Of all the teachers, coaches and other instructors that one has during their lifetime, the only ones who are usually remembered are those who motivated you in one way or another or are so forceful and/or mean that they etch an indelible mark on one's memory.
Accordingly, those who've studied and/or suffered under the tutelage of Paul Green most likely won't ever forget the man. Founder and director of the rock school that bears his name, the guy is part coach, part tyrant, part best friend, part kid who never grew up and full-time raging egomaniac. All of which wouldn't be so bad if his students didn't fall into the nine to seventeen age range.
Green's demeanor may conjure up any number of negative adjectives to many people, but he apparently gets results, at least from some of his students who attend his after school program in Philadelphia. You can catch him and his latest class of aspiring rock musicians and singers in "Rock School," a documentary by Don Argott that follows them over a number of weeks as they prepare for an appearance in a Frank Zappa tribute concert held in Germany.
With the stated goal of pushing the kids to realize their potential and then getting them in front of as many viewers as possible, Green would seem to have good intentions. And he states many of them in various candid, on camera interviews where he proves the old axiom of those who can't participate in their chosen field end up instructing it and/or critiquing others.
Yet, there's that nagging issue of the overblown ego that he simply can't keep in check. That very fact will undoubtedly sour many viewers toward him and the overall film, but there's no denying that he's compelling in a sort of wild animal in the middle of a train wreck fashion. Like him or not, you can't keep your eyes off him.
Accordingly, Argott -- who makes his debut with this effort -- keeps the camera on him for much of the film, but he also focuses on a select number of students from the larger, overall group. Some are talented, such as Madi, a Quaker teen who hates her lifestyle and constantly clashes with Green. Then there's C.J., a 12-year-old kid who can match Eddie Van Halen note for note on probably any song (and does so with an old Van Halen tune that he rips through like a seasoned pro).
We also get to see the less talented kids, such as fraternal twins Asa & Tucker who get dolled up to perform a number of old Black Sabbath songs. Unlike the untalented souls who audition for "American Idol," there's nothing funny about these two young children who not only can't sing, but also don't have any sense of timing as to when to belt out their lyrics. I'd rather listen to a cat fight (with felines) while watching reruns of the young Olsen twins before sitting through another A&T "concert."
More interesting is Will O'Conner, an intelligent if morose and supposedly suicidal teen who provides plenty of insight into being a "reject" kid in Green's hard rock army. He credits being alive to having been part of the school -- that will remind many of the more gentle Jack Black comedy "School of Rock" -- but you have to wonder how much berating Will could take from Green before cracking. Thankfully, he doesn't and ends up leaving the school before the film ends.
As a documentary, the film never goes into the history of rock music, what makes a good musician or singer, or whether other such "schools" exist. Instead, it simply follows Green and his musical cadets as he puts them through the paces over a number of weeks. Not surprisingly, Argott also devotes a lot of time to seeing the kids in action, performing in small clubs or at the big Zappa-fest. Some of it's painful, some of it's decent, and some of it's quite good, but much of that will depend on one's fondness or not for music by the likes of Sabbath, Zappa and others.
For me, the film wasn't as much fun as watching the "kids pretending to be adults" element that energized "Mad Hot Ballroom," but it was certainly never boring, if only because one can never guess what Paul "drill sergeant" Green might say or do next to motivate the kids and/or stroke his own ego.
You probably won't come out of "Rock School" having learned much about musicians or their music of choice. Nevertheless, it's a somewhat interesting and modestly entertaining look at one controversial teacher and his bevy of ragtag students, some of whom end up making some decent music together. The film rates as a 5 out of 10.
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