School of Rock


School of Rock is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin and written by Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, White and Sarah Silverman. Black plays struggling rock guitarist Dewey Finn, who is fired from his band and subsequently poses as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After witnessing the musical talent of the students, Dewey forms a band of fifth-graders to attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands and use his winnings to pay his rent.
School of Rock was released on October 3, 2003, by Paramount Pictures, grossing $131 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Black's performance and humor. It was the highest-grossing music-themed comedy of all time until the release of Pitch Perfect 2 in 2015. A stage musical adaptation opened on Broadway in December 2015, and a television adaptation aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon from March 2016 to April 2018.

Plot

Rock band No Vacancy performs at a nightclub three weeks before auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Guitarist Dewey Finn creates on-stage antics, including a stage dive that abruptly ends the performance. The next morning, Dewey wakes in the apartment he lives in with his best friend and former rocker Ned Schneebly. Ned and his domineering girlfriend, Patty inform Dewey he must make up for his share of the rent, which is four months overdue. When Dewey meets No Vacancy at a rehearsal session, he discovers he has been replaced by another guitarist named Spider. Later, while attempting to sell some of his equipment for rent money, Dewey answers a phone call from Rosalie Mullins, the principal of the Horace Green prep school, inquiring for Ned about a short-term position as a substitute teacher. Desperate for money, Dewey impersonates Ned and is hired. On his first day at the school, Dewey adopts the name "Mr. S" and spends his first day behaving erratically, confusing the class.
The next day, Dewey overhears a music class and plans to form them into a new band to audition for Battle of the Bands. He recruits Zack Mooneyham as lead guitarist, Freddy Jones as drummer, cello player Katie on bass, Lawrence on keyboard, and himself as lead vocalist and guitarist. He assigns the rest of the class to various roles of backup singers, groupies, roadies, with Summer Hathaway as band manager. The project takes over normal lessons, but helps the students to embrace their talents and overcome their problems. He reassures Lawrence, who is worried about not being cool enough for the band, Zack, whose overbearing father disapproves of rock, and Tomika, an overweight girl who is too self-conscious to even audition for backup singer despite an amazing voice. During one eloquent lesson, he teaches the kids that rock and roll is the way to "Stick it to the Man" and stand up for themselves. Band "groupies" Michelle and Eleni, with Summer's approval, pitch the band name "The School of Rock."
Two weeks into his hiring, Dewey sneaks his key band members out of school to audition for a spot in the competition, while the rest of the class stay behind to maintain cover. When Freddy wanders off, Dewey retrieves him but the group is rejected because the bill is full. Summer tells Dewey to deceive the staff into thinking that they have a terminal illness, allowing the band to audition. The next day, Mullins checks on his teaching progress, forcing Dewey to teach the actual material. Mullins explains that a parents' night will take place at the school the day before Battle of the Bands, which worries Dewey.
As Dewey prepares for the parents' night, Ned receives a paycheck from the school via mail, soon realizing that Dewey impersonated him. During the parents' meeting, the parents question what Dewey was teaching the kids until Ned, Patty, with the police confront Dewey. After Mullins asks what is going on, Dewey reveals his true identity, saying that he is not a certified teacher and flees to his apartment. Dewey and Patty argue until Ned intervenes and then suggests Dewey should finally move out.
The next morning, the parents go on an uproar in front of Mullins at her office, while the kids decide not to let their hard work go to waste. When the new substitute discovers that the kids are missing, she informs Mullins, and Mullins and the parents race to the competition. A school bus comes to pick up Dewey, who leads the kids to the Battle of the Bands and decides that they play the song written by Zack earlier. Initially dismissed as a gimmick, the band wins over the entire crowd. No Vacancy wins to Dewey's dismay, but the audience chants encore for the School of Rock, performing for the crowd once again.
Some time later, an after school program known as the School of Rock has opened as Dewey continues to coach the students he played with before while Ned teaches beginners.

