---
title: "The School of Rock"
year: 2003
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-school-of-rock"
fi1m_id: "the-school-of-rock"
imdb_id: "tt0332379"
tmdb_id: 1584
wikidata_id: "Q820753"
fi1m_score: 84
critics_score: 79
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-14"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:07.615079+00:00"
region: "ID"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The School of Rock (2003)

Directed by Richard Linklater · 1h 50m · Comedy, Family, Music

## Identity

The School of Rock

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-school-of-rock
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-school-of-rock
- **IMDb ID:** tt0332379
- **TMDB ID:** 1584
- **Wikidata ID:** Q820753
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332379/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1584, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q820753

**Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 79 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Jack Black treats rock music as a compulsory subject and adult supervision as somebody else’s problem

> Richard Linklater’s classroom comedy gives Jack Black room to be ridiculous without making fools of the children. The story holds few surprises, but the laughs and the affection are earned.

## Synopsis

Jack Black plays Dewey Finn, a rock musician who poses as a supply teacher and brings his musical obsessions into a classroom. His pupils become the audience for an education that has little interest in the usual curriculum. As Dewey tries to pass himself off as an adult with something to teach, his enthusiasm for rock offers the children a way to think differently about themselves. Richard Linklater directs Mike White’s screenplay, with Joan Cusack as Rosalie Mullins, White as Ned Schneebly and Miranda Cosgrove as Summer Hathaway.

## Review

*The School of Rock* is a funny, generous family comedy with a story we can see coming and a leading performance that makes us happy to follow it. Richard Linklater gives Jack Black’s Dewey Finn, a musician posing as a supply teacher, considerable freedom to behave badly. He also makes room for the children who have to put up with him. The pleasure is in watching this unsuitable adult take music seriously enough to become useful to somebody else.

Black makes Dewey’s passion convincing even when his conduct is indefensible. His headbanging made us laugh; his seriousness about sharing the music moved us more than we expected. He has found something he thinks the children ought to hear, and Black lets that excitement come through without tidying away the self-importance. We can enjoy his company while remaining relieved that he is not responsible for our education.

Linklater’s direction of the young cast matters just as much as Black’s willingness to be ridiculous. Miranda Cosgrove’s Summer Hathaway has enough presence to hold our attention alongside him, and the children’s restrained reactions make his excess funnier. Joan Cusack, playing Rosalie Mullins, brings a welcome sharpness to the adult cast. There is kindness in the way these performances are handled, but nobody seems to have been told that appearing in a family comedy means looking delighted all the time.

Rogier Stoffers’s cinematography serves the comedy by keeping our attention on Black’s physical performance and the children’s responses. Jeremy Conway’s production design makes the classroom feel sufficiently orderly for Dewey to seem all the more out of place. That contrast does useful comic work without needing much explanation. Neither contribution asks to be admired separately, which is sensible in a film whose central performer already wants everybody looking at him.

Sandra Adair’s editing gives the children’s reactions their share of the joke instead of making the film a continuous demonstration of Black’s energy. There is enough breathing space to notice how differently the pupils respond to him. Craig Wedren’s score wisely avoids competing with the music Dewey wants the children to love. The film is already quite capable of telling us how much music matters to him, and the restraint is welcome.

Mike White’s screenplay has fewer surprises than the performances. The promise that a classroom will find new confidence through an unsuitable teacher is familiar enough to leave little suspense about the film’s direction. At 110 minutes, the repeated insistence on rock as an answer to life’s difficulties begins to feel a little overextended. We could have used more doubt about Dewey’s assumption that his favourite music is precisely what everybody else needs.

What we ask of a comedy like this is that the children have some dignity and the adults provide something worth laughing at. Linklater understands that arrangement, and Black is willing to do the undignified work without treating Dewey as a contemptible idiot. The affection survives some fairly appalling behaviour because the performance makes his excitement so convincing. Watch it with somebody who remembers taking a favourite band this seriously, and resist the temptation to explain the lesson afterwards.

*Fi1m score 84, published 14 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are consistently positive, with praise centred on Jack Black’s performance as a rock musician posing as a supply teacher. Critics find his physical comedy and musical enthusiasm well suited to the role, giving a familiar classroom story enough energy to entertain adults and children alike. Richard Linklater also earns credit for keeping sentimentality in check, drawing natural performances from the young cast and treating the children with respect rather than making them merely cute.

The differences are modest and concern how much the familiar formula matters. More enthusiastic reviews see rock music’s liberating possibilities handled with intelligence and conviction; others settle for an enjoyable, derivative comedy carried by its lead. The Guardian misses a sharper satirical edge, while Variety stresses how conventional the material is for Linklater and writer Mike White. Neither reservation amounts to a rejection of the film’s good humour.

## Straight answers

**Is The School of Rock worth watching?**

*The School of Rock* is worth watching for anyone who wants a funny, generous family comedy, and we scored it 84. Jack Black's Dewey Finn behaves appallingly and is still good company, while Richard Linklater lets the children keep their dignity. The story holds few surprises, and at 110 minutes the insistence that rock answers everything begins to wear thin.

**How long is The School of Rock, and what is it rated?**

*The School of Rock* runs 1h 50m. It is a comedy and family film.

**Where can I watch The School of Rock in Indonesia?**

*The School of Rock* is streaming on Netflix in Indonesia, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV from Rp 25,000. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does The School of Rock compare to The Commitments?**

*The School of Rock* and [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) both take their music seriously even when the musicians make that difficult, but they are different in kind. Linklater's film is a classroom comedy built around one ridiculous adult and the children who put up with him; Alan Parker's is a rougher Dublin band comedy with unruly company and better songs. We recommend both, and the choice depends on whether you want Jack Black's excess or an ensemble's.

