The
film School of Rock came out roughly two years ago and was a
medium sized hit. People were drawn to Jack Black’s zany
teacher who taught the
kids the finer points of hard core rock and roll. What I and many other people didn’t know was Jack Black’s character seems to be inspired by Paul Green – who teaches
students aged 9 to 17 learn how to
play rock music. Don Argott's documentary
Rock School takes us inside the Paul Green School of Rock in some absolutely hilarious ways. Paul Green is one of the most memorable “characters” of recent cinema. Green, a former rocker himself, decided to teach
kids to
play when his own
career didn’t take off. He has a bit of a Peter Pan complex as he’s really a big dumb kid. One that doesn‘t mind yelling and screaming expletives at his pupils. His tantrums at times are so over the top they border on lunacy and the
kids seem to understand this for the most part. We follow beginning
students as they try to master Black Sabbath
songs and then move to the advanced classes where they learn the complex
music that Frank Zappa produced. All the
students get to
play in a con cert depending on their ability levels. The master class traveled to
Germany for a Zappa festival in the year the documentary was produced. Throughout the course of the picture we focus on various
students but the two that stood out the most were Will and CJ. Will is a depressed kid who tried to commit
suicide on more than one occasion before joining the program. He isn’t a good musician but the school seems to offer him a second chance at life. As for CJ . . . the kid is the next Jimmy Hendrix. He’s better at twelve than the majority of guitar players in current bands, and I’m not exaggerating. The
film is worth seeing him for him alone. So the final verdict? Rock School is really
fun time at the theater. Not one of the best of the recent docs but still well worth a viewing. 3 Out of 4 stars
