10 Best School Of Rock Quotes

Summary Dewey Finn's immaturity and lack of professionalism are evident in his crude announcement to the class about his hangover and diarrhea.

Dewey's insecure side is revealed when one student's insult hits home, showing another layer to his character beneath the comedic facade.

School of Rock's humor and charm shine through in Dewey's interactions with the kids, making for memorable and hilarious quotes.

More than 20 years after it was first released in theaters, School of Rock quotes still resonate with fans. The comedy gives Jack Black a role he was born to play as a failed rock star, Dewey Finn, who poses as a substitute teacher to make some money and decides to turn his class of private school students into a new rock band. The movie is well regarded for numerous reasons, including its soundtrack, its big laughs, and Black's performance. Yet, one of the greatest aspects of the film is Mike White's brilliant, heartfelt, and often hilarious script.

With talk of a School of Rock sequel potentially happening, now is a great time for fans to revisit the original movie and its unforgettable lines. The movie is filled with some remarkable one-liners and contains hilarious exchanges of dialogue, most of which come from Jack Black himself. Many of the movie's quotes have become famous, while there are also some underrated quotes from School of Rock that might remind fans of the movie's endless charm.

Related How Tall Jack Black Is (& 9 Other Details About Him You Didn't Know) Best known for his acting career, Jack Black is also a musician, singer, songwriter, and YouTuber. Here are some facts about his life.

10 "Hey, Hey, Hey. Ms. Dumbbum Ain't Your Teacher Today, I Am. And I've Got A Headache And The Runs."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

Dewey Finn is often considered Jack Black's greatest movie character, being immensely likable despite some rather obvious flaws. Initially, Dewey only cares about himself, and it's obvious that he's only at the school to cash a check. He quickly establishes himself as a dysfunctional teacher and not what these stuffy young students expect from a substitute. This is clear from the very beginning when Dewey passes on teaching anything because he's hungover and has both a headache and diarrhea.

Dewey's crude announcement to the class shows his immense immaturity and his lack of professionalism even in this job that he stole from someone else. This includes the fact that he pronounces Miss Dunham's name as Miss Dumbbum, showing that he is more childish than the actual children in the classroom. He shows no shame which Black somehow sells with charm.

9 "No. It Means I Was Drunk Yesterday."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

Rather than simply admitting that he has a headache and diarrhea — as if that isn't inappropriate enough — Dewey completely admits to the children that he is hungover. Not only did he tell them that he was hungover, but he forced them to directly participate by asking them if they knew what a hangover was as if he was teaching a lesson on the subject. When Frankie answers that Dewey is drunk, Dewey corrects him by saying he was drunk yesterday.

This first lesson is one of the best moments in School of Rock and perfectly sets up the comedic premise of the movie. Dewey is the last person who should be put in charge of kids and he doesn't have any issue with showcasing how ill-fitted he is for this job. It only makes it more exciting to see the antics that will be involved with him attempting to be their teacher.

8 "You're A Fat Loser And You Have Body Odor."

Lawrence (Robert Tsai)

While Dewey initially is against giving the students any lessons, when he sees their potential in creating a band, he decides that he has to teach them the essence of rock music. To do that, he has to get these kids to embrace their rebellious side and get angry at "The Man." In this case, as their teacher, Dewey is "The Man" and he encourages them to insult him. It starts innocently, with Alicia playfully calling him "stupid ass" and Summer criticizing his teaching abilities only for Lawrence to make things personal and insult Dewey's weight and smell.

The hilarity comes not only through the blunt insults themselves, but Lawrence's deadpan delivery. Dewey looks legitimately shocked at the outburst, but he lets it roll off his back, nonetheless. As hilarious as Black is in the movie, moments like this show that he is willing to let his young costars shine as well.

7 "You're Tacky And I Hate You."

Billy (Brian Falduto)

While the insult session was good for allowing the kids to get in touch with their rebellious nature, it wasn't enough for Billy, the band's stylist, to blow off steam and let his frustrations out. As Dewey tries to move on, he asks the children for examples of what makes them mad, Billy raises his hand and answers "you." When Dewey politely asks him to move on from the insults, Billy simply responds, "You're tacky and I hate you."

