“Bad Teacher”




Directed by: Jake Kasdan Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch Rated: R (for adult language, adult situations, nudity, drugs, you name it) Running time: 92 minutes Best suited for: Wait a minute, I’m thinking. . . . Least suited for: Even those who love raunch humor may have a tough time with this one. Acorn Rating:

Directed by: Jake Kasdan Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch Rated: R (for adult language, adult situations, nudity, drugs, you name it) Running time: 92 minutes Best suited for: Wait a minute, I’m thinking. . . . Least suited for: Even those who love raunch humor may have a tough time with this one. Acorn Rating:

What happens when good people make a bad movie? Unfortunately, the answer is: bad movie.

Cameron Diaz plays Elizabeth, a gold-digger who’s dumped by her crass husband and forced to return to a profession she obviously hated. Elizabeth is obsessed with only one thing—marrying rich (again, and quicky)—so when a single sub-teacher (Timberlake) happens to reveal he comes from money, Elizabeth’s immediately on the hunt.

The problem is, Elizabeth has very few redeeming qualities to begin with (and few more to end with), so “Bad Teacher” is a onetricky pony of Elizabeth being alternately crass and conniving, manipulative and downright evil.

I had entered the theater with the hopes of a “Bad Santa” sort of approach—looking for a good script, perhaps some uncomfort- ably raunchy but fun moments, and the semblance of a plot structure. But “Bad Teacher” is pretty much vignette after vignette, a poorly structured string of “situation patter” of Diaz stumbling through her day job.

Not to sound like a stupified prude here, but I was a little surprised that Elizabeth managed to beat the system, break a few laws, cheat kids out of an education, break up a healthy relationship and not really show any signs of redemption. She didn’t even find a rich guy.

Call me brainwashed by the system, but if you want me to like you, cut me a little slack. Butch and Sundance I liked. Bonnie and Clyde I liked. Even Tim and Barry (Steve Carell, Paul Rudd in “Dinner With Schmucks”) I liked. Even King Kong I liked, and he stomped on people. But Elizabeth—not so much.

As for the sudsy carwash scene right out of “Cool Hand Luke”— still not so much. An extra halfacorn maybe, but that’s as far as I’ll go.

One has the feeling that, with the success of the sweetly subversive “Bridesmaids,” the door has opened for female raunch-com fare, so be warned that more’s on the way. (Just about every female I know has berated me for my less-than-favorable “Bridesmaids” review. To all of them: See “Bad Teacher” and get back to me. Revenge is a dish best served with a $10 ticket price.)

Could it have been better? Raunch comedy is a little like Shakespeare—if it’s written well enough, it can be entertaining. Fun. Even good. (Oh, c’mon, “The Taming of the Shrew” was the “Wedding Crashers” of its day.) And I point to clever efforts like “Animal House” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “The Hangover” and “Caddyshack.”

But that skillful (or lucky) mix of articulate dialogue, stable plot and likable characters just doesn’t jibe in this one. Lacking coherence and an empathetic lead, I’m afraid “Bad Teacher” is just a bad movie.


 

 

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