Why Jack Black epitomises everything wrong with modern Hollywood
Whenever I tell someone I’m not a fan of Jack Black, as an actor at least, I’m always met with shock. “But what about School of Rock?,” people say, “But he’s so funny!” While School of Rock is a beloved movie which deserves the right to be called a 2000s comedy classic, it’s about time that we recognise that most of Black’s acting career represents everything wrong about Hollywood.
Before Black became a well-known actor, he rose to prominence in the comedy rock band Tenacious D (don’t get me started), proving himself as someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously. This is the kind of thing that the general public love, and you can’t blame people for finding someone like Black, unafraid to take the piss out of themselves and appear authentic, funny. He didn’t have the glamorous appearance of a Hollywood star; he just looked like someone you’d probably know from around your school and someone you could trust.
When he was cast in High Fidelity in 2000, Black made waves with his performance as the record store assistant Barry. He played the part perfectly, and people fell in love with the actor’s humorous performance, including his rendition of ‘Let’s Get It On’ by Marvin Gaye at the end of the film. This led to his leading role in School of Rock, further establishing him as a go-to comedic force. Yet, the actor’s persona has come to consume him, and his career has certainly suffered for it
Acting like an overgrown child often worked in his favour, but soon, Black consistently signed onto projects that were really scraping the bottom of the barrel. Somehow, this didn’t diminish his star power, perhaps because he kept up his likeable and hilarious persona. But look at Black’s filmography, and you’ll see that this is a man who doesn’t have any real appreciation for cinema.
He appeared in both the obnoxious Saving Silverman by Dennis Dugan and the financially successful but critically-panned Shallow Hal in 2001, before going on to popular yet ridiculous comedies like Nacho Libre and the controversial Tropic Thunder, kids movies like the Kung Fu Panda franchise, and Gulliver’s Travels, which earned him a Razzie nomination. He has continued to predominantly appear in flashy franchise movies, like Jumanji and Goosebumps, as well as massive blockbusters such as The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Borderlands, although the latter received unanimous hatred from critics.
Black’s roles are most commonly big-budget movies; very rarely does he truly challenge himself with a performance in a more complex role or one that requires him to be someone other than an over-exaggerated character or a version of himself. It’s not that he doesn’t have the range, but rather, he chooses not to use it. There have been times when Black has offered glimpses of a much greater career – like Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot or Bernie – which demonstrate his talents as a genuinely good actor, but instead, he opts for the kinds of movies that boast tacky, in-your-face posters and spawn memes.
Most recently, he has starred as Steve in A Minecraft Movie, resulting in the most heinous movie theatre etiquette of recent years, with fans throwing popcorn and screaming at various viral references. Of course Black is the lead of this film – one that relies on box-office profit and attracting a pre-existing fan group rather than offering up anything remotely thought-provoking or artful. His recent choices of Borderlands, A Minecraft Movie, and Dear Santa (which earned him another Razzie nomination) really say it all.
Black epitomises Hollywood as an industry based on profit and bottom-of-the-barrel ideas, and the ‘Jack Black’ persona surely can’t stretch much further. The actor has consistently shown a lack of interest in appearing in movies that champion female directors, interesting subject matter, complex performances, or indie filmmaking, and it’s getting tiresome. We’re not saying Black is a bad person, but he reflects everything wrong with modern Hollywood – an industry built upon franchises and easy laughs that allow for eye-watering profit and little more.
