Tuesdays with Tom: 20 Years of School of Rock
Reviewing the classic 2003 comedy and its impact on me; plus thoughts on the end of Hulu, the NBA in-season tourney, animated comedies and David Fincher
In October 2003, I got invited to Matt Meindl’s 12th birthday party. It wasn’t my first or last Meindl birthday celebration, but it was one of the most memorable. It was an unofficial tradition within the group to see movies in the theater for a birthday party. Matt announced that we were going to see Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star featuring David Spade as the titular character. But between the invitation and the day of the party, something changed. Suddenly, we were going to see School of Rock. With the benefit of twenty years of hindsight, it was one of the most consequential choices in mine and Matt’s young lives. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star was a box office bomb with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 22% with the critics. We howled with laughter watching School of Rock. Shortly after this, Matt and I started a band together as preteen, self-taught rock musicians. I don’t say this about many films, but School of Rock legitimately changed my life. The French Silk pie afterwards was pretty good, too.
In 1976, a group of Canadian elementary school students were gathered to play and record pop hits at the Langley School District in British Columbia. Several songs were recorded and compiled on a record called The Langley Schools Music Project. The album gained a cult following in the early 2000s and eventually got into the ears of screenwriter Mike White. His next-door neighbor in Los Angeles was Jack Black. As a rising star in Hollywood, Black often got offered leading comedy roles and he shared many of his rejected scripts with his neighbor. White was well aware of Black’s interest in rock music as his band, Tenacious D, was quietly thriving at the time. Inspired by The Langley Schools Music Project, he imagined a movie where Black was the leader of a kids band and cranked out the script for School of Rock. Black loved the concept and suggested that they pitch his friend Richard Linklater on directing the movie.
Linklater wasn’t an obvious candidate to direct School of Rock and he initially turned down the offer. He told producer Scott Rudin “I don’t know how to do this”, but Rudin insisted that he reconsider. Linklater had already made a classic rock-focused film, Dazed and Confused, in 1993. But this was a significantly different story. School of Rock was about a defiant, down-on-his-luck wannabe rocker and the majority of the cast would be kids. Eventually, he was persuaded by Rudin and the casting process to find the kids in School of Rock began.
One of Linklater’s demands was to hire kids who were musicians over actors -- not the other way around. Thousands of kids between the ages of nine and 14 auditioned for the highly coveted roles. They found several needles in this haystack with the primary cast of School of Rock. Joey Gaydos Jr. plays Zack "Zack-Attack" Mooneyham, the lead guitarist. Kevin Clark is Freddy "Spazzy McGee" Jones, the energetic drummer. Rivkah Reyes plays Katie "Posh Spice", the female bassist. Robert Tsai is Lawrence "Mr. Cool", the shy keyboardist. Maryam Hassan (aka “Turkey Sub”), Aleisha Allen, Caitlin Hale play the backing vocalists. Together, they formed the band in School of Rock. As for the non-musical kids, Brian Falduto plays Billy “Fancy Pants”, the self-appointed band stylist. The most inspired casting choice is Miranda Cosgrove as Summer Hathaway, a future Disney Channel star who steals the spotlight as the classroom leader and band manager. Casting inexperienced child actors is a major risk. But in School of Rock, the naivete and looseness of the kids is a feature not a bug. And as it turned out, it was exactly what the movie needed.
School of Rock opens in a grungy dive bar where a band named No Vacancy is performing for a disinterested crowd. The only one having a blast is Dewey Finn (Jack Black), who rips off his shirt and dives into the unsuspecting crowd ready to crowd surf. Instead, he falls flat on his face, drunk and embarrassed. The band is Dewey’s life and he’s convinced that they’re the next Led Zeppelin. More specifically, he thinks they’re a lock to win the upcoming Battle of the Bands, a $20,000 prize and a record deal. The only thing that hits Dewey harder than the floor is getting kicked out of No Vacancy for a shirtless hunk named Spider. They tell him he’s a joke. He tells them that they’re “corporate sell-outs” and that they’ve forgotten what it really means to make rock music.
