in the region. Now it's a reform school serving as hub for voluntary integration. Most of the kids enrolled are as an alternative to juvenile hall or jail.
Both the Head of the Department, Margaret Campbell and the Distinguished Honors/Juniors/Seniors Teacher caution her against being optimistic and urge her to put in her time and move on.

The first several days are rough for Ms. Gruwell. When her students aren't getting into scrapes with one another, they're apathetic and idle in their studies.

What starts to change all that is a caricature of a classmate that's passed around the room. Jamal, who'd been one of the most vocal students, suffers in silence when the picture makes its way to his desk. It depicts him with big lips.
Ms. Gruwell turns it into a lesson, citing the Holocaust and how a "gang" in Europe wiped out people they didn't like and took over countries. She then realizes an even bigger problem with the system when she finds out nobody in the class knew what the Holocaust was.

As the story progresses, she helps them to see the similarities in each other and they come together as a tight-knit family.
But not without opposition from her fellow teachers and her personal life coming under fire.

The Players

Before I saw the trailer, I hadn't been a fan of HIlary Swank... on the mere fact that she won Oscars two years in a row, and "Millionaire Dollar Baby" sounds like a stupid title for a boxing movie. Never saw a single movie of hers.
Then all that changed when I saw "Freedom Writers." I cannot imagine anyone else playing this role and giving all of themselves to it.

A movie this powerful in its message and execution, everyone practically embodies their roles. According to the DVD extras, some of them had even experienced similar circumstances to what their characters went through.

On the other side of the coin, I'd only just gotten over enduring Imelda Stanton as Dolores Umbridge in the latest "Harry Potter" movie... she's equally infuriating as Ms. Gruwell's biggest opposition in this film. Sure, if you look at things from her perspective, you get why she is the way she is... but the fact that she doesn't give an inch the entire movie. There's no great epiphany where she accepts she was wrong.
I just want to scream right now thinking about it. Class-A Bitch!

Luckily for Ms. Gruwell, she got the support of a superintendent to help her cause.

And while on the negative side of things, movies like these are the reason I'm not a huge fan of Patrick Dempsey. He's incredibly good-looking man, no doubt about that, but I rarely like anyone he plays. I'd never seen "Grey's Anatomy," nor do I plan on it. He was an even bigger jerk in "Valentine's Day." Keeping Jennifer Garner as his girlfriend on the side while he's still happily married?! Jerk!
All I have in the positive column are "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Enchanted," where he grows from a bit of a jerk to a really good guy... and possibly "Sweet Home Alabama," but I only saw it once years ago.

As for the kids themselves, I listed the more oft-featured characters in the cast.

Eva (pronounced as "Ava") is Latina. There was a deadly shooting outside her door when she was a kid and her father, who was innocent, was implicated in the murder and sentenced to prison.
She's also a witness to a drive-by shooting at a convenience store. Her friend, Paco, was the shooter, but instead, a black teen was arrested.

Marcus is black. There was an incident where he was sitting on a bench with his friend who accidentally shot himself with a gun he found. When the cops came, Marcus was deemed responsible. His mom had kicked him out of the house, also in part because he looks a lot like his father.

Ben is the only white guy in the entire class and obviously, he's very nervous about these circumstances. He's there primarily because he's not among the brightest kids.

Sindy is Cambodian. Her friend was killed in the convenience store shooting. She and Eva are seen getting into scrapes in a couple scenes.

Erin's father also becomes involved in her efforts with these kids. Early in the movie, he's pessimistic about what she'll able to accomplish. This has her confused because "he was Atticus Finch when I was a kid" and his involvement in Civil Rights inspired her to get involved in this line of work in the first place.
But unlike the other administers, he gets to know these kids and becomes just as great a help to them.

Going Beyond the Material

Let the Spoilers Commence!

 

First of all, I don't know why I'm so in love with this particular movie genre. I grew up in a great neighborhood, went to a great school, and got good grades. From a physical standpoint, I'm white, female, and painfully average. But I didn't have a lot of friends and didn't really fit in anywhere on the student food chain... let's just say I don't have a lot of fond memories.

 

Second of all, I've personally never had an "inspirational teacher," certainly not a single one that changed my entire life the way it happens with kids in the movies. I liked most of my teachers, but there was never a dramatic turn-around. Not that I really need quote-un-quote "saving" or "changing"... I just wish someone that taught me helped give me a sense of direction, something specific.

Right now, the only stand-out that comes to mind was my concert choir teacher, Ms. Cloak, because she said a few times how she liked how much I gave to doing the work in the class. I never got a solo or a part in any of the musicals, but she knew I gave my 110% as an individual. Admittedly, there were a few opportunities where I could have stepped into a leadership role to get people to stop talking and focus on learning the material...

 

There'll come a time where I'll dedicate an entire entry to my favorite "inspirational teachers" but for now, I'll just say that Mr. Keating, Mr. Holland, Mr. Hunterd and Ms. Gruwell (heck, even Mr. Feeney deserves a mention) were some of the teachers I wish I had in high school, but on screen, they'd taught me a lot of things.

 

Maybe I'm just a sucker (yes, I'm a sucker for a lot of things... don't judge :-P) for the impact they have on people and how they're remembered for the rest of their lives for it.

