School Of Rock: 5 Ways Dewey Finn Is Jack Black’s Best Character (& 5 Alternatives)

Jack Black is one of the funniest movie stars in the world. He’s endlessly lovable, his comic energy is virtually unparalleled, and he steals all his scenes, even if he’s only playing a supporting role.

Arguably Black’s best role is that of Dewey Finn in Richard Linklater’s School of Rock. He’s a man-child and wannabe rock star who gets kicked out of his band and cons his way into a job as a substitute teacher. When he discovers that his students are all musically talented, he decides to form a new band. While Dewey is Black’s career-defining character, there are plenty of alternatives to choose from.

10 Dewey Is The Best: School Of Rock Utilized Black’s Musical Abilities

In addition to his talents as an actor and a comedian, Jack Black is also a gifted musician. Along with Kyle Gass, he’s in the comedy rock band Tenacious D. As a wannabe rocker and music teacher, the role of Dewey Finn fully utilized Black’s musical skillset.

Throughout the movie, Black gets a chance for a bunch of musical gags, like getting his class to play “Touch Me” by the Doors and singing his original track “The Legend of the Rent” to an audience in stunned silence.

9 Alternative: Barry Judd

John Cusack is technically the star of High Fidelity, but he was pretty miscast in the lead role and the movie ended up serving more as a big break for Jack Black than a starring vehicle for Cusack.

Whenever Black is on-screen, he steals the spotlight from Cusack. High Fidelity provided audiences with a brilliant introduction to Black’s uniquely zany comic energy.

8 Dewey Is The Best: He’s An Underdog

Everyone loves an underdog, and Dewey Finn is the ultimate underdog. He sleeps on a mattress on his friend’s floor and at the beginning of the movie, he gets kicked out of his own band.

Over the course of the movie, Dewey cons his way into a substitute teaching job, inspires his class, and plays a kick-ass show at the Battle of the Bands.

7 Alternative: Nacho Libre

Although it was less acclaimed than Jared Hess’ previous movie Napoleon Dynamite for its heavier reliance on slapstick humor, Nacho Libre was a great starring vehicle for Jack Black.

The title character is likable and well-intentioned, but also delightfully wacky. He’s a priest who leads a double life as a wrestler to support the orphanage he runs.

6 Dewey Is The Best: Black’s Immature Persona Is Contrasted Hilariously With His Young Co-Stars

Most of Jack Black’s co-stars in School of Rock – and the ones he shares the most screen time with – are kids. Black’s comic persona is hilariously immature, and slacker man-child Dewey Finn was a prime vehicle for that aspect of his typical characterization.

This immaturity is hysterically contrasted with Black’s young co-stars. In many cases, like Miranda Cosgrove’s preppy character Summer, the kids are more mature and intelligent than Dewey is.

5 Alternative: Bernie Tiede

Years after collaborating on School of Rock, Jack Black and director Richard Linklater made a significantly darker comedy called Bernie, chronicling the murder of an 80-year-old millionaire by her 39-year-old friend, Bernie Tiede.

The movie was acclaimed by critics for its twisted sense of humor and its historical accuracy. Black’s lead performance as Tiede is disturbingly funny and nothing like any of his other work.

4 Dewey Is The Best: There’s Plenty Of Physicality

Jack Black is a hugely talented physical comedian. It’s not easy to make physical comedy work, but Black makes it look effortless. Not all of his movies make use of his physicality, but School of Rock does.

Dewey Finn is extremely clumsy, tripping over his equipment and taking a stagedive where no one catches him, and Black performs every comedic and slapstick beat perfectly.

3 Alternative: Po

While Shrek will always be DreamWorks Animation’s most popular franchise, Kung Fu Panda has left Madagascar in its dust to take the second spot. Jack Black voices the lead character, Po, an overweight panda who is unexpectedly crowned the Dragon Warrior, baffling the Furious Five, who believe it should be one of them.

Although his training gets off to a rocky start, Po ultimately proves himself to be a hero. The message is an important one for DreamWorks’ young audience to learn: anyone can be special, no matter who they are or where they come from.

2 Dewey Is The Best: He’s Wholesome

Black has done some dark comedies, like Envy and Bernie, but he’s a mostly family-friendly movie star, appearing in wholesome roles that reinforce strong morals.

Dewey Finn is possibly Black’s most wholesome role. He’s constantly telling his students how great they are and encouraging them to follow their dreams.

1 Alternative: Jeff Portnoy

Alongside Ben Stiller’s action movie star Tugg Speedman and Robert Downey, Jr.’s method actor Kirk Lazarus, Jack Black rounds out Tropic Thunder’s central trio with drug-addicted funnyman Jeff Portnoy, star of the fart joke-based The Fatties franchise.

After the director of a Vietnam War movie decides to send his actors into an actual warzone filled with hidden cameras, Jeff loses the last of his heroin and starts to deal with withdrawal symptoms while he’s stuck in the jungle.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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