Dewey lives with his best friend and reformed rocker, Ned Schneebly, who is curiously played by Mike White. He instantly enters the Hall of Fame of Neds and he’s a total pushover. Ned’s overbearing girlfriend, Patty (Sarah Silverman), wants Dewey out of the apartment because he can’t afford his share of the rent. Of course, Dewey thinks the opposite and his lack of income could cost him more than a place to live. Ned tells Dewey that he would like to see Dewey try to be a substitute teacher like him for even one day. Dewey will soon live up to this rhetorical dare. He accidentally takes a phone call from Rosalie Mullins, the uptight principal at Horace Green prep school. She is looking for Mr. Schneebly to be a long-term substitute. Desperate for money, Dewey pretends he’s the man in question and agrees to take the gig solely based on the $650 weekly paycheck.
If there is a funnier movie that depicts blatant fraud in the education system, I’m not aware of it. Dewey shaves his face when he arrives at Horace Green in a beat-up conversion van, but that’s about the only thing he alters in his performance as Mr. Schneebly. He nearly blows his cover right away when he asks if he can leave early for the day and tells Ms. Mullins that he will smack any kid who gets out of line. She overlooks these red flags. Within minutes of being introduced to his new classroom of students, he tells them he’s hungover and eats their leftover food. With the exception of one eager learner, Summer, the class is overjoyed at the offer of unlimited free time.
Meanwhile, Dewey is struggling to recruit people for his new band. His disillusionment with the world spills over into a fiery lecture about “The Man”, a metaphor for resisting authority figures and adult issues. Dewey steadfastly believes there’s only one proper way to stick it to the man -- rock and roll. While he’s phoning it in at Horace Green, he stumbles upon his students playing instruments in their school’s music class. He gets an awful, wild idea. Why not unwittingly recruit the students to be part of his new band? To cover up for this further deception, Dewey tells the class that they’re working on a top secret school project called “rock band” and even suggests that succeeding will help them get into Harvard.
School of Rock quickly establishes that Jack Black was born to play the role of Dewey Finn. It is the only character in his long career that combines all his unique talents into one wildly entertaining package. Dewey’s dogged commitment to classic rock, his zany approach to teaching and electric chemistry with kids are quintessential elements of the Jack Black persona. Dewey might be a terrible fit for traditional education, but he’s surprisingly apt at working with kids. Early in the movie, Lawrence tells him that he’s “not cool enough” to be in the band. Dewey instills confidence in Lawrence and assures him he is capable of being a rocker. Apparently, this was inspired by an off screen moment where Robert Tsai told Richard Linklater he wasn’t a fit for the character.
But Dewey has plenty of stumbles in his haphazard approach to substitute teaching. He hilariously assigns Summer and two other female students as “groupies” for the band and Summer quickly learns it's neither an appropriate nor fitting role for her. He is shocked that the students know nothing about rock music or its storied history. He’s even more surprised that the students don’t relate to his passionate song about being kicked out of No Vacancy. He thinks that “The Legend of the Rent” is destined for greatness and his shameless recruitment of children to fulfill his vision seems totally acceptable in his warped mind.
School of Rock doesn’t fully commit to criticizing elitist children’s prep schools who claim to brighten the futures of America’s youth, but it comes close. Characters like Zack Mooneyham become audience avatars for the disparity between doing what you’re told and doing what you want. His father is abhorrently opposed to Zack’s interest in music. Horace Green parents are counting on the school to reinforce their strict worldviews upon their kids and to justify their expensive tuition costs with traditional results. Nobody walks away from School of Rock thinking that classic rock tutelage should replace the common fifth grade curriculum, but there’s something to Dewey’s dogma about following your dreams and sticking it to the man.
It’s inevitable that Dewey’s delightfully devious scheme will be discovered, but he keeps the charade up as long as he can. Dewey’s lies compound when he tricks the Battle of the Bands judges into thinking the kids are dying of a blood disease called “Stick-to-the-man-oesis” so that they can participate in the competition. One of his slickest moves doubles as the movie’s funniest scene where Miss Mullins almost learns about the secret band project. Dewey improvises a song about math that I still laugh about to this day. Mullins remains unconvinced, but Dewey keeps her at bay by getting her drunk and playing into her repressed rock and roll passions. Joan Cusack really shines in this particular, revelatory moment and, despite Dewey’s ulterior motives, it’s touching to see her unwind with him.
