Energetic, likable Jack Black scores with a winner

“What makes Black a much more invigorating screen presence than any of those guys — what makes you think of John Belushi while you’re watching him — is that he’s also a crafty, cunning actor who knows it’s not enough to mug and prance your way through a movie. Black’s demeanor has been essentially the same in all the films he’s acted in thus far (The School of Rock, King Kong, Envy, High Fidelity) — an overgrown, vaguely menacing man-child whose misguidedness never impinges on his ambition — but he doesn’t coast on personality the way too many contemporary comedians do. He gives real, actual performances, and even if his range is limited, he seems capable of finding enough variations within that narrow spectrum to support a long career.”

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