School of Rock vs. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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5 comments

I only like the Coen movies I'm not supposed to like. This is not one of them.

Seriously? You picked a comedy over a legitimate film?

I have O Brother ranked rather high at the moment (#29 on my flickchart) and I am okay with that. It's a great film and the comedy present outmatches that in School of Rock by leaps and bounds. But I've got School of Rock at #376 out of #1320 so I don't want to be too quick to dismiss that film either. There are some genuinely funny moments in School of Rock and it's perhaps one of the least annoying Jack Black performances I've encountered, along with Shallow Hal. I definitely wary of saying that one of these is more legitimate than the other, but I'll let my ranking speak to my thoughts on these two films! :)

I definitely prefer O Brother (it's likely my favorite Coen film, and that's saying a lot, since they're my favorite currently working filmmakers), but School of Rock is definitely solid as well. I mean, it's not really that close to being my favorite Linklater film, but saying any Linklater film is illegitimate is pretty ridiculous. And even aside from that, it's still a whole lot of fun.

"Legend of the Rent" song from School of Rock > "Man of Constant Sorrow" from O Brother Where Art Thou?

I remember grinning from ear to ear in School of Rock and loving it *way* more than I anticipated I would when I saw it. The scene that sticks out in my mind is when the kids first form the band. It's just great. Jack Black is at his most palatable, too. I liked O Brother well enough, but not much sticks with me other than Clooney lipsyncing to folk music, some unusual color timing, and John Goodman. I have a feeling the soundtrack did better than the film ever did.

Perhaps a re-watch would help with that Zampa. When I first saw O Brother, I didn't like it at all, and felt it was just a color-timed folk music video. Upon subsequent re-watches, my ranking of it improved.

Best version of The Odyssey ever put on film. 'Nuff said.

School of Rock is underrated. Jack Black should have been nominated for the GD Oscar for his performance.