Summary
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 students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.
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
Robert Tsai
Lawrence
Maryam Hassan
Tomika
Aleisha Allen
Alicia
Caitlin Hale
Marta
Brian Falduto
Billy
Z Infante
Gordon
James Hosey
Marco
Angelo Massagli
Frankie
Cole Hawkins
Leonard
Lee Wilkof
Mr. Green
Kate McGregor-Stewart
Mrs. Lemmons
Adam Pascal
Theo
Lucas Babin
Spider
Lucas Papaelias
Neil
Chris Stack
Doug
Suzzanne Douglas
Tomika's Mother
Jordan-Claire Green
Michelle
Veronica Afflerbach
Eleni
Jaclyn Neidenthal
Emily
Eron Otcasek
Musician
Carlos Velazquez
Musician
Kimberly Grigsby
Mrs. Sheinkopf
Wally Dunn
Gym Teacher
Tim Hopper
Zack's Father
Michael Dominguez-Rudolph
Art Student
Crash Cortez
Max
Nicky Katt
Razor
John Highsmith
Tony
Heather Goldenhersh
Sheila
Timothy "Speed" Levitch
Waiter
Scott Graham
Punk Rock Guy
Sharon Washington
Alicia's Mother
Kim Brockington
Leonard's Mother
Marty Murphy
Concerned Father
Kathleen McNenny
Freddy's Mother
Joanna Adler
Summer's Mother
Robert Lin
Lawrence's Father
Barry Shurchin
Cop
MacIntyre Dixon
Bus Driver
Amy Sedaris
Mrs. Haynish
Mary Fortune
Teacher's Assistant
Mandy Siegfried
Female Employee
Elle Key
Concert Goer
Carlos J. Da Silva
Security Guard
Ian O'Malley
Radio Exec
Chris Line
Radio DJ
Kyle Meaney
Toby
Frank Whaley
Battle of the Bands Director (uncredited)
Lauren Adler
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Kelly Anne Burns
Groupie (uncredited)
Leanne Cabrera
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Catherine A. Callahan
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Cedric Cannon
Leonard's Dad (uncredited)
Anivile Daniel
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Jane DeNoble
Billy's Mom (uncredited)
Caileigh Scott
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Karen Nazarov
Groupie (uncredited)
Riley G. Matthews, Jr.
Blood Brothers MC Biker (uncredited)
Ryan O'Connor
No Vaccancy's Biggest Fan (uncredited)
Scott Ross
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Johnny Sullivan
Guy in Crowd Who Catches Dewey (uncredited)
Jamie Vergan
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Joe Wachowski
Concert Goer (uncredited)
Crew
Director
Richard Linklater
Screenplay
Mike White
Reviews
John Chard
June 15, 2014
9
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
Media
Recommendations
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
Shallow Hal
Rock of Ages
Scooby-Doo
Fast Food Nation
Saving Silverman
Bernie
Nacho Libre
Gulliver's Travels
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
Encino Man
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Orange County
Elf
Dream Theater - Live at Luna Park
Old School
Brother Bear
Be Kind Rewind
Waking Life
