The Power Play: 5 best school movies to stream right now

KEVIN Hart’s new comedy Night School is hitting cinemas this week, but there’s plenty of other great films centred around the classroom. Here’s five of the best streaming right now.

WITH the new Kevin Hart comedy Night School hitting cinemas, here are five more ways to stream yourself back to the days of classrooms, corridors and cafeterias …

SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003) ****

Amazon

The perfect casting of Jack Black as a failed rocker reinventing himself as a schoolteacher brings about one of the funniest comedies ever set at an educational facility. Black turns it up to 11 in every scene, throwing shapes, striking poses and zealously preaching the healing power of rock, never once selling-out to the threat of cute, kiddie-friendly fare.

Jack Black as Dewey Finn in a scene from 2003’s School Of Roc'

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THE DUFF (2015) ***

Stan

Why the title? It’s an acronym, standing for Designated Ugly Fat Friend, a social stereotype that supposedly acts as a buffer between attractive young females and any possible young male suitors. Ouch. Mae Whitman stars in a moderately astute, consistently entertaining teen comedy about the evils of social-media shaming and the healing power of just being yourself. Co-stars Ken Jeong, Alison Janney.

Robbie Amell and Mae Whitman star in The Duff, alongside Ken Jeong and Alison Janney.

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GREASE (1978) ****

Netflix

Doesn’t matter that most of the “high schoolers” in Grease look as if they are in their late thirties. This irresistible kitsch classic immediately has you forgiving all of its obvious flaws, including the tacking acting, silly songs and delirious dancing. The wildcard casting of John Travolta and our own Olivia Newton-John in the leading roles remains a one-off stroke of genius.

BACK TO SCHOOL (1986) ***1/2

Google, iTunes

This guilty-pleasure comedy works best as a cinematic time capsule for the unique comic stylings of the late Rodney Dangerfield. Forever the overachieving underdog, Dangerfield plays a millionaire who enters college as a mature-age student to encourage his distracted son to stick with his studies. Aged 64 during production, Dangerfield maintains an extraordinarily high wisecracks-to-dialogue ratio throughout.

Rodney Dangerfield stars in the guilty-pleasure comedy classic Back To School.

COACH CARTER (2005) ***

Netflix

A quality sports drama based on an incident that made national headlines in the US, where the head of an undefeated high school basketball team removed his charges from contention for a prestigious national title until their report cards improved. The no-bulldust stance of Ken Carter (a well-cast Samuel L. Jackson) to prioritise education above sport had surprisingly few supporters at the time.

Samuel L. Jackson plays the titular Coach Carter in the sports drama based on a true story.

Originally published as The Power Play: 5 best school movies to stream right now