School of Rock is a 2003 musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin, and written by Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Mike White, Sarah Silverman, Joey Gaydos Jr. and Miranda Cosgrove. Black plays struggling rock singer and guitarist Dewey Finn, who is kicked out of his band and subsequently disguises as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. After witnessing the musical talent in his students in their music class, Dewey forms a band of fourth-graders to attempt to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands and pay off his rent.
School of Rock was released on October 3, 2003 by Paramount Pictures, grossing $131 million worldwide on a $35 million budget. It was the highest grossing musical comedy of all time until it was overtaken in 2015 by Pitch Perfect 2. A stage musical adaptation opened on Broadway in December 2015, and a television adaptation for Nickelodeon premiered on March 12, 2016.
Plot
No Vacancy, a rock band, performs at a nightclub three weeks before auditioning for the Battle of the Bands. Guitarist Dewey Finn's erratic on-stage antics draw scorn from the audience and his fellow members. The next morning, Dewey wakes in the apartment he lives in with his best friend Ned Schneebly. At the demand of his domineering girlfriend Patty, Ned asks Dewey for his share of the rent. When Dewey meets No Vacancy for rehearsal, he is informed that he has been fired from the band and replaced. Later, Dewey answers a phone call from Rosalie Mullins, the principal of the Horace Green prep school, inquiring for Ned about a short-term position as a substitute teacher. Desperate for money, Dewey impersonates Ned and is hired. In his first 2 days, Dewey's unwillingness to teach anything and let the students do as they please confuses the students, and irritates some, particularly class president Summer Hathaway.
On the second day, Dewey watches and listens to his students in music class and, impressed by their talent, devises a plan to form them into a new band for Battle of the Bands under the guise of a school project. He casts Zack as lead guitarist, Freddy as drummer, Katie on bass, Lawrence on keyboard, and himself as lead vocalist and "shredding" guitarist. He assigns the rest of the class to various roles of backup singers, groupies, roadies, with Summer as band manager, and Billy as band stylist. After casting the students, Dewey is shocked to learn that his students know nothing about rock music, and decides to additionally teach them about the history and everything he has learned. Although the project takes over normal lessons, it allows Dewey to form a connection with the students, and it helps the students to embrace their talents and overcome their problems. Dewey is able to help Lawrence be confident that he is cool enough to be in the band even though he is viewed as the class nerd, Zack to be confident and not shy despite having an overbearing father who disapproves of rock, and Tomika, an overweight girl who is too self-conscious to even audition for backup singer despite an amazing voice. During one eloquent lesson, he teaches the students that rock and roll is a way to "Stick it to the Man" and stand up for themselves. Band "groupies" Michelle and Eleni pitch the band name "The School of Rock", which Dewey enthusiastically approves.
Two weeks into his hiring, Dewey sneaks his key band members out of school to audition for Battle of the Bands while the rest of the class stay behind to maintain cover. After Freddy wanders off, Dewey retrieves him but the group is rejected because the bill is full. However, thanks to quick thinking by Summer, they are able to convince the staff that the band members have a terminal illness ("stickittodamoneosis"), and the band is auditioned. Dewey asks Miss Mullins to join him for a drink to butter her up for a "field trip" (the performance). Miss Mullins frets that she has a reputation for being uptight and not fun. At the end, Miss Mullins mentions a parents night at which he is meant to speak.
As Dewey prepares for Parents' Night, Ned receives a paycheck from the school via mail. Dewey disconnects his phone call to the school, and Ned deduces that Dewey impersonated him. Dewey begs Ned not to say anything to anyone, promising to come clean after the performance. Ned feebly tries to conceal this from Patty. During the parents' meeting, while Dewey falsely explains what he has been teaching the students, the parents question why their children have such a sudden interest in music. As Dewey tries to explain, Ned, Patty, and the police confront him on what he has done. With Miss Mullins bursting in to question what is going on, Dewey reveals his true identity and admits he's not a licensed teacher, causing him to become sacked. Back home, he and Patty argue, before Ned breaks it up. Dewey sincerely apologizes to Ned, but Ned ends the conversation by suggesting that Dewey move out.
The next morning, the parents are in an uproar in Miss Mullins' office, while the students decide they have worked too long and too hard to not play the show. Summer commandeers the school bus and picks up Dewey, who leads the kids to the competition. Ned goes to follow eagerly, and earns a tirade from Patty about not standing up for himself before slamming the door in her face. When the new substitute discovers that the students are missing, Miss Mullins and the parents race in pursuit. At the concert, Dewey decides that they play a song written by Zack earlier in the film. Initially dismissed as a gimmick, the band wins over the crowd, including the students' parents and Miss Mullins. Much to Dewey's disappointment, No Vacancy wins, but the audience chants for The School of Rock to come back and do an encore.
Some time later, Dewey and Ned open an after school program called The School of Rock, where Dewey continues to coach the band while Ned teaches beginners.
