School of Rock: Critic Reviews

Black is still a happy geek in perpetual overdrive, only now he draws on his musical skill, and his hipster shamelessness, to deliver the acting equivalent of a perfect power chord crunched with a demon smile.

A very funny for-kids-of-all-ages delight that should catapult Mr. Black straight to the top of the A-list of Hollywood funnymen.

Linklater's keen handling elevates the material.

A movie for almost everyone, from boomer parents (who remember their teens and twenties) to their teenage kids (who can't wait to get started with same).

Exuberant, raucous and thoroughly endearing.

School could best be described as The Bad News Bears with heavy-metal guitar moves instead of home runs, but that it touches all the predictable bases somehow becomes part of its charm.

Black is consistently hilarious -- and not just in his dreams of moshpit glory.

This is fun for everyone, even those (like me) who hate contemporary rock music.

Linklater strikes just the right power chords here. He respects rock enough to keep it real, and he has enough rein on Black to ground his wildness in warmth while avoiding easy sentiment.

Not only is the heart of rock 'n' roll still beating, it's also highly amusing.

School of Rock will play you like a Gibson Flying V. And you will like it.

It would be a shame if only kids went to see this film. Adults who can still plug in to their inner rocker, if only to play air guitar, will love it, too.

Here is a movie that proves you can make a family film that's alive and well-acted and smart and perceptive and funny -- and that rocks.

The cinematic equivalent of a near-perfect three-minute pop song.

An engagingly screwball comic vehicle in which the actor and Tenacious D frontman goes through an inventory of heavy-metal moves and makes a mockery of them at the same time.

It gives Jack Black a role perfectly attuned to his comedic and musical gifts.

Splendid fare, a fun-filled power chord of a flick all ages can enjoy.

This raucous riff teaches that there's no substitute for a single, dynamic performer, one who can make us giggle just by walking into a shot.

A genial comedy.

A hip and consistently hilarious family comedy.

A happy, hoot-and-holler crowd-pleasing package.

Not only a glove-fit of a movie for the volcanic Black, School Of Rock proves a surprisingly deft foray into pure, unadulterated fun for the gifted indie smart guy Linklater.

A picture with pop's delicious energy yet none of its attendant risk, a flick that no one will love but everyone will like.

A clever and sometimes a beautiful thing.