5. School of Rock (2003)
The year is 2003. Avril Lavigne is flying the spotty flag for pop punk, and Dido is inspiring suicides everywhere. The world was in a music slump, and a power chord only seemed like a distant memory recalled by people with moustaches that called everybody 'dude.' I was at college studying music, day in and day out, with the constant dulcet tones of smelling like teen spirit the only ones to be heard. Then School of Rock was released and gave a kick to the gentleman sausages and lady gardens to people all around the world. Jack Black nailed the part of Dewey Finn. The usage of real musicians, rather than actors, to play the parts of the young band members was a stroke of excellence. They were rough in their implementation of their talent, yet they clearly enjoyed every single note with a glee only the uninitiated to reality is blessed with. The true ingredient for its success,however, was the light-hearted, 'PG-13' approach to it all. It appealed to a demographic that discovered that AC/DC was actually pretty great, and not just the music your Dad listened to whilst fixing his old Sierra. It certainly gave birth to a whole new generation of musicians that count the movie as an inspiration to pick up an old plank of wood with some metal wire on it, and plink plonk their way to greatness. It's a bit Hollywood and steeped in life lessons and idealistic schmaltz, but so are most of Led Zeppelin's songs. It's not what it did; it's how it did it. School of Rock encapsulated exactly what playing music is: it's childish and unrestrained and it acts as the dynamite to blow open the soul and let everybody have a good old gawp at it. It also showed that talent had no limits - those kids could really play, and play they did. It also happens to be the best thing Jack Black has ever done (but that isn't saying a lot).