Director: Don Argott
Year Released: 2005
Rating: 2.5
In good old Philadelphia, Paul Green has his own school devoted to the appreciation of rock and roll and the training of our next-generation rock stars. Green himself is an over-the-top character whose 'tactics' would get him kicked out of any 'regular' school - he trash-talks the kids, curses and uses sexual innuendo in front of them and generally acts more like a child than they do - and director Argott is considerably more fascinated with Green-the-wild-man than Green-the-instructor (he insists he's a great teacher, and the kids seem to 'get it,' but how does he teach them? Through pure hostility and coarse behavior? Through taunting?). Will O'Connor, a former student, acts as the only real dissident and his criticisms are valid: there's a hierarchy at Rock School where it's possible for those with lesser talent to get swept aside and ignored by Green, and the documentary mostly deals with the prodigies (guitarist C.J., guitarist-vocalist Madi) than the neglected or "average." Still, it's a lot of fun and strangely inspiring - Green takes modern music very seriously, and so should we.
