One's enjoyment of "The School of Rock" depends to an exceptional degree on one's appreciation for, or at least tolerance of, Jack Black and his character, Dewey Finn, whom Black embodies with maniacal force. And for the machinations of an exceptionally manipulative treatment of an untenable premise. And ... and ... Dewey is a noxious lump of crude lard who gets thrown out of No Vacancy, the rock band he formed, for 20-minute riffs and stage dives. He's also a lying, loafing deadbeat weasel of a slacker who is $2,200 behind in his supposedly shared rent with doormat-roommate Ned Schneebly (Mike White). Ned, a substitute teacher, is too meek to press the issue. We're to dislike Ned's girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman) for speaking up. For a quick infusion of cash, Dewey intercepts a sub-teaching job offer, and, pretending to be Ned, takes over a class of 10-year-olds at Manhattan's choicest private prep school. After boring them with hours of recess, he discovers some of the children have training in classical musicianship. Perfect. He can introduce them to his idea of great rock, mold them into a rock band and win a Battle of the Bands competition. (Yep, it's "The Fighting Temptations," but with a different style of music and a different ragtag talent pool.) Much of this could be as much fun as "The Fighting Temptations" (OK, the music isn't nearly so good here), if "The School of Rock" were not hellbent on validating Dewey even before his pseudo-redemption begins. Director Richard Linklater's fantasy doesn't just stack the deck but crushes it. Not one of the other teachers has a normal adult, much less an academic, perspective. They're all square or rigid or eager to applaud his rebellion. He represents counter-authority, but the film doesn't notice he's a dangerously charismatic anarchist. And where is his classroom -- Siberia• For all of the loud instrumentation and carrying on, barely a sound is heard in other parts of the school. Not one child tells one parent what's going on for nearly three weeks. Uh, 'scuse me, but even the most enthusiastic child might inadvertently betray a subversive game plan. Among three or more kids so young, the odds against this lasting beyond one day in such a school are infinitesimal. Most egregiously, the film underscores that Dewey ("I serve society by rocking" ... (rock is) "stickin' it to the man") is a liberating influence and that the fulfillment of his dreams is suitably theirs, that through him they gain creativity and confidence. At what price• And they had none before• Principal Rosalie Mullins (Joan Cusack) is such a cartoon she might as well have been drawn by Walter Lantz. To get around her, Dewey buys her a beer, and in minutes she's baring her soul about her loneliness, uptightness and lack of popularity. Five minutes with him, and she's groovin'. No small problem is that Dewey is an overwound adolescent toy without a turnoff switch and that the screenplay by co-star Mike White operates entirely from Dewey's eye level. It's uplift on a bedrock of juvenilia. It could have legitimized its uplift by making Dewey something less than the poster boy for subversion. But predictably it validates his every belch. There are moments you're almost bound to enjoy. The sight of the kids rocking in unison offers a payoff, no matter how manipulative. For seconds at a time, you can overlook the sum of circumstances that brought them to the moment. Additional Information:

Movie Details

'The School of Rock' Director: Richard Linklater. Stars: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White. MPAA rating: PG-13, for some rude humor and drug references.

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