“God of rock, thank you for the chance to kick ass… please give us the power to blow peoples minds with our high voltage rock.”
So says teacher Dewey Finn (Jack Black) to his band members, made up of kids from the school that he has bogusly become a teacher of before they compete in the Battle of the Bands.
Can this unlikely group win the competition?
That’s basically the whole plot, and yet this wonderful film captured the hearts of young and old when it was released in 2003. It has lost none of its charm.
Dewey pretends to be a teacher and co-opts his young class into forming a band so that he can realise his dream of being a rock star. His only problem is making sure Head teacher Mullins (a brilliant Joan Cusack) doesn’t catch him ignoring the traditional curriculum.
Along the way, he learns to respect and love the children, and the kids learn that academia isn’t everything as they begin to appreciate the joy of Rock and Roll.
What’s interesting is they turn the theme of bad kids made good by an inspirational teacher on its head. In this school the kids are goody two shoes, concerned about their grades and it is Dewey who is the one who is naughty and lost and needs saving.
They grow and learn together through music and the scenes where Black tries to inspire them through the likes of AC/DC are hilarious and yet touching too.
I would consider SCHOOL OF ROCK a classic of the “school” genre. Every time it comes on the TV, or you put it on, I guarantee you will watch to the end.
The then 33-year-old Jack Black is a force of nature in this, and his enthusiasm, charisma and obvious love of music is infectious. He is a natural comedian and that is evident in this movie, where gag after gag hits just the right note. He controls the narrative but gives the child actors room to shine too.
It does help that the script is unbelievable, the acting spot on and the music just fantastic. If you’re not a fan of rock music, you will be after this movie.
I love the fact that teacher, students and even their unsuspecting parents are not the same by then end. Even Mullins learns that to do what you love is as important as maths and science.
This is the movie that made Jack Black a star and created his persona, which seems to me to be close to who he is as person in real life.
Miranda Cosgrove, who played the bratty class swot who becomes the band’s manager found later stardom in the hit TV series ICARLY. Her talent was on show early on, although it must be said, every kid in SCHOOL OF ROCK excels. They are not too sugary but very believable and very natural at it.
The cinematography is unshowy which lets the script and actors stand front and centre and you get the feeling that everyone is having fun.
I have fun every time I watch it and thank the “Gods of Rock” that this movie got made!