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:

Mr. Black. Accept no substitute. Come on feel the noize.

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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

The school's name, Horace Green, is a reference to the highly prestigious school, Horace Mann.

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Goofs

When the kids are pledging their allegiance to the band, the hand that Eleni is using switches between shots.

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Quotes

[the shy Lawrence approaches Dewey at lunch]
Lawrence: Mr. Schneebly?
Dewey Finn: Yeah? Hey, what's up?
Lawrence: I don't think I should be in the band.
Dewey Finn: Why not?
Lawrence: I'm not cool enough. People in bands are cool. I'm not cool.
Dewey Finn: Dude, you are cool. The way you play. Why do you say you're not cool?
Lawrence: Nobody ever talks to me.
Dewey Finn: Well, those days are over, buddy. You could be the ugliest sad sack on the planet, but if you're in a rocking band, you're the cat's pajamas. You're the bee's knees.
Lawrence: Bee's knees?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The "School Of Rock" band jams throughout the closing credits.

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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 Hollywood Game Night: Chris Is Us (2020)

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Soundtracks

Heal Me, I'm Heartsick
by Craig Wedren
Performed by No Vacancy
Produced by George Drakoulias

User Reviews

Jack Black's Best Movie

I don't know if this role was wrote especially for Jack Black, but it is a perfect fit for him.

Plot In A Paragraph: Dewy Finn (Jack Black) is a wannabe rock star, who gets kicked out of his own band. In need of cash, he poses as his flatmate who is a substitute teacher, when a prep school calls wanting to hire him, He sets about trying to turn his class into his next rock band.

All of the child actors are superb, especially Miranda Cosgrove, Joey Gaydos Jr, Rebecca Brown, Robert Tsai, , Kevin Alexander Clark, Maryam Hassan and Jordan-Claire Green. Brian Falduto had me laughing a few times as Liza Minelli fan Billy, Black nicknamed "fancy pants" It is surprising to see that with the exception of Cosgrove and Green the child actors have not acted since, Brown has one more credit from this year 2014 and that's it.

Of the adult cast, alongside Black, Joan Cusack is great as Principal Mullins, Mike White and Sarah Silverman are both good too.

I'm always humming the song "Teachers Pet" for ages after watching this. Jack Black's best movie.

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