Bad Teacher Movie Review - Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake
06-26-2011
- by Opie Winfrey, Staff Mumbler
Bad Teacher gets 4 out of 5 stars. I had a chance to see Bad Teacher last night. Actually, I almost missed it. Theater number one (AMC Santa Anita 16 in Arcadia, CA) was packed to capacity at 8:40PM. The only seats that were left were the break neck seats up front. We broke some speed laws to get to the next one (Harkins Chino Hills 18 in Chino Hills, CA) at 9:30PM. It was worth it!

Just like the first "Hangover" appealed to both men and women, Bad Teacher did the same. Although you couldn't really call it a "chick flick", the whole female rivalry premise was more appealing to women. But make no mistake guys. Even if you think Cameron Diaz isn't all that hot (yes, there are lots of Diaz haters out there), she certainly "cleans up well", and I'm talking about a scence where she cleans cars using mostly T & A. So there are definately elements of this movie that will appeal to the guys as well. Besides, now you can drag the wife/girlfriend to a "guy flick", since you've already seen "Bad Teacher" with her. There's no downside for us guys here!

The plot is neither shallow, nor is it too deep for it's genre. While it is not a "North by Northwest", it does have several sub-plots going on, and it's not overdone by any means. I would compare Diaz's character in this film to Billy Bob Thornton's character in "Bad Santa". Elizabeth, the "Bad Teacher", is every bit as shallow, self-centered, callous, uncaring, insensitive, and downright mean as "Bad Santa". Just like "Bad Santa" you do see the faint glimpse shine through in Elizabeth that keeps the character a fraction above a serial killer. It's burried pretty deep, and that's what makes the movie fun. The movie will keep you guessing and you won't want to wait to see what happens next.

A lot of is pretty adult themed, so I would be careful not to expose your kids or young teens to Bad Teacher.



Without spoiling the movie for you, I can tell you that there is a fantastic rivalry between Elizabeth and a very annoying, busy-body teacher named Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), and who doesn't like a good chick fight? Trust me when I tell you that there is no limit to how low either woman will go to one-up the other. Jason Segel was so comfortable in his role that you'll ask yourself if he is really acting, or if he's just being Jason Segel. This brings me to Justin Timberlake, who plays substitute teacher Scott Delacorte. Timberlake is brilliant as he brings out his inner geek. He plays it so well that you'll think that the character is faking it, and you'll be waiting to see when his "cool" pops out. You'll wait for it indefinitely, as Timberlake stays dork for the entire film. He's very believable as well. I'm sure everyone has that one friend that was totally dorky in high school, and that friend never out-grew their dorkiness in adulthood. That is Scott Delacorte and Timberlake's character will make you laugh out loud at the depths of his dweebiness.



So go out and see the film. If you liked the first Hangover, and you have a twisted enough sense of humor to have enjoyed Bad Santa, you'll live Bad Teacher. 4 out of 5 stars!

5 Comments
1. February 11, 2012 12:12 PM 2. February 10, 2012 08:51 AM 3. February 9, 2012 04:10 AM 4. February 8, 2012 09:07 AM 5. February 7, 2012 02:26 AM

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