Let's Rock, Let's Rock Today

 

Whenever someone asks me a generic, “What’s your favorite?” question, I experience a temporary shutdown of the brain. This brain lock-down happens due to the overwhelming expectation of gauging everything I have ever experienced and consequently, ranking something as my “favorite.”  Admittedly, this seemingly easy task reveals an extreme character flaw within me. Unfortunately for those who inquire about my most beloved “something,” panic prompts me to recall my answers to such questions from when I roamed the halls of CFIS. It was in my 12-year-old body that I first experienced what I would refer to for the next six years as my favorite movie, The School of Rock. This movie follows a burnout rock star-turned-substitute teacher, Dewey Finn, on his mission to transform a middle school class into “Battle of The Bands” material in hopes of beating his old band and earning enough cash to pay his rent. Black’s character impersonates his roommate, Ned Schneebly, in order to fill his shoes as a “temp.” Dewey, or “Mr. Schneebly,” proceeds to throw out the lesson plans and attempts to educate his students about rock music and “sticking it to the man”. Some of the students Schneebly faces include: Lawrence, a reserved classical pianist later referred to as “Mr. Cool,” Billy, the Liza Manelli-loving, self-appointed fashion designer for the band and Summer, the “teacher’s pet,” always striving for a gold star. Despite my outdated answer to “my favorite movie,” I still love the movie for the classic, adolescent humor of Jack Black. This movie showcases some of the world’s greatest comebacks and disses. The next time someone offends you, just use an original School of Rock quote like: “You’re tacky and I hate you,” “You’re a fat loser and you have body odor,” or “Read between the lines.” (The effect of the latter is maximized when the speaker holds up their index, middle and ring fingers). Schneebly encounters some humorous, yet anxiety-inducing obstacles along the way to “creating musical fusion,” with his makeshift band. First, the principle almost compromises the band’s rehearsal after hearing music from the room. Mr. Schneebly dodged her assumptions by improvising an educational song, convincing her of his abstract “teaching methods.” The lyrics include, “Math is a wonderful thing. Math is a really cool thing. So get off your ath, let’s do some math. Math, math, math, math, math.” Not only does Schneebly satisfy the principle’s suspicions, but he also produces an extremely catchy song with ease. Secondly, the class attempts to audition for the Battle of The Bands but arrives late, denying their chances of even competing. Schneebly acts on his toes again, though, and persuades the judges to listen to their audition after revealing the students’ fictional disease, “Stick-it-to-da-man-nosis.” The façade helped the band score a spot in the final competition. The most significant obstacle, however, surfaced in the form of parent-teacher conferences. Dewey’s lie became exposed, which led to his firing, ultimately preventing from the band to continue. So, naturally, the kids escape school on the day of the concert and locate Dewey for their performance… so punk rock. In addition to the one-liners and high quality plot, this movie contains exceedingly entertaining characters and some really catchy music. All of these factors reinforce my sixth grade opinion of the movie. I hope my 12th grade opinion encourages those who have not yet seen School of Rock, to do so. Finally, in the words of Dewy Finn, "Let's rock, let's rock today."