Categories: Comedy Films

School of Rock (2003)

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

After being fired from his band, a guitarist and singer, Dewey Finn ends up getting a job as a fourth grade substitute teacher at a private school. With his free living ways, attitude and quirky antics he starts to influence the kids and at the same time he prepares them for a battle of the bands.

Hell-raising guitarist Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is anti-establishment to the hilt, irreverent to the max, and he worships the power of rock and roll. With a penchant for stage-dives and 20-minute solos, Dewy is determined to lead his rock group to victory at the local Battle of the Bands but his band mates fire him instead. Down-and-out, in need of rent money and wallowing in his apartment strewn with take-out containers, Dewey picks up a phone call intended for his roommate Ned (Mike White), and impulsively accepts a job as a substitute teacher at the prestigious Horace Green Elementary School.

There, by-the-book Principal Mullins (Joan Cusack) watches his every move like a hawk. But while Dewey might not have a clue how to teach, he does know how to inspire confidence in his young fifth graders. And when he overhears them performing in an orchestra class, he decides to mold these young musical prodigies into a high-voltage rock band, which will change their lives forever.

Read the Full Production Notes

School of Rock

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Miranda Cosgrove, Lucas Papaelias, Jordan-Claire Green
Screenplay by: Mike White
Production Design by: Jeremy Conway
Cinematography by: Rogier Stoffers
Film Editing by: Sandra Adair
Costume Design by: Karen Patch
Set Decoration by: Karin Wiesel
Music by: Craig Wedren
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some rude humor, drug references.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: October 17, 2003