School of Rock

School of Rock is a 2003 American comedy film from Paramount Pictures, starring Jack Black. The film was written specifically for Black by Mike White and directed by Richard Linklater. It was well-received by critics, gaining a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes,and was number 98 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies".

Dewey Finn, a hard rock singer and guitarist, is unanimously voted out of his band by the rest of the members for his arrogance and frequent hyperactive stage antics. His submissive roommate and lifelong friend Ned Schneebly (writer Mike White), a substitute teacher, threatens Dewey with eviction under heavy pressure from his girlfriend Patty Di Marco unless Dewey "gets a real job" and pays off his growing rent debt. Dewey feels forced to give up his passion until he receives a phone call intended for Ned from the principal of a prestigious prep school, Rosaline Mullins, asking Ned to fill in for a teacher who would be out for several weeks. Desperate for income to avoid getting evicted, Dewey impersonates Ned and takes the job as a substitute teacher for the fifth-grade class.

Dewey has no real idea how to carry out his role as a teacher, and instead simply gives his students constant free time. However, when he overhears his pupils playing in music class and realizes that some of the children in the class have musical talent. He decides to turn his temporary job into what he tells them is a special class project, but is actually a personal one: to turn a classroom full of kids into a rock band and crew, complete with a ten-year-old manager, a girl called Summer (Miranda Cosgrove), which will serve as a vehicle to stardom, ultimately to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands, where he is out to avenge his eviction from his old band and win the $20,000 prize.

After realizing that most of the kids are interested primarily in pop and contemporary music, Dewey turns the school days into lessons of rock history and music playing, exposing his students to those artists he regards as rock legends. Six rock stars are featured with classic footage in the movie: Jimi Hendrix, Iggy Pop, Pete Townshend, Angus Young, Keith Moon and Kurt Cobain, and bands such as the Ramones and Alice in Chains. In addition, during a montage, the drummer, Freddy, is seen watching footage of the famous drum battle between Buddy Rich and Ed Shaughnessy.

Dewey narrowly escapes detection when Ms Mullins decides to attend one of his class's lessons to check on their progress, forcing him to actually teach the official course material. Dewey attempts to revive any old love for rock he finds in her, having found out that she likes Stevie Nicks and playing her song "Edge of Seventeen" on a jukebox. The two develop a close friendship after this.

Meanwhile, the class audition for the Battle of the Bands, which Dewey told them was their "school project". They are turned back because they show up too late. With Summer's help, Dewey persuades the Battle's managers by lying that the students are all terminally ill with "stick-it-to-da-man-niosis", a fictional rare blood disease, and out of compassion, they allow the students to perform in the Battle of the Bands.

However, later that day, Dewey is exposed when Ned receives a pay cheque from Horace Green in the mail, knowing he has never worked there. During the parent-teacher night later on, Dewey meets the students' parents, who originally seem very suspicious of his ability to teach their children. Dewey succeeds in convincing them that he is a competent teacher, but Ned appears and confronts Dewey (due almost entirely to his girlfriend's persuasion). His real identity is revealed, and he is fired from the school. Considering himself a failure, he falls into depression, only recovering when the students, on their way to the contest via schoolbus, plead with him to join them for the Battle of the Bands.

As the credits go up, Summer is seen arguing a deal over the cell phone as she enters the School of Rock, a newly opened after-school program where Dewey continues to coach the band and Ned teaches the younger ones, and the credits roll as the band sings "The movie is over, but we're still on screen" breaking the fourth wall.