School of Rock (2003)

After being kicked out of the rock band he started himself, Dewey Finn (Jack Black) – a man who doesn’t really have anything else going for him – is struggling to pay his share of the rent.

Sleeping on the floor of his long-time best friend Ned Schneebly (Mike White) and Ned’s girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman), Dewey is given an ultimatum: get a job and pay your rent, or move out.

Desperate for anything that will help him pay his way, Dewey takes a job teaching at prestigious prep school Horace Green, posing as Ned, and teaching a class of entitled fourth graders.

Under the strict eye of principal Rosalie Mullins (Joan Cusack), Dewey must keep up his façade long enough to get a paycheck and pay his rent.

But while teaching the class, he realises that several of the kids in his class are quite good at playing music, and he turns his class of ten-year-olds into a rock band, hoping to use them as his backing group to win the Battle of the Bands.

The screenplay (written by Mike White, who as you will remember, plays the real Ned) is incredibly clever and funny. Of course, Jack Black makes the role his own, but I’m sure that a lot of the work was done for him in the writing process. Sure, there was probably a lot of improvisation on set, but the rest of the film would have needed a tight, strong script, and it most definitely has that.

Fans of rock and roll music will definitely enjoy this film, as the soundtrack features some real gems of the genre. AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, to name but a few. Not only that, but the script (and in particular, Black’s dialogue) features so many clever references that rock fans will love.

Director Richard Linklater has really surpassed himself with this film. Okay, it may be quite a different film than a lot of the other projects he has been involved in, but there’s nothing wrong with that. This film is immensely enjoyable, and a big part of that has to do with an experienced, yet incredibly versatile, director in control of the whole project.

The casting of this film works really well. All the adult performers fit together perfectly as a comedy ensemble, and play well off each other. And the young performers work well together, too; in particular, the children who end up playing in the band are all very accomplished musicians as well as talented actors.

There really isn’t much more to say about this film. If you haven’t seen it, it’s probably time you watched it. If you have seen it, go ahead and watch it again; it really is quite good.

7 1/2 out of 10.