School of Rock Movie Review 2003

Substitute any other actor for Jack Black and this movie becomes a direct-to-video blip, or doesn't get made at all. Black is Dewey Finn, a life-long rocker and true believer who gets tossed by his band and forced to get a job. Dewey snakes a teaching gig from his roomie, ending up at an exclusive elementary school with a stuffy principal (Cusack). There he finds a classroom full of precocious kids with musical talent and an entire spectrum of self-esteem problems. He molds them into a rock band with the intention of entering the Battle of the Bands. Some plot points are treated casually (sometimes to the point of ignoring them), but Black's wild-eyed, fully-committed performance easily carries the day, and he's ably supported by the kids, all of whom can actually play and sing, and by a savvy script that takes the music seriously.

Distribution

Not Yet Released

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 108 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Slob Comedy, Rock Flicks, Elementary School/Junior High, Struggling Musicians, Team Efforts, Dedicated Teachers

Screenplay

Mike White

Cast

Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Joey Gaydos, Miranda Cosgrove, Kevin Alexander Clark, Rebecca Julia Brown, Robert Tsai, Maryam Hassan, Caitlin Hale, Aleisha Allen, Brian Falduto, Zachary Infante, James Hosey, Angelo Massagli, Cole Hawkins, Nicole Afflerbach, Jordan-Claire Green, Adam Pascal, Chris Stack, Tim Hopper, Nicky Katt

Cinematography

Rogier Stoffers

Director

Richard Linklater

Music

Craig (Shudder to Think) Wedren

Other

Jeffrey Stern, Randall Poster, Sandra Adair, Adam Matthew Scher, Karen Patch, Jeremy Conway

Producer

Scott Rudin, New Century, Munich Film Partners, SOR Productions, Paramount Pictures