Film Review: Bad Teacher (2011)

Upon first seeing the premise and red-band trailer (posted below), one would imagine either a sharp dramedy or a straightforward hysterical movie about the troubles and inadequacies of the educational system in this country.  Unfortunately, Bad Teacher (2011) is neither the biting satire nor the hilarious movie it could have been; it is simply a run-of-the-mill, disposable comedy that wastes the vast potential of an intriguing concept by going in many of the wrong directions and misfiring on several jokes.  Nonetheless, it is still an amusing R-rated comedy that has its moments and features fairly entertaining, albeit largely one-dimensional, performances.

Bad Teacher centers around the vulgar, vain, and selfish junior high school teacher Elizabeth Halsey as she returns for her second year of teaching after her sugar daddy broke off their engagement, in turn forcing her back out of retirement.  Instead of simply trying to coast by this year, she has a newfound determination: to hook up with the rich, handsome, and seemingly caring new substitute teacher Scott Delacorte.  However, the manic, “across-the-hall co-teacher” Amy Squirrel complicates Elizabeth’s pursuit of Scott; Amy desires him as well and does not particularly like Elizabeth’s substandard teaching practices or ethics (if she has any).  Thus, her priority is to make as much money as she can, however she can, even if that means turning into a “criminal mastermind,” so that she may be able to get breast implants that will seduce Scott, who could secure her financial future.

Cameron Diaz carries the movie with her straightforward, no-nonsense performance as Elizabeth.  Her character is not the most admirable or likable, even after the credits begin rolling, but Diaz manages to muster just enough audacity to charm viewers, for the most part, with vulgarities aplenty.  Also, Elizabeth does not grow very much, and the little that she does is not very convincing but again Diaz helps lessen the negative blow somewhat; then again, some viewers will simply be annoyed by anything and everything she does.  Besides the blatant lack of or disregard for character development and dramatic depth, Diaz is fairly funny in the outrageous role and most who actually decide to watch the movie will find her amusing.

The main supporting cast members give earnest efforts but by and large they cannot manage to elevate the movie or add dimensions to the largely one-note characters.  Justin Timberlake has been establishing himself as a prominent actor lately, appearing in several upcoming notable films and recent past ones including his astonishingly great turn in The Social Network (2010).  Yet, his comedic chops cannot make his character Scott any more compelling; he basically never changes in the movie, but that is okay since he is pretty funny as is, that is until his character’s naivety shtick wears thin.  Speaking of performances that start out as comical then turn absurd, Lucy Punch begins with a fairly hysterical turn as the unstable Amy then it becomes simply over-the-top and a bit irritating.  How I Met Your Mother star Jason Segel portrays probably the most believable and likable character in the movie, but his character has a far too limited amount of screen time and jokes to leave a lasting impression; nevertheless, he gives one of the better, more rounded performances.  Phyllis Smith is entertaining as branches out of her typical quiet role that many viewers identify her with from The Office; it is amusing to watch her interact with Diaz’s profane character. Thomas Lennon has a small but decent role as standardized test official Carl Halabi who also has some interesting interactions with Elizabeth.  Eric Stonestreet, best known for his portrayal of homosexual Cameron Tucker on Modern Family, plays it straight this time as Diaz’s Craigs-List roommate Kirk, a “biker” / slacker; he is in only a few scenes but when he appears he is fantastic.  Unfortunately, the script never takes it far enough and wastes the potential of the various characters or situations or changes to a more serious tone but does not really satisfy that either.  For instance, Matthew J. Evans plays the bullied, loner Garrett who has a secret crush on one of his classmates; he gives a fine performance for a youngster, but the whole subplot feels forced for Elizabeth’s growth.  John Michael Higgins plays the “JAMS” quirky principal fine but his jokes rarely if ever result in more than chuckles – much like most of the deliberately “funny” moments in the movie.

Sadly, this comedy cannot rise out of mediocrity.  The plot is rather thin, unfocused, and lazy, as are the characterizations.  Sure, the movie has some laughs but they are never as funny as they could have been, nor is the story as satirical as it should have been.  Moreover, most of the hilarious moments are spoiled in the trailers (red-band or not), and when it comes time to see them in the film, little is added; in fact, those scenes are somewhat ruined if you have watched the previews more than once.  In the end, Bad Teacher is amusing and mildly funny, but it is essentially unremarkable as it fails to live up to even moderately high expectations and squanders its intriguing concept potential on cheap laughs.  If you are set on seeing this in theaters, catch it at a matinee but it would be best if that is even discounted; otherwise, wait for it on TV or home-video.

 

Bad Teacher – 5.5/10

 

 

 

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