Movie Reviews

In an effort to post the reviews in a more timely manner, I've created a simple blog of just my movie reviews. Let's hope I can keep current. Make sure to check Robin's World (thebigfatcat.com) for the complete list.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

June Movie #7: Bad Teacher

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, Phyllis Smith
Directed By: Jake Kasdan
Run Time: 1 hour 29 minutes

Bad Teacher is about a bad teacher Elizabeth Halsey (played by Diaz) who doesn't want to be a teacher. She wants to find a husband, a rich husband, and never work again. Enter substitute teacher Scott Delacorte who has family money. Elizabeth sets her sights on wooing him. When she thinks that Scott only likes big busted women, she starts saving up for a boob job. When she hears that the teacher whose class scores the highest on the state test, she puts her ambition into forcing the kids to learn.

This was actually my birthday day movie (Cars 2 was the day before my birthday but was part of the celebration). Turns out I've seen everything else so I had to see this one.

I thought this movie was going to be funnier. I didn't laugh very much and when I did laugh, it was a small haw. I mean, Jason Segel is in it. He's incredibly funny. But since he has very little screen time, the funny quotient went down as a result. He had a great character (the school gym teacher). I did find it interesting that his character seemed a lot like Elizabeth. They had the same view on things but where she was mean and bitchy, he was funny with a bit of heart. But since he wasn't in it much, the good part of the movie was minimal.

I'm not quite sure what to say about this movie. It didn't bore me. I guess that's a good thing. It wasn't bad. I can't say that it was good but it definitely wasn't bad. That much I can say. It held my attention. There were some things about it that were quite different. There were some lines and one scene in particular that made my jaw drop. But there were a lot of things about it that were incredibly predictable. The bad teacher idea was interesting and a bit funny. Most bad teachers (cue Summer School, starring Mark Harmon) have a lot of heart. They can't teach but they have heart. This one did not. She had brains and if she had any ambition to be a good teacher, she probably would have been an excellent teacher.

I will say that this movie had a lot of interesting characters. Elizabeth (aka bad teacher) was very interesting. How one person could be that crass was amazing. I saw a bit of her in me (the attitude part). Russell (played by Segal) had spunk. Too bad he wasn't in it very much. I would have liked to have learned more about Lynn  (played by Smith from TV's The Office). I think Justin Timberlake had a lot of fun playing a dork. And what a dork! But interesting characters do not make for a good movie. A non bad one, perhaps. But not good.

Hmmm... so, it wasn't bad. It wasn't funny. It just was a bit memorable. I guess that's a good thing. It certainly wasn't the worst movie I've seen. That's also a good thing. I did like the ending. It worked. This would probably be a good movie to watch when trapped on a plane for eight hours. Or if you have nothing better to do.

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