The School of Rock

"He just landed the gig of his life: 5th grade."

2003 1h 50m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 6,413🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●82Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 353,463

ComedyFamilyMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.

“He just landed the gig of his life: 5th grade.”

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Cast

Jack Black
Dewey Finn
Joan Cusack
Rosalie Mullins
Mike White
Ned Schneebly
Sarah Silverman
Patty Di Marco
Miranda Cosgrove
Summer Hathaway
Joey Gaydos Jr.
Zack
Kevin Alexander Clark
Freddy Jones
Rivkah Reyes
Katie

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Linklater
Writers: Mike White
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Linklater, shot by Rogier Stoffers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Craig Wedren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sandra Adair shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Black and Joan Cusack and Mike White carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He just landed the gig of his life: 5th grade.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0332379 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Linklater directs. Rogier Stoffers behind the camera. Craig Wedren scores. Sandra Adair cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.7× over at the box office.
2Released 23 years ago.
3Directed by Richard Linklater, shot by Rogier Stoffers. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Craig Wedren. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sandra Adair shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jack Black and Joan Cusack and Mike White carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "He just landed the gig of his life: 5th grade.".
8IMDB entry: tt0332379 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "rock 'n' roll", "musician", "private school", "music competition".

The technical file

Cinematography: Rogier Stoffers
Original score: Craig Wedren
Editing: Sandra Adair
Production design: Jeremy Conway
Costume design: Karen Patch
Makeup / hair: Roz Music
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $131,098,967
Return: 375% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The School of Rock (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 82/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 353,463 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

8 wins & 24 nominations total

Also by

Richard Linklater

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-06-15
★ 8.5/10
You are not hardcore unless you live hardcore. The perfect vehicle for Jack Black, a film to show that given the right material he’s a bona fide comedic actor of some worth. Plot has Black as Dewey Finn, a wastrel musician who has no job prospects and who spends his time mooching off of his best mate Ned Sheebly (Mike White). When Dewey is fired from his rock band he’s left in limbo and in danger of being homeless. But when he answers a phone call offering Ned a job assignment, Dewey decides to take it upon himself to impersonate Ned and take the employment himself; as a schoolteacher! So it’s Jack Black in a classroom full of kids, it probably shouldn’t work, and even might seem like some sort of cruel and unusual punishment to anyone with an aversion to Black, but this is feel good nirvana and a paean to rock and roll. It’s perhaps unsurprising that it’s crammed with clichés from the classroom splinter of moviedom, the kids a roll call of characters we have seen numerous times. The spoilt swot, the roughneck, the one suffering parental peer pressure, the weight issue one and on it goes, but boy can they play music when Dewey takes them out of classical mode and into rock central. How nice to find that director Richard Linklater and writer Mike White have managed to rise above the clichés and avoid syrupy fodder, there’s such a zest and earnestness to it all, and the kids acting is high in quality as well, led by the big kid himself, Black on full tilt. But most of all, even as the morals and life affirming threads come wading in with the pulsing rock soundtrack, it’s a very funny picture, the gag quota enormously high. Be it Black trying to bluff the kids, the kids trying to bluff everyone else - or the wonderful Joan Cusack as the scatty stickler for the rules Principal Mullins – a laugh is never far away. Rock on! 8.5/10
daisyrowley2018-07-30
Our family loved this movie. While the language is a little strong, compared to other movies that are rated the same, it is relatively mild. If your children like rock, it is a lot of fun. If you are a family who tolerates no swearing whatsoever, or if "kick some ass" would shock or offend you, then it's not for you. The overall message is that uptight kids use their skills to create a rock show, a slacker finds a calling and realizes what is really important in life, and forgiveness abounds.

Production companies