Ironically, it’s naive Ned that finally realizes what Dewey’s been up to. Dewey crumbles under the pressure of the Parents Night scrutiny and Ned’s annoying girlfriend rats him out to the cops. But this is a movie, so Dewey doesn’t go to jail or ruin Ned’s professional reputation. Instead, the kids are too invested into the project to give up. They sneak out of Horace Green, pick up Dewey and show up to Battle of the Bands. They watch the new look No Vacancy play a cheesy rock ballad. Dewey convinces the band to play Zack’s song instead of his own, showing some much needed self awareness and growth after an entire movie of selfish scheming.
The show at Battle of the Bands is an incredibly satisfying conclusion to School of Rock. It’s a legitimately catchy rock song, with Dewey dressed suspiciously like AC/DC guitarist Angus Young and the kids decked out in various eras of rock fashion. This time when he dives for a crowd surf, he’s welcomed with open arms. Even the angry parents warm up to the rollicking School of Rock performance. No Vacancy is crowned the winner of the competition, but the crowd demands an encore for School of Rock. The encore spills over into one of the best end credits scenes ever, with the actors breaking character and playing an extended cover of AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll”) at Dewey’s new (and legal) after school rock education class.
Like the music it honors, School of Rock instantly became a timeless classic. Until 2015, it was the highest grossing music-themed comedy of all-time and it is the most important movie of Jack Black’s career. School of Rock cemented his status as a go-to star for family friendly entertainment and it allowed him to show the world his impressive chops as both a musician and comic actor. Richard Linklater added School of Rock to his enviable career as a director and he’s made more films with an emphasis on classic rock. Mike White is still thriving as a screenwriter, with his hit series, The White Lotus, a new staple in the HBO rotation. The movie spawned a successful Broadway adaptation and a Nickelodeon TV series. 20 years later, the kids of School of Rock are adults and they seem to have a real bond with Jack Black and each other. Kevin Clark tragically died in 2021, but he was still making music with his co-stars up until his passing. They recently reunited for the 20th anniversary and talked glowingly about their experience working together.
School of Rock was not only a huge hit with our birthday party crew, but also millions of other young kids who became inspired to make music themselves. I was one of those kids. Between seeing School of Rock, the music video for “I Believe In a Thing Called Love” and wanting to impress my sixth grade girlfriend, I practically begged my dad to give me his bass guitar so that I could learn how to play. I remain very grateful that my parents didn’t suppress my interest in music and playing in our band was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Even if you didn’t pursue music like I did, School of Rock is much more than a beloved, heartfelt family comedy. It is an earnest movie about self acceptance and not always doing what’s expected of you. You can question Dewey Finn’s unconventional methods, but his self belief and ability to inspire others is undeniable. You can substitute rock music for just about any other thing and the message of School of Rock would remain the same. But I don’t know if it would be nearly as fun without its devout adoration for the history and importance of rock. School of Rock is a lot more entertaining than a lecture and makes a strong case that deep musical appreciation has universal applications beyond the classroom. I doubt that Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star has anything that deep to say and I hate to think what my life would be like today if I’d seen that instead of School of Rock twenty years ago.
Tom’s Thoughts of the Week
In the last two episodes of Friday Night Beers, Vince and I drank beers called Molson Canadian and Icelandic Arctic Lager. These are back to back international episodes that you don’t want to miss. With Molson, we go deep on Montreal’s history, the Molson family and why the company seems to be obsessed with becoming American. The latter episode is all about vikings and how we think about that historic lifestyle. We even talk about some modern-day vikings. By the way, we did an entire episode on Jack Black last year if you didn’t get enough about him in today’s piece. Please subscribe, rate and review our podcast here and follow our Instagram page for relevant updates!
