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After being kicked out of his own band prior to the "Battle of the Bands", Dewey Finn's desperation reaches a fevered pitch; he has no money, no way to earn any, no way to compete with his old band and take home the prize money. His roommate's controlling girlfriend wants Dewey kicked out of the apartment. That all changes with a single phone call. Dewey pretends to be his roommate Mike (Mike White) and takes the job of substitute teacher at a private school. Dewey soon discovers that teaching is much harder than playing air guitar. The competitive kids appear restless and ill-at-ease doing nothing. Dewey has no luck recruiting for his new band. Until he discovers his class practicing classical music in the music room. An idea blooms full blown like a bad heavy metal song. The kids will be HIS backing band. ***

An inspired collision of indie sensibilities and Hollywood, the delightful "School of Rock" finally gives the talented performer Jack Black both a role he can sink his teeth into and one where he can demonstrate the chops he's honed as a member of Tenacious D. Black looks like a demonic Joe Cocker (prior to the beard of course) or Angus Young (AC/DC) after an eating binge. Black literally lights the movie up from within due to his infectious energy and humor. The screenplay by co-star Mike White ("The Good Girl") was written specifically with Black in mind. Indie director Richard Linklater doesn't go the easy route; he makes Dewey into a likable slob who misleads, manipulates and twists everyone around so he can obtain his goal. Ultimately, Dewey is undone by his roommate's girlfriend otherwise he would have taken the charade all the way to the "Battle of the Bands". Like "The Commitments" (the film this most closely resembles), "School of Rock" is at its best in the sequences where Dewey works with the class. Joan Cusack dives right into the heart of the uptight principal Rosalie Mullins and the scenes between her and Dewey are delightfully funny and charming. The best sequence between them involves Dewey asking her out for a drink so he can get her drunk. He's hoping to talk her into letting him take the kids out on a field trip (really the audition for the "Battle of the Bands") by getting her to sing along to Stevie Nick's "Edge of Seventeen". It's a crack up to see Cusack belt out the song in the biker bar that Dewey takes her to. The kids in the movie all give great performances. They appear natural and clearly are having a ball playing their roles as well as the instruments in the movie.

Lots of marvelous extras crop up under the Special Features Menu. Almost everyone is worth watching more than once. Jack Black's "Pitch to Led Zeppelin" shows Black begging the band to let the production use "Immigrant Song" for the film. It's very funny and clocks in at just the perfect length at 3 minutes. "MTV's Diary of Jack Black" captures Black at his most outrageous (for television) and comedic best. His partner in his parody band Tenacious D also appears in the video as well and they strum an assorted of oddly titled songs. We also have the usual theatrical trailer and a section that "discusses" the lessons learned from the movie. ***

The interactive features are almost as fun as the Special Features. "Dewey Finn's History of Rock" is surprisingly accurate and funny as well. The original theatrical web site appears as an archive on the disc but is only accessible via the DVD-ROM area of the disc. Again, it's worthwhile and has a number of funny bits worth taking a look at as well. ***