Not really sure why there is a “controversy” over this movie. Yes, she’s a bad teacher who drinks and gets high. Anyone REALLY never see that as a high school student? Think back a little harder to your metal shop, wood shop, or gym teachers.
Sometimes you really should put the word “Bad” in the title of your movie. Sometimes it works. Bad News Bears, Bad Santa. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Not really sure why there is a “controversy” over this movie. Yes, she’s a bad teacher who drinks and gets high. Anyone REALLY never see that as a high school student? Think back a little harder to your metal shop, wood shop, or gym teachers.
The real controversy is that with such an entertaining premise and talented cast, we get such a dull, unimaginative, boring movie. Thanks for nothing.
Cameron Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey, a gold digging man-eater just interested in getting taken care of and is looking for her next sugar daddy. Why she think she’ll do that at a middle school, I have no idea. So she’s a… bad teacher! But if her class scores well on the state tests, then she gets a bonus and can afford breast implants to catch the perfect guy played by Justin Timberlake. Calling “thin premise”, your table is ready.
This movie isn’t horrible, it’s just tragically mediocre. It does nothing new or interesting, and it just isn’t that funny. To be fair, there are moments of what the film COULD have been. They are character driven scenes of Diaz interacting and saying inappropriate things to co-workers, students, and parents. How interesting could this have been. There is a funny compelling movie there, and it gets sidelined. What about the dynamic of being stuck in a miserable dead end job where you just want to kill yourself and not understanding there are people around you with the same job, who love it and get something so much more out of it? Hello? Instead we get Diaz hung over and showing movies in class (WOW, she IS a bad teacher!)
There are many ridiculous moments that just aren’t funny. Like her gold digging lazy character suddenly being a master of disguise, and other incongruous character scenes. I have to say it doesn’t even feel like studio meddling, if feels more like a complete lack of effort across the board. I’m sure someone at some point said “We need more fart jokes and make sure someone says dick or cock.” (sigh)
I’ve never been a fan of director Jake Kasdan. Zero Effect was horrible, and if you’re going to be the child of a famous writer/director and given all of the opportunities other filmmakers don’t have, you better show me something. Sofia Coppola and Jason Reitman sure have. Kasdan hasn’t, making him the Roman Coppola of the Kasdan family.
Bad Teacher feels like an R-Rated episode of Freaks and Geeks, (also directed by Jake Kasdan) and that’s making it sound better than it is. But without Judd Apatow hovering over Kasdan’s shoulder, he has no idea what to do with the material.
I will say, all of the actors do a pretty good job considering they have very little to work with. Diaz, Jason Segal and Lucy Punch bring one dimensional characters up to two. For a real movie, we kinda need three. Just saying. And Justin Timberlake’s character wasn’t even a character. A “quirk” is not a character. It felt like he was lost inside an SNL sketch that went on for 90 minutes. Like the “making copies” guy got his own movie role.
If you like your comedies “good enough” and your entertainment served up mediocre, then this is the movie for you. But after Bridesmaids and even the original Hangover, screen comedies can be better, and don’t we deserve better? I think we all do, including Cameron Diaz.
–Chris Mancini
