School of Rock (2003)
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A struggling rock guitarist poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school and discovers the students' hidden musical talents.
The story
After being fired from his band, struggling rock guitarist Dewey Finn finds himself in need of money to pay his rent. He takes a desperate gamble by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. Upon discovering the students' latent musical talent, Dewey decides to form a band of fifth-graders. His goal is to train them to compete in the upcoming Battle of the Bands as a way to get revenge against his former bandmates. The project takes over their normal lessons, and Dewey must navigate the complexities of the school while trying to keep his true identity a secret from the administration and the parents.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dewey Finn, a rock guitarist, is fired from his band, No Vacancy, and is forced to find a way to pay his rent. He poses as 'Mr. S', a substitute teacher at the Horace Green prep school. After discovering the students' musical potential, he forms a band called 'The School of Rock' with several students, including Zack, Freddy, Katie, and Lawrence. He assigns the rest of the class roles like roadies and managers. Dewey eventually sneaks his core band members out to audition for the Battle of the Bands, using a fake illness as a cover. Meanwhile, his roommate Ned and girlfriend Patty discover his deception. During a parents' meeting, Dewey's true identity is revealed, and he is fired. However, the students refuse to let their hard work go to waste and convince Dewey to join them for the competition. At the Battle of the Bands, the kids perform a song written by Zack. While No Vacancy wins the official competition, the audience demands an encore from the School of Rock, who perform again to great acclaim. Later, Dewey continues to coach the students as an after-school program.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Richard Linklater
- Writers
- Mike White · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jack Black · Dewey Finn; Joan Cusack · Rosalie "Roz" Mullins; Mike White · Ned Schneebly; Sarah Silverman · Patty Di Marco; Miranda Cosgrove · Summer "Tinker Bell" Hathaway; Kevin Clark · Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones; Joey Gaydos Jr. · Zack "Zack-Attack" Mooneyham; Robert Tsai · Lawrence "Mr. Cool"
- Genres
- comedy
- Themes
- creativity; self-expression; pursuit of passion
- Tone and mood
- humorous; feel-good
- Premise and plot tags
- music-themed comedy; school-based
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Langley Schools Music Project
- Reception
- The film was highly praised by critics, specifically for Jack Black's performance and the humor. It was noted as a feel-good movie for the whole family with a message of championing creativity.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 92% · scale: percentage · review count: 199; Metacritic · score: 82 · scale: 100 · review count: 41
- Awards and nominations
- MTV Movie Award · Best Comedic Performance · win; British Comedy Awards · Best Comedy Film · win; Golden Globe Award · Best Actor – Comedy or Musical · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was the highest-grossing music-themed comedy of all time until 2015.; The school in the film is actually Main Hall at Wagner College in Staten Island.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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