I’m not sure if you have any fond memories with the Hulu brand over the years. But if you do, I’d start preparing to say your goodbyes. A few weeks ago, Disney paid Comcast an initial $8.6 billion to acquire its 33% stake in the streaming service. This will make Disney the sole owner of Hulu and Big Bad Bob Iger wasted no time announcing that it will be consolidated into one standalone app inside of Disney+ as soon as next month. A beta version will be rolled out in December with the goal of an official re-launch by next spring. Currently, you can purchase an ad-supported version of both apps for $9.99 a month or the Disney Bundle, which also includes ESPN+, for $19.99 a month without ads. But by folding Hulu into Disney+ officially, it begs the question of what does the name Hulu mean to consumers? Hulu made its name as the “next day after air” hub for shows on broadcast television. But while Hulu created a few noteworthy originals like The Handmaid’s Tale and Only Murders In The Building, original content has never been the main draw of the app. Hulu’s never really had its own identity. This entire acquisition is essentially to create more advertising appeal for adults since Disney+ is mostly geared to kids. Ultimately, I can see a future where they don’t even use the Hulu brand since the Disney one means significantly more globally. The thing I will likely miss the most about Hulu is getting it for free through my Spotify subscription -- a random promotion that I’ve happily milked for seven years. That probably says it all for how most people think of Hulu today and going forward.
The NBA’s in-season tournament is one of the most misguided attempts at increased fan engagement in recent sports history. One of the biggest issues in professional hoops is the perception that players don’t care about the regular season. But instead of shortening the schedule, the league is trying other methods to increase interest in the regular season. This is where the idea of this in-season tournament was born. Essentially, all 30 NBA teams are broken out into six groups where they’ll play each team in their group during the month of November. Random days of the week will host the “Tournament Nights” and the top eight teams from these groups will advance to a knockout tournament in December. After that, the top two remaining teams will play for a new NBA Cup in Las Vegas on December 9th. All of these games count towards the regular season, too. You got all that? It’s usually a bad sign when your new event is so confusing you need a two-minute commercial to explain the rules. So what’s in it for the players? Every player on the winning team will each get $500,000. Now if my company offered me $500,000 to try a little harder during the year, I’d be extremely motivated to do so. But in a sport where the average annual salary is nearly $10 million and the best players make over $50 million a year, is that really going to motivate players much? Here’s the other issue. Why should fans care about this? Currently, the only difference with these in-season tournament games are another questionable set of alternate jerseys and new courts that look like biblical plagues from Egypt. If the point is to get players and fans to care more, this event does neither. I’d be mildly intrigued if they put a playoff spot or a lottery draft pick on the line. But instead of gimmicky tournaments, maybe the NBA should focus on holding their players accountable for not trying hard enough.
Rick and Morty fans were left wondering about the future of the series when Adult Swim fired lead voice actor and co-creator Justin Roiland last January for allegations and charges of sexual misconduct. After nearly a year of silence from the team behind Rick and Morty, we finally got an answer when the seventh season premiered on October 15. The main roles of Rick and Morty were recast with soundalike voice actors Ian Cardoni and Harry Belden. Unlike other shows that made major changes with voice actors, the real life departure of Roiland has gone unacknowledged in the series so far and I doubt that most uninformed viewers would even notice the difference between Roiland, Cardoni and Belden. I’ll admit that I didn’t realize that Dan Harmon had given up full-time showrunning duties after the show’s third season. Basically, Rick and Morty’s been running like a finely tuned machine with one of its co-creators working in isolation (before being replaced) and the other taking a back seat to showrunner Scott Marder since 2018. The show is still hilarious and the quality has remained strong from season to season. It turns out it is very easy to move on when you run an animated series as long as you find talented people that sound like the original actor.
I’ve been critical of Netflix for many reasons in recent years. One of those reasons is that they regularly crank out subpar originals in movies and television. But I’ll tip my hat to them — they just delivered an absolute BANGER courtesy of the great director David Fincher. I’m a big fan of previous Fincher directed films like Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network and Gone Girl. His latest film is The Killer and it’s got all the ingredients of a fantastic Fincher psychological thriller. Michael Fassbender plays “The Killer”, a nameless assassin who shares some alarmingly similar traits to the film’s director. If you think I’m a stickler for timing and routines, wait until you see this guy’s process for hunting down targets. He’s a cold, stoic and exacting professional hitman and precision is his ultimate goal with everything. The Killer is told entirely from his point of view through voiceover monologues that come directly from inside its main character’s mind. But as the movie goes along, you begin to wonder if this killer is being honest with himself or, unbeknownst to him, the audience. The combination of this unreliable narration and gripping storyline makes The Killer a highly compelling watch. Fassbender is exceptional in this role that relies very little on dialogue yet conveys so much emotion through subtle expressions and deliberate physicality. There are plenty of surprises along the way within The Killer and it’s one of my favorite new films of the year.