 

Still very much a hot button today, this movie's prime focus is on racism and prejudices and how education and acceptance can help overcome it.

Speaking from personal experience, I didn't grow up around a lot of minorities so when it came to the 2-3 African-American individuals I had per classroom, I was ill-at-ease because we looked so different. I didn't take it beyond physical appearance in making assumptions about them just because they were black.

 

My attitude about race started to change when I was a teenager, right around the time I glimpsed "Purple Rain" for the first time and Eddie Murphy was in a lot of my favorite movies... since then, I've gotten better about keeping an open mind, whether the topic is racisim, addiction or homosexuality. So many people go through life judging people based on what they deem to be social norms... I'll leave the judgements to everyone else.

But if you go out of your way to be notorious and jerk-ish, that's where I draw the line (Charlie Sheen, Miley Cyrus, and Chris Brown come to my mind).

 

While editorializing this, I can't help but wonder the other day how it would have went if this took place more recently... and there were a few Muslims in the classroom... and they did the Holocaust discussion.

Muslims are under the impression the Holocaust never happened.

It's hard to predict how things would have unfolded, had it happened that way, but it'd be really hard to condense that into a two-hour movie.

 

One cliché (that happens to have a lot of truth to it) in these movies is when the teachers get wholly involved with their students, their personal lives take a downturn. It happened with Mr. Holland, who wasn't helping his wife with their deaf son, Cole.

It also happened with Ms. Gruwell. Her husband left her close to the end of the movie... it could be for a number of reasons. She took two extra jobs to pay for supplies because the school refused to give her students access to new books and such. She took them on a lot of class trips and got home late. And he was also dissatisfied with the fact she was the bread-winner of the house. She tries to encourage him to go back to architecture and fulfill his potential, but he dismisses her, insisting he's surpassed his potential.

 

Like with Margaret Campbell, I can see things from his perspective and understand it... but on the surface, he came off to me as a man who hated being emasculated by his more successful wife. He even said "I can't be your wife" at one point... jerk.

 

One interesting scene that should be noted involves a late enrollee, Victoria. She's in the Distinguished Honors program and the teacher asked her to give the black perspective of "The Color Purple". Her mental dialogue hit the nail on the head.

"Do I have a sign on my forehead that says I'm a Rosetta Stone for African-Americans?"

Then the teacher got all bent out of shape, believing that Ms. Gruwell "stole" Victoria from his class... another jerk.

 

Turn-arounds and Resolutions

 

During the spring semester, the students were assigned Anne Frank's diary. While mulling over what to say at the trial, Eva becomes engrossed in the story and her relationship with Ms. Gruwell improves.

Then she gets to the end and flips the HELL out, upset that she died at the end and says it doesn't help her situation. Marcus is in the classroom, listening to this tirade and gives his own take on it. He also says he'd done research on Miep Gies because he thought she was a real hero for hiding the Franks and the VanPelts. This blossoms into a movement where the students write her letters and raise money to bring her to the school.

 

That was probably the most powerful moment in the entire movie. Miep wasn't playing herself obviously, but Pat Carroll did her amazing justice.

After learning about the Holocaust and such, I'd wonder every now and then if Miep was still alive and sure enough, she had been for quite some time. She passed away in early 2010 at the age of 100... just WOW!

 

When the trial finally arrives, Eva has a change of heart and decides to tell the truth. That her friend, Paco, was the shooter. Unfortunately, her community threatened and turned their back on her as a result. Lucky for her, she has Ms. Gruwell to talk to about it. This also allows her and Sindy to finally put their differences aside and become friends.

 

Andre also faces difficulty in his family. After reading "`12 Angry Men," he believed his brother would be able to escape a trip to prison. It didn't work out that way.

 

One point I must disagree with is where his mental dialogue said "there was no O.J. dream team"... we all know for a fact that O.J. got away with murder, yet the blacks still herald him as a hero.

At the same time, though, I believe George Zimmerman should have been convicted of murder, Al Sharpton shouldn't make EVERY discretion involving blacks about racism and I forgave Michael Vick's dog fighting after he signed with the Eagles. Sure, it goes against my principles as an animal lover, despite the fact he's atoned for what he did, but as a denizen of a Philly surburb, I'm desperate for an Eagles SuperBowl win in my lifetime... no matter who it is as long as they get that done.

 

I haven't completely swept hypocrisy out of my life, but I'm working on it.

 

Last but not least, the students adopted the new "Freedom Writers" in homage to the Freedom Riders, a group of black and whites that traveled on a bus through the country to pledge for tolerance during the Civil Rights movement.

And they put their journals together into a book... which this movie was based off of.

 

The Source Material

 

Shortly before I went away to my senior year of college, I picked up a copy of the book (at the same time as "Twilight"). It really is eye-opening, all the stuff in its pages. Some points, you can see certain characters coming to mind. Other times, it's about stuff getting heavier and heavier. Everything from domestic violence, drugs, hazing, incest and, if I remember right, pregnancy came up as well.

 

It was broken into chapters, each representing a semester. Ms. Gruwell wrote the opening of each chapter and the rest came from the students, all writing their entries anonymously. I'd absolutely recommend picking up a copy, if only to borrow from the library. It goes beyond the scope of the film and sometimes, that's a good thing.

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-)