School of Rock Movie Review

School of Rock (2003)

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Written by: Mike White
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school and tries to turn his class into a rock band.

Verdict
This takes a well-used story where a teacher learns as much from kids as he imparts to them, but it adds comedy and Jack Black's unbridled enthusiasm. The movie is just so enjoyable and fun. Every characters gets a moment to shine. It's so satisfying to see each characters' progression. While the premise has been done before, this makes all the right changes. The execution is nearly flawless while also providing a deep dive into rock music.
Watch It.

Review
Wannabe rock star Dewey (Jack Black) is kicked out of his band for his lack of focus and indulgent guitar solos. The band doesn't think they can progress with Dewey. That cuts off his only source of income, so when his roommate gets a call for a substitute teacher position, Dewey impersonates him and takes the job.

Jack Black plays Dewey Finn

Dewey tries to start a new band, and that proves difficult. He isn't much of a teacher either, comically inept while running out the clock every day. When he realizes his class has musical talent, he sees his next band and starts a school project. He tells them it's a school competition, but it's actually a local battle of the bands. We quickly get the sense that despite his selfish motivations he may accidentally teach the kids something about themselves and self-confidence.

Dewey's childlike exuberance is contagious. His passion for music transfers to the children. He's finally found a subject he can teach, and he's passionate about it. Inevitably his ruse was only going to take him so far before someone found him out. That of course happens right before the competition. The confidence he's instilled in the children can't be quenched. Despite Dewey's firing, the kids want to play the show anyway.

There are plenty of feel good movies where a teacher instills confidence in children, but this accomplishes that with a teacher that's a fraud and succeeds in spite of that. We see these children grow as Dewey instills a confidence in them that no one else has or could. Seeing the kids play at battle of the bands is a great cap to the movie. It's a wonderful performance and the parents, while initially upset, get to see their children excel.