Cast
Production
Screenwriter Mike White's concept for the film was inspired by the Langley Schools Music Project. Various aspects of the plot were recognized as being similar to the 1957 Broadway hit The Music Man. Jack Black once witnessed a stage dive gone wrong involving Ian Astbury of rock band The Cult, which made its way into the film; "I went to see a reunion, in Los Angeles, of The Cult... it was just a bunch of jaded Los Angelinos out there, and they didn't catch him and he plummeted straight to the ground. Later I thought it was so hilarious. So that was put into the script." Many scenes from the movie were shot around the New York City area. The school portrayed in School of Rock is actually Main Hall at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. In the commentary, the kids say that all of the hallway scenes were shot in one hallway. One of the theaters used in many of the shots was at Union County Performing Arts Center located in Rahway, New Jersey.
Music
Soundtrack
The eponymous album was released on September 30, 2003. Sammy James Jr. of the band The Mooney Suzuki penned the title track with screenwriter Mike White, and the band backed up Jack Black and the child musicians on the soundtrack recording of the song. The film's director, Richard Linklater, scouted the country for talented 13-year-old musicians to play the rock and roll music featured on the soundtrack and in the film. The soundtrack includes "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin, a band that has rarely granted permission for use of their songs in film and television. Richard Linklater came up with the idea to shoot a video on the stage used at the end of the film, with Jack Black begging the band for permission with the crowd extras cheering and chanting behind him. The video was sent directly to the living members of Led Zeppelin, and permission was granted for the song. The video is included on the DVD.
Songs featured in the film
* Featured on the Soundtrack album
Reception
School of Rock received an approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 192 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Black's exuberant, gleeful performance turns School of Rock into a hilarious, rocking good time." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Box office performance
School of Rock opened at #1 with a weekend gross of $19,622,714 from 2,614 theaters for an average of $7,507 per venue. In its second weekend, the film declined just 21 percent, earning another $15,487,832 after expanding to 2,929 theaters, averaging $5,288 per venue, and bringing the 10-day gross to $39,671,396. In its third weekend, it dropped only 28 percent, making another $11,006,233 after expanding once again to 2,951 theaters, averaging $3,730 per venue, and bringing the 17-day gross to $54,898,025. It spent a total of six weeks among the Top 10 films and eventually grossed $81,261,177 in the United States and Canada and another $50,015,772 in international territories for a total gross of $131,282,949 worldwide, almost four times its budget of $35 million. This made School of Rock the highest-grossing musical comedy of all time, until it was overtaken in 2015 by Pitch Perfect 2.
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for several awards, including Black receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor â€" Comedy or Musical (which he lost to Bill Murray for Lost in Translation), and winning an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.
Legacy
Potential sequel
In 2008, Jack Black said that a sequel was being considered. It was later reported that director Richard Linklater and producer Scott Rudin would return. Mike White was returning as screenwriter, titled School of Rock 2: America Rocks, which picks up with Finn leading a group of summer school students on a cross-country field trip that delves into the history of rock 'n' roll. In 2012, Black stated that he believed the sequel was unlikely. "I tried really hard to get all the pieces together," he said. "I wouldn't want to do it without the original writer and director, and we never all got together and saw eye-to-eye on what the script would be. It was not meant to be, unfortunately," but added, "never say never".
Stage adaptation
On April 5, 2013, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced that he had bought the rights to School of Rock to a stage musical. On December 18, 2014, the musical was officially confirmed and it was announced that the show would receive its world premiere on Broadway in autumn 2015, at the Winter Garden Theatre. The musical has a book by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. and is directed by Laurence Connor, with choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, set and costume design by Anna Louizos and lighting by Natasha Katz. The musical features an original score composed by Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and sound design by Mick Potter, in addition to music from the original film. School of Rock became Lloyd Webber's first show opening on Broadway before London since Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971.
10-year reunion
On August 29, 2013, a 10-year anniversary screening of the film was held in Austin, Texas at the Paramount Theatre. Those in attendance included director Richard Linklater, Jack Black, Mike White, Miranda Cosgrove and the rest of the young cast members except for Cole Hawkins (who played Leonard). The event, hosted by the Austin Film Society and Cirrus Logic, included a red carpet, a full cast and crew Q&A after the screening, where the now-grown child stars discussed their current pursuits in life, and a VIP after-party performance by the School of Rock band during which "School of Rock" and "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" were played.
Television adaptation
On August 4, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that they were working with Paramount Television on a television show adaptation of the film. Production started in the fall and the series premiered in 2016. It stars Ricardo Hurtado, Lance Lim, Aidan Miner, Jade Pettyjohn, Breanna Yde and Tony Cavalero.
References
External links
- Official website
- School of Rock on IMDb
- School of Rock at Box Office Mojo
- School of Rock at Rotten Tomatoes
- School of Rock at Metacritic
- "Video plea to Led Zeppelin" on YouTube