Actors: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Joey Gaydos
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The School of Rock
In this comedy a struggling musician is in need of money. He pretends he is his roomate and gets a job working as a substitute teacher for a private school. However, he is not a very good teacher. Instead, he tries to make a rock band with the class. He finds this hard because no one else in the school can find out about the project, so he tries to keep it a secret.
--Jack Bauer, Resident Scholar
Based on an original screenplay by Mike White, THE SCHOOL OF ROCK is a movie directed by Richard Linklater in 2003.
Dewey Finn becomes a substitute in a very fashionable private prep school. He'll secretly prepare his students for an imaginary rock contest without the principal nor the children's parents noticing. With Dewey, the young students will learn the now forgotten spirit of Rock, become genuine rock musicians and learn to rebel against all kind of authority.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
Black is Dewey Finn, a moocher who dreams of rocking out and putting on one great show. Until that show comes he is living rent free with his childhood friend Ned and his temperamental girlfriend who eventually gives Dewey a choice: get a job or get out. The job Dewey gets isn't exactly what she had in mind, he is posing both as Ned, and as a fifth grade teacher at a prep school headed by Joan Cusack. Dewey makes a visible transformation from an unkempt pot-head into a pot-head with his father's bow tie and scarf who managed to force a comb through his mop of hair.
The teaching position not only pays the bills but also helps Dewey to find his next band in the form of the fifth graders he is teaching. The idea is sprung on Dewey when he hears the students studying their classical music and realizes that they can actually play. School takes on a whole new form as the students begin studying Pink Floyd, Yes and Blondie rather than English, Science and Arithmetic.
The real Jack Black looks as though he has eaten his share of Mickey D's and, like most of his characters, has experience with weed. His gift is that he is aware of this and not only relishes in these facts, but plays them to his advantage; surprising audiences with his zeal and in the process garnering quite a following.
--Christopher Bryan, Resident Scholar
Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is a deadbeat rock musician who's been kicked out of his band and in is desperate need of money. So when a school calls for his roommate who's a substitute teacher he decides to take the job and his roomates indentity. He's a horrible teacher who encourages recess all day so he doesn't have to teach. Until one day he realizes his class is very musically talented. So he starts a rock band out of the class and gets them prepared to compete in a Battle of the Bands competition. Jack Black is hilarious and he turns in the best performance of his career yet.
--cameron line , Resident Scholar
Dewey Finn (Black) is a loser. A thirty-something lead guitarist and singer, he is dumped by the band he founded on the eve of the Battle of the Bands competition that he is sure could make or break his career. Desperate for rent money before his old friend Ned (White) unwillingly tosses him out at the strong urging of Ned's girlfriend, he pretends to be Ned and takes a temporary substitute teaching job at the exclusive Horace Green preparatory school, where tightly-wound Rosalie Mullins (Cusack) is the principal. Initially dedicated merely to surviving to 3 o'clock every day, Dewey soon discovers some rare musical talent in his room of fourth graders, and decides to teach Rock 101 as a way of forming the best kids into a backup outfit for the Battle of the Bands. But even with kids assigned the roles of security and road crew, can he keep the project a secret from the principal and parents long enough to get his band to the gig? This 2003 comedy is a surprisingly sweet and amusing confection by folks better known for weirder work: director Richard Linklater is responsible for "Waking Life," "Dazed and Confused," and "Slacker," and co-star White also wrote and starred in the very strange 2000 film "Chuck & Buck." But there's no sex, no violence, and very little harsh language.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!
Analysis of The School of Rock
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Kind of comedy
- musical
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- teacher
- musician
How much humor v. drama
- Mostly humor, but some serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- singer/musician
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) fat
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type
- (woman) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
- a deadline
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- school
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
- encouraged
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of singing
If this is a kid's movie...
- Ages 10-15
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Modern rock/pop
