Bad Teacher

I was lucky enough to score a free pass to go see Bad Teacher this evening. I will go into more detail regarding getting promotional screening passes in a post later on. I love free screenings since they help feed my film addiction for, that's right, FREE! Who doesn't like that?

So, Bad Teacher, not neccesarily a movie I would have shelled out $9 plus to see but, there are very few movies I wouldn't go to if I don't have to pay. By now I am sure you have seen the previews, Cameron Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey a teacher who hates teaching but wants a sugar daddy and some new boobs to catch him with. Enter Justin Timberlake as Scott Delacorte a substitute teacher who happens to also be the heir to a luxury watch fortune. The cast includes Jason Segel, John Micheal Higgins, Phyllis Smith, Eric Stonestreet, Thomas Lennon and a surprise (to me at least) appearance by Molly Shannon.

If you enjoyed Diaz in 2002's The Sweetest Thing, then you will appreciate her in Bad Teacher. She plays a similarly raunchy character, although Elizabeth Halsey is much less likeable than Christina Walters. That was my biggest issue with Bad Teacher.  I could not muster any sympathy for Eizabeth Halsey and spent most of the movie trying to figure out how the filmmakers would redeem her character. This is such a rare occurrence in a film with a female lead that I had to step back and think of how I would have felt if given the exact same scenarios with the lead being played by a male. I didn't second guess the lack of character depth while watching The Hangover 2, so why should I let it bother me in Bad Teacher? Even Bridesmaids, which was billed as The Hangover with female leads, spent some time developing the characters.

This is a movie that earned it's R rating. There are boobies and there is swearing and neither tries to not be in your face about it. I personally enjoy gutter mouth Cameron Diaz but some of the dialogue was obviously raunchy for the sake of being raunchy. As far as the situational comedy aspects, this is not a movie that places it's lead in uncomfortable situations for your enjoyment so those of you out there who can't bring yourselves to watch movies in that vein- have no fear!

If you are going to this movie for Justin Timberlake alone, I would advise you to just wait for it to come out on Netflix. This is not a role that allows him to test his acting ability and his screen time is much less than you would expect. You do however get to see his "O" face, and in retrospect that could actually be worth the price of the ticket- but it may not be quite what you are expecting ::wink, wink::. Phyllis Smith plays a role not that much different than Phyllis on The Office, but it's a niche she fills very well. Eric Stonestreet has a small-ish role playing the exact opposite of his character Cameron on The Middle and does well with the limited material. Jason Segel as gym teacher Russell brings a much needed "everyman" character to the otherwise unrelatable cast.

There are no surprises in this story, Elizabeth Halsey's situation predictably progresses and the end wraps everything up in a neat little bow. Overall, I would say wait and watch this one on Netflix.