Dewey Finn stage-dives at a gig and nobody catches him. His band fires him. His flatmate Ned Schneebly, a substitute teacher, gets a call from Horace Green, a private school, and Dewey takes the call as Ned. He has three weeks to pay rent. He also has a class of fifth graders who can play instruments. School of Rock is the film Mike White wrote for Jack Black after living next door to him, and Richard Linklater made it between Waking Life and Before Sunset.
What Happens At Horace Green
Dewey hears the class in music lesson, hands out instruments and roles the same afternoon, and calls it a class project. Zack on guitar, Katie on bass, Freddy on drums, Lawrence on keys, Tomika who will not sing until she does. Summer is the manager. Principal Mullins, played by Joan Cusack, is strict until a Stevie Nicks song in a bar. The parents find out the day of the Battle of the Bands. The kids go anyway, and the performance of Zack’s song, then Dewey’s, is the end.
Why It Is Jack Black’s Best Film
Every child in the band actually played. Linklater cast musicians first and taught them acting. Black’s “The Legend of the Rent” is improvised. Mike White plays Ned. Sarah Silverman is Ned’s girlfriend. The film became a Broadway musical with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Miranda Cosgrove went on to iCarly.
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