School of Rock (2003)

After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer:

Mike White

Stars:

Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Black	...	Dewey Finn
Adam Pascal	...	Theo
Lucas Papaelias	...	Neil
Chris Stack	...	Doug
Sarah Silverman	...	Patty Di Marco
Mike White	...	Ned Schneebly
Lucas Babin	...	Spider
Joan Cusack	...	Rosalie Mullins
Jordan-Claire Green	...	Michelle
Veronica Afflerbach	...	Eleni
Miranda Cosgrove	...	Summer Hathaway
Joey Gaydos Jr.	...	Zack
Robert Tsai	...	Lawrence
Angelo Massagli	...	Frankie
Kevin Alexander Clark	...	Freddy Jones (as Kevin Clark)

Storyline

After being kicked out of his rock band, guitarist Dewey Finn faces a mountain of debts and depression. He shares an apartment with an old band member, Ned Schneebly, who is now a substitute teacher. Dewey accepts a job as a substitute teacher at a snobbish private elementary school where his attitude and hijinx have a powerful result on his students. He learns they are talented young musicians, and he decides to form a rock band with them to win the $10,000 prize money in a local band contest. Once Dewey wins a competition called "Battle of the Bands", the prize money would solve his financial problems and put him back in the rock music spotlight.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | substitute teacher | rock band | battle of the bands | impostor | 

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Taglines:

He just landed the gig of his life: 5th grade.

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some rude humor and drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the Battle of the Bands scene, four stacks of Marshall amplifiers are positioned behind the kids on stage. Three of them are modern models, easily rented for a film shoot. However, the Marshall behind Tamika is a much older, "plexi" version, which is rare, and hard to come by. People generally covet these vintages, not rent them.

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Goofs

When Summer is waiting for Dewey to arrive so she can explain her argument about not wanting to be a groupie, she's seen leaning against a tree with no lipstick, but when she approaches Dewey she's wearing bright red lipstick.

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Quotes

Spider: You're hot, you're so hot...
Miss Mullins: What? Are you warm?

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Crazy Credits

Near the end of the credits, the song includes the lyrics: The movie is over but we're still on screen Everybody's rocking And we came from Horace Green

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Alternate Versions

In the theatrical version of the film, the performance by School of Rock during the end credits is changed. Originally, after several solos, Dewey tells Katie she does not get one, as bassists don't get solos and that's just how it works. This was changed for the DVD and TV versions: Dewey does not tell Katie that bassists don't get solos and she does not assume she gets one anyhow.

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Connections

Referenced in Kickin' It: School of Jack (2013)

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Soundtracks

Moonage Daydream
Written & Performed by David Bowie
Under license from RZO Music, Inc.

User Reviews

Tailored for Jack Black

After being fired from his own band, the guitar player Dewey Finn (Jack Black) needs to raise some money to pay for his rent and his bills. When his friend and school teacher Ned Schneebly (Mike White) is called to a temporary work in an expensive private school, Dewey pretends to be Ned and accepts the job. He finds talented young musicians in his class, and he decides to form a rock-and-roll band with the students and win a competition called "Battle of Bands" to raise the prize and be recognized in the show business.

"The School of Rock" is a very funny and politically incorrect comedy tailored for Jack Black. He steals the movie and rocks in the role of a rock-and-roll lover, who dreams to be successful as a guitar player. Most of the lines belong to him, and I believe this movie is his best individual performance in his successful career. Joan Cusack is excellent as usual, and Miranda Cosgrove seems to have potential and be a great promise as actress. The soundtrack is a great homage to rock-and-roll, with many classics including Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song". The DVD is full of worthwhile Extras, and in the end this film is an excellent funny entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Escola de Rock" ("School of Rock")

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

School of Rock

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,622,714, 5 October 2003

Gross USA:

$81,261,177

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$131,095,990

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, MFP Munich Film Partners GmbH & Company I. Produktions KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1