School of Rock (2003) is a comedy film starring Jack Black. The film was written specifically for Black by Mike White, and directed by Richard Linklater. Although a few references give this film's name as The School of Rock, which may have been its initial working title, its official website, and most other references, refer to it as School of Rock.

This critically-acclaimed movie is credited with sparking an amazing interest in classic rock among members of Generation Y, a generation notable for its interest in music that predates itself, such as bands like AC/DC, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and many others.

This film features musical talent comparable to child prodigy from actors as young as 10 who play guitar, bass, drums and keyboard (not to mention some surprisingly well-trained voices) remarkably well.

A reality show called Rock School was allegedly based on the film, though the producers claim it was in the works since 2002.

This film is number 98 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. Taglines:

Take notes.
Mr. Black. Accept no substitute. Come on feel the noize.
He just landed the gig of his life: 5th grade.
We don't need no education.
Heavy Mental.
We shall teach Rock & Roll to the world!

Black plays Dewey Finn, a talented yet excitable 30-year-old heavy metal/hard rock singer and guitarist with a reputation for being difficult to work with. His flamboyant on-stage antics, however, get him kicked out of his band, "No Vacancy." His roommate Ned, a substitute teacher (played by White), threatens eviction (under heavy pressure from his overbearing girlfriend) unless Dewey gets a real job and pays his share of the rent. A phone call from the principal of a prestigious prep school (played by Joan Cusack) asking for his roommate's services leads Dewey to impersonate his roommate and get a job as a substitute for the fifth-grade class.

Dewey takes the job to make a little money with as little effort as possible. When he discovers that some of the kids in the class have musical talent, he decides to turn his temporary job into what he tells them is a special school project but is actually a personal one: turn a classroom full of kids into a band and crew (complete with a ten-year-old manager played by Miranda Cosgrove) which will serve as a vehicle to stardom. Dewey is the band's lead singer and rock teacher, exposing his students to such rock legends as AC/DC, The Who, Led Zeppelin (Dewey: "Don't tell me you've never gotten the Led out."), and Pink Floyd. Four rock stars are featured with classic footage in the movie: Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Angus Young and Keith Moon. The movie culminates in the class's final project: performance in a local battle of the bands. The class loses to Dewey's old band, which plays very generic, low-tempo rock. However, the class doesn't care about the loss because Dewey's "school of rock" gives them more self-esteem and an understanding that rock transcends traditional notions of success and failure (Freddy the drummer: "Rock isn't about getting an 'A'. Sex Pistols never won anything."). The band get an encore from the crowd and play 'It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N Roll)' by AC/DC. This scene fades to the credits, which play over the next scene. This last scene features Jack and Ned's 'School of Rock', in the form of them teaching kids to play in their apartment. The footage featuring Jack and the kids playing It's a Long Way to the Top in the apartment was almost entirely improvised.

Supporting actors in the film include Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, Adam Pascal, and (an uncredited) Frank Whaley.

The film has been nominated for several awards, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor - Comedy or Musical, and won Black an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.

A School of Rock was founded in Philadelphia in 1998 by musician Paul Green and was the subject of a recent award-winning documentary, Rock School. Green's program, personality, and life story may have influenced many of the aspects of the film. However, no credit was given to the program for inspiration. The school now has locations in Philadelphia, New York City, Downingtown, Cherry Hill, Somers Point, South Hackensack, Bucks County, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles,and San Francisco.