**What should I watch after The School of Rock?**

After *The School of Rock*, try [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) (1991, Fi1m 82): The music is taken seriously, even when the musicians make that difficult. Then [*Billy Elliot*](https://film.one/film/billy-elliot) (2000, Fi1m 81): Another child’s artistic enthusiasm meets adult expectations, with more anger and less noise.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): A superb comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously and excels at a conventional genre by injecting rock energy. Singles out Jack Black's amazing, screen-hogging performance and physical humour as the core strength. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/school-of-rock/4015366.article)
- **Slant Magazine** (85/100, inferred): The critic hails the film's exuberant energy, Black's infectious passion as Dewey, and Linklater's intelligent handling of the formulaic story, which celebrates rock's life-affirming power without overdoing clichés. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/school-of-rock/)
- **Empire**, Chris Hewitt (80/100, inferred): The film is a perfect vehicle for Jack Black, delivering a feel-good hit with his energetic comic performance as the slacker teacher. It embraces familiar formula with energy, humour and talented young actors while avoiding excessive sentiment. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/school-rock-review/)
- **Radio Times**, Adam Smith (4/5): A rare kid's film that doesn't patronise its audience and entertains adults too. Praises Jack Black's outstanding performance and Linklater for avoiding schmaltz while drawing natural performances from the young cast. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-99kl6v/the-school-of-rock/)
- **Time Out**, NB (80/100, inferred): Presents the film as a different kind of teacher training comedy where a headbanging jackass supply teacher saves square kids with rock music. Calls it a cathartic class comedy for kids of all sizes, like Bugsy Malone in rock pomp or Slacker meets Spy Kids. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/school-of-rock)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (75/100, inferred): The film is a likeable, sweet-natured family comedy in which Jack Black finds his breakthrough role as a rock musician posing as a supply teacher who inspires his class with the power of rock. It lacks the satirical edge of similar comedies but succeeds through Black's energetic performance. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/feb/06/school-of-rock-review)
- **Total Film**, Total Film (75/100, inferred): Linklater's mainstream effort is formulaic but powered by genuine passion for rock, with Jack Black's whirlwind performance driving the laughs. It succeeds as an amusing, derivative comedy updating teacher-student stories with guitars and rebellion. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-school-of-rock-review/)
- **Variety** (70/100, inferred): The most conventionally tilted movie that director Richard Linklater or scenarist Mike White have been involved with, it is a genial comedy toplining Jack Black as a rock 'n' roll lifer/loser teaching a classroom of 10-year-olds. Linklater and White avoid opportunities for excess cuteness, generally letting adults get the laughs while allowing the juveniles some quizzical dignity. [Read](https://variety.com/2003/film/reviews/the-school-of-rock-1200539378/)
- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert: The film is as serious as it can be about its comic subject and never condescends to its characters or audience. It proves you can make a family film that is alive, well-acted, smart, perceptive, funny, and rocks. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/school-of-rock-2003)
- **The AV Club**, Scott Tobias: The critic praises Jack Black's perfectly tailored manic performance as a rock-obsessed substitute teacher and Linklater's light touch in turning a familiar formula into an entertaining, philosophical comedy about the liberating power of rock music. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/school-of-rock-1798198937)
- **The New York Times**, Stephen Holden (Critic’s Pick): The irresistibly good-natured comedy proposes a bold path toward self-realization by imagining a suppressed rock 'n' roll maniac in everyone. Jack Black's musically savvy caricature infuses real passion into the movie, which demonstrates an unerring sense of where to draw the line. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/03/movies/film-review-substitute-teacher-puts-spin-3-r-s-rock-roll-rebellion.html)

## Details

- **Director:** Richard Linklater
- **Director:** Richard Linklater
- **Screenplay:** Mike White
- **Cinematography:** Rogier Stoffers
- **Editor:** Sandra Adair
- **Music:** Craig Wedren
- **Production design:** Jeremy Conway
- **Costume design:** Karen Patch
- **Producer:** Scott Rudin
- **Cast:** Jack Black as Dewey Finn; Joan Cusack as Rosalie Mullins; Mike White as Ned Schneebly; Sarah Silverman as Patty Di Marco; Miranda Cosgrove as Summer Hathaway; Joey Gaydos Jr. as Zack; Kevin Alexander Clark as Freddy Jones; Rivkah Reyes as Katie
- **Runtime:** 1h 50m
- **First release (Canada):** 9 September 2003
- **Genres:** Comedy, Family, Music
- **Budget:** $35 million
- **Box office:** $131 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdzWQT0wLCY

## Where to watch in Indonesia

- Netflix: streaming
- Apple TV: rent Rp 25,000, hd
- Apple TV: buy Rp 129,000, hd

*Checked 2026-09-14.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HU, ID, IE, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Sing Street* (2016): More young musicians discovering how much confidence a few chords can supply.
- *Linda Linda Linda* (2005): A school band comedy that gives its young musicians time to be awkward.
- *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82: The music is taken seriously, even when the musicians make that difficult. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md)
- *Billy Elliot* (2000), Fi1m 81: Another child’s artistic enthusiasm meets adult expectations, with more anger and less noise. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/billy-elliot.md)
- *The Band's Visit* (2007): For the same faith in music bringing unlikely people into one another’s company.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-school-of-rock