The story is a simple one, and in lesser hands could have been a dull saccharine concoction. Essentially Finn is fired by his band and threatened with eviction, when he picks up a call about a temping job at a top school. One small problem that he brushes aside is that the job is for is room mate Ned Schneebly (who is played by the films screenwriter Mike White), a qualified temp, not a failed rocker. Masquerading under Schneebly’s identity, Finn takes the job and ignoring mainstream curriculum, he transforms the ten-year old offspring of America’s upper class into hard rocking band members entering The Battle of the Bands competition.
The reviews have not all been positive though. Josh Gilchrist of The Guardian claimed that ‘It’s nothing more than hawkeyed tripe we’d expect from the likes of some Disney film, with way too much sugar’. That is however unnecessarily harsh. Throughout there is a rock style edge to both the music and the action. The perfect casting of Black, White and Cusack lifts its way above the average for this genre. As US critic Robert Ebert dubbed it as, 'the first kid movie that parents will like more than their children.’ In fact the film can be watched at several levels as most great films can. Not only is there in the enormous fun of the music and the children’s journey but is also a strong subtext about what it is that really matters in life. Children can dream of being a rock star, and adult have their assumptions challenged.
The cost of the film was reported to have been around $20m which is nothing when compared to the substantial return of $80m, according to dvdmg.com. What also makes this solidly mainstream hit remarkable is the impeccable indie pedigree of its creators. Written by Mike White, the script contains echoes of Sundance- feted Jennifer Aniston feature the Good Girl. Richard Linklater first discovered his talent with the cult hit Slacker. Recently he has directed ‘Tape’ and ‘Waking Life’.
A key triumph was persuading Led Zeppelin to allow them to use their classic ‘Immigrant song’ as part of the films essential non-diegetic sound. However, having a past history of not allowing people to use their songs, Linklater turned to Black as his last hope for mighty non-diegetic sound. Black sent in a film of him pleading using his clever antics and hard core rock fan credentials, which was evidently persuasive enough. And as prayed by black in the film ‘God of rock thank you for this chance to kick ass. Give us the power to blow people’s minds with our high voltage rock.’ They certainly have achieved that.
Debbie Shackleton
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