The funniest part about this quote is Dewey's reaction to it. Whereas he lets the other insults go, he seems legitimately hurt and angered by this one, and he asks Billy to see him after class. It's the rare time that Dewey actually disciplines one of the children, and it offers a rare glimpse into his insecurities.

6 "Cello, You've Got A Bass."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

School of Rock is one of the best movies about music as it is a celebration of the love of the art and examining music from a lot of different perspectives. While the children at the fancy school do play in the school band class and know various instruments, Dewey is hoping to broaden their minds with some new types of music.

While starting the band, Dewey singles out Katie and asks her to come to the front. He then asks her what instrument she was playing in music class, and she answers with the cello. Dewey then provides one of the movie's greatest quotes by grabbing his bass guitar, turning it sideways, and telling Katie "Cello, you've got a bass." It's a funny and creative line with Jack Black's signature delivery, but it also shows his passion for sharing music with the kids.

5 "Actually It's Schnayblay."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

Dewey's plan to pose as his best friend and real teacher Ned Schneebly is a bold one which is made even more hilarious by how overt Dewey is with being out of place. His ruse is constantly put in a position of being exposed, yet he continues to take big swings with the lie that remarkably works. This includes when the other teachers invite him to eat lunch with them and one of them as if she is pronouncing "Scheebly" correctly. For no reason, Dewey decides to change it to "Schnayblay."

It's likely that he wants to sound more "cultured," falsely believing that a fancier name would earn him some respect among the other teachers. However, it is made even funnier by the fact that he never refers to the name in that way for the rest of the movie, seemingly forgetting that he added that detail to the lie.

4 "Dude, I've Been Mooching Off You For Years."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

Dewey Finn may be a lovable goof, but he's certainly not stupid. He has a certain amount of self-awareness, and this is evident in this early scene. After being admonished by Ned's girlfriend for being lazy and not paying any rent, Dewey turns to Ned and hilariously states, "Dude, I've been mooching off you for years and it's never been a problem until she showed up."

While Dewey's growth as a character might be an issue for School of Rock 2, it is a vital part of this movie. Dewey is a funny guy in the early parts of the movie with Black's performance really selling the character. However, moments like this, with Dewey being questioned about taking advantage of his friend and blaming his friend's girlfriend instead, show that he is a very flawed comedic hero.

3 "Yeah, When's Lunch?"

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

The entire sequence with Dewey arriving at the school is filled with memorable lines and interactions. After being introduced to the children, Dewey is asked by Principal Mullins if he has any questions. Without hesitation, he turns to her and asks, "Yeah, when's lunch?" That's him making it clear where his priorities lie. It is also yet another moment of Dewey doing very little to keep his scheme from being discovered.

Aside from Jack Black's great delivery of the line, the funniest part of this is Mullins's reaction. Joan Cusack is an underrated aspect of the movie, giving a hilarious performance as the seemingly tightly wound principal. Her look of disappointment and even some regret at Dewey's question is a great cap to the moment.

2 "You Three... Groupies."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

Dewey finally comes alive as a teacher once the band gets off the ground. However, even in the early moments of the band, he is a little careless with making everyone feel included. He assigns everyone important roles before lastly coming to three young girls, one of them being the class leader, Summer. Not knowing what to do with them, Dewey makes them the band's "groupies" and tries to make it sound better by telling them they'll be naming the band.

There's just something inappropriately hilarious about a grown man assigning three 10-year-old girls to be band groupies. Of course, this only backfires when Summer does some research and leverages herself in a better position through coercion. It is an important moment for Dewey as he has to consider all of the students' individual talents and make them an important part of the project, even if they don't have musical abilities.

1 "And Therefore, E=MC²."

Dewey Finn (Jack Black)

School of Rock is one of those movies guaranteed to make people happy with its charming story and great use of comedy. The aspects of putting a band together are a lot of fun, but the fish-out-of-water aspect of Dewey in the private school combined with his big ruse makes for some of the funniest moments. This is added to when he gets the children in on the lie.

Mullins interrupts one of the music lessons, and, just as she is emerging through the door, Dewey is falsely and comedically wrapping up a lesson on mass-energy equivalence. It's hysterical to think of someone teaching a group of ten-year-old children about mass-energy equivalence, and even more so by a teacher as goofy as Mr. Schneebly. Black sells the moment even more with his fake surprised reaction at seeing Mullins enter the room.