Cast

  • Jack Black as Dewey Finn, an energetic, down-on-his-luck guitarist slacker who impersonates a substitute teacher.
  • Joan Cusack as Rosalie "Roz" Mullins, the overworked principal of the Horace Green prep school who secretly loves rock music.
  • Mike White as Ned Schneebly, Dewey's responsible but meek roommate and best friend, who gave up his dream of being a rock star.
  • Sarah Silverman as Patty Di Marco, Ned's domineering girlfriend, who strongly dislikes Dewey and constantly tries to convince Ned to kick him out of the apartment.
  • Miranda Cosgrove as Summer "Tinker Bell" Hathaway, the class factotum.
  • Joey Gaydos Jr. as Zack "Zack-Attack" Mooneyham
  • Kevin Clark as Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones
  • Rivkah Reyes as Katie "Posh Spice"
  • Robert Tsai as Lawrence "Mr. Cool"
  • Maryam Hassan as Tomika "Turkey Sub"
  • Aleisha Allen as Alicia "Brace Face"
  • Caitlin Hale as Marta "Blondie"
  • Brian Falduto as Billy "Fancy Pants"
  • Z Infante as Gordon "Roadrunner"
  • James Hosey as Marco "Carrot Top"
  • Angelo Massagli as Frankie "Tough Guy"
  • Cole Hawkins as Leonard "Short Stop"
  • Jordan-Claire Green as Michelle
  • Veronica Afflerbach as Eleni
  • Adam Pascal as Theo
  • Lucas Babin as Spider
  • Lucas Papaelias as Neil
  • Chris Stack as Doug
  • Frank Whaley as Battle of the Bands director

    Production

Screenwriter Mike White's concept for the film was inspired by The Langley Schools Music Project. Jack Black once witnessed a stage dive gone wrong involving Ian Astbury of rock band The Cult, which made its way into the film. Filming began on December 2, 2002. Many scenes from the movie were shot around the New York City area. The school portrayed in School of Rock is actually Main Hall at Wagner College in Staten Island. In the DVD commentary, the kids say that all of the hallway scenes were shot in one hallway. One of the theaters used in many of the shots was at Union County Performing Arts Center located in Rahway, New Jersey.

Music

Soundtrack

The eponymous album was released on September 30, 2003. Sammy James Jr. of the band The Mooney Suzuki penned the title track with screenwriter Mike White, and the band backed up Jack Black and the child musicians on the soundtrack recording of the song. The film's director, Richard Linklater, scouted the country for talented 13-year-old musicians to play the rock and roll music featured on the soundtrack and in the film.
The soundtrack includes "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin, a band that has a very long history of denying permission for use of their songs in film and television. Linklater came up with the idea to shoot a video on the stage used at the film's ending, in which Jack Black begs the band for permission with the crowd extras cheering and chanting behind him. The video was sent directly to the living members of Led Zeppelin, who granted permission for the song. The video is included on the DVD and Blu-ray.

Songs featured in the film

  1. "For Those About to Rock " by AC/DC
  2. "Fight" by No Vacancy*
  3. "Stay Free" by The Clash
  4. "Touch Me" by The Doors *
  5. "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" Ramones cover by Kiss
  6. "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream*
  7. "Back in Black" by AC/DC
  8. Guitar riffs Dewey plays to Zack:
  9. # "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath
  10. # "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple
  11. # "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC
  12. "Substitute" by The Who*
  13. "The Greatest Love of All" by George Benson
  14. "Roadrunner" by The Modern Lovers
  15. "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down " by Ramones*
  16. "The Wait " by Metallica
  17. "In the Ancient Times" by School of Rock
  18. "Sad Wings" by Brand New Sin
  19. "Mouthful of Love" by Young Heart Attack
  20. "Black Shuck" by The Darkness
  21. "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin*
  22. "Math Is a Wonderful Thing" by Jack Black and Mike White*
  23. "Set You Free" by The Black Keys*
  24. "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks*
  25. "Ballrooms of Mars" by T. Rex*
  26. "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie
  27. "TV Eye" by Wylde Ratttz*
  28. "Ride into the Sun" by The Velvet Underground
  29. "Heal Me, I'm Heartsick" by No Vacancy*
  30. "School of Rock" by School of Rock*
  31. "It's a Long Way to the Top " by School of Rock*
* Featured on the Soundtrack album

Reception

Box-office performance

School of Rock opened at #1 with a weekend gross of $19,622,714 from 2,614 theaters for an average of $7,507 per venue. In its second weekend, the film declined just 21 percent, earning another $15,487,832 after expanding to 2,929 theaters, averaging $5,288 per venue and bringing the ten-day gross to $39,671,396. In its third weekend, it dropped only 28 percent, making another $11,006,233 after expanding once again to 2,951 theaters, averaging $3,730 per venue, and bringing the 17-day gross to $54,898,025. It spent a total of six weeks among the Top 10 films and eventually grossed $81,261,177 in the United States and Canada and another $50,021,772 in international territories for a total gross of $131,282,949 worldwide, almost four times its budget of $35 million. This made School of Rock the highest-grossing music-themed comedy of all time, until it was overtaken in 2015 by Pitch Perfect 2.