Bad Teacher

There is a certain energy in that movie. Especially at the beginning when Cameron Diaz seems invincible she has the time of her life (almost literally). There is a great sequence where she kinda falls down though which sets of the rest of the movie. Unfortunately even though it does make sense for her character, it does loose quite a bit of its pace from that point on.

Justin Timberlake is good in playing kind of against character and does not care about what people may think. Jason Segel is almost underused in this one and even Cameron Diaz did not really have that many great moments overall. And for a movie that tries to stay raunchy, it does even fail at combining that with the funny elements. While deliciously evil at times (and good), it also misses the point half of the time. Not really bad, but not that good either (I only watched the cinema release and not the extended cut)

Bad Teacher is a great concept that resulted in a style of humor like most of the Adult Swim cartoons you see today: When the jokes hit they hit well, but when they miss, they miss quite badly. The cast was delightful, but could only go so far with the material. As a matter of fact, it was the cast that saved the movie from being a total disaster by providing their comedic chops, their charm, and their good comic timing that you don't see enough of nowadays. Despite all that however, Bad teacher is a shiny apple with a few rotten parts.

Elizabeth Hasley (Cameron Diaz) is a foul-mouthed, bitter, and quite nasty teacher that is keeping the job only to pay the bills after her rich fiancée dumps her. Facing debt, aging, and loneliness, Elizabeth starts setting her sights on a boob job and on a new (rich) teacher (Justin Timberlake), whom has also captured the attention of a manipulative rival (Lucy Punch). The script was helmed by two veteran writers of The Office (Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg) as they use their non-television ratings boundaries to mix plenty of vulgar and raunchy humor with even some tidbits of cruel humor. Unfortunately, their lack of boundaries led to a mediocre script.

This film's biggest falters come in the form of the script. Despite the promise in the premise and the cast involved, the script was convoluted, and didn't have much structure until the second half. As a matter of fact, the film switches up the pace very unexpectedly when the next act approaches. Pretty much almost all the crude and vulgar humor failed to draw laughs, with one notable exception involving one of the odder "sex" scenes in recent memory. The movie was a great idea not exactly explored upon, and was full of smaller ideas that were not utilized. Many good smaller characters did not get enough time in the script; most notably the students, the gym teacher (Jason Segal) and the main character's roommate (Erik Stonestreet).

Despite the writing being a fickle mess, the cast was superb, from the small roles to the big ones. Cameron Diaz I can honestly say is one of the most underrated talents in Hollywood, because she rarely ever delivers a mediocre or weak performance. She has this aura, this energy that can save the worst of films (See: What Happens in Vegas) and it is no different here. Despite her smoking/drinking/vulgar/manipulative/cynical/cruel/superficial ways, we still secretly root for her to succeed in reaching her goal. Very few actresses can pull off this type of charm.

Lucy Punch, despite having a bit of questionable material, delivers as Diaz's rival. Jason Segal could have helped the movie a lot more if he was in it more often, as he delivered the laughs every time he was on-screen with his wit, sarcasm, and I-don't-care attitude. Television staples Phyllis Smith and Erik Stonestreet were hilarious in the far-too-few moments they were on-screen. The movie does indeed have its laughs, but the potential was so much greater considering all the talented actors involved.

Jake Kasdan as a director doesn't have much of a resume, but he does have the comedic chops and timing, and he proved this with the underrated Walk Hard. With Bad Teacher, he did not have as much good material to work with but could have still helped the movie if he had tightened the first third of the movie better. There was a lot more unnecessary fluff in the first half of the movie compared to the second half. Smaller plot lines were never resolved, certain jokes literally fell off without a punchline, and certain situations were brought up but never explored. Many concepts were also never explored: especially that of how shallow and shady we all become towards each other in the workforce.

Bottom Line: Bad Teacher was a great idea, poorly executed, but relentlessly saved by the energetic cast. This movie could have mixed the dark charm of Bad Santa with the subtle workforce ridiculousness humor of Office Space to become something very, very special. But neither style of humor was dwelled upon deep enough. The first half had its laughs, but was far too convoluted and was salvaged mainly because of the hilarity of Cameron Diaz. The movie definitely picks up later, but by then its too late, the potential was wasted. Either way, you will certainly laugh, you will remain entertained, but will also be bothered by what it could have been.

First Santa, now a middle school teacher. I feel as if we're on the verge of a new trend of bad *insert occupation here*. Bad toll booth operators, bad samurai deli clerks…where will it end? Anyway, this is the latest from comedy director Jake Kasdan (WALK HARD) and a decently funny movie with some great moments but finds a major problem in its main character. 2011 hasn't been super strong with comedies; there have been some real good ones (BRIDESMAIDS) but most of them have been pretty forgettable (PAUL). This movie is pretty funny but it still ends on the low end of the spectrum. Cameron Diaz is Elizabeth Halsey, a gold-digging narcissist who has somehow made a career of being a middle school teacher. She believes she's found her way out with a rich fiancé to tend to her every need, but it falls apart when he finally realizes she's using him. Elizabeth is forced to return to her teaching job, where she proceeds to care even less than before. She fends off the advances of gym teacher Russell (Jason Segel) and focuses her attention on landing the new substitute teacher, Scott (Justin Timberlake). Elizabeth realizes that the only way she'll snag Scott's attention is a little self-improvement. Not becoming a decent person or anything, just a breast enhancement. From then on, she lies, cheats, and steals her way to the money she'll need for the surgery; and the only one who suffers is the good teacher (Lucy Punch) who just wants Elizabeth to do her job.

In A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, young Alex (Malcolm McDowell) robs, rapes, and commits horrible acts of violence but maintains a charismatic personality that allows the audience to root for him. Elizabeth Halsey in BAD TEACHER, does not. The "protagonist" in this movie also happens to be the least likable person in the film. As a result, the movie comes off as a little backwards. The character we're supposed to support (Elizabeth) is just a horrible person with absolutely no redeeming qualities presented until the final act of the film. And I mean none. She was a gold-digging fiancé, she's perpetually drunk/high on the job, and she coldly dismisses gym teacher Russell's advances without a glance in favor of stalking the new substitute with the massive bank account. It would almost make more sense if the film focused on Ms. Squirrel (Lucy Punch) living out her dream teaching career when trouble-making Elizabeth comes along and steals her thunder in underhanded ways. Punch should be the protagonist, and Elizabeth the antagonist. But it's not; instead we watch as the film's "good guy" punishes the "bad guy" for nothing other than doing her job and doing it well. Oh well, whatever…it's just a comedy after all. Antiheroes can be fun and it works as long as the film is funny, which it mostly is. The movie is good for some laughs, though it's tough to be anything but distant as you watch everything going down without ever really being drawn into the story.

Cameron Diaz really is the best person for this role. Not because she's horribly unlikeable (I assume she's not) but because she's got a decent comedic background in her films and she's still capable of pulling off drop-dead beauty. In BAD TEACHER, she's the teacher we all wished we'd had in middle school. She really drives the point home when she volunteers to work the school's charity car wash so she can pilfer funds. The supporting cast in this movie is what really makes it enjoyable. Jason Segel is always great as a lovable schlub (which pretty much sums up his gym teacher character) and Lucy Punch is hilariously eccentric as Ms. Squirrel. I've also got to give credit to Phyllis Smith as Elizabeth's friend Lynn. She's probably the funniest part of the movie as the soft-spoken conservative friend who wants so badly to be as cool as Elizabeth but can't bring herself to commit to the debauchery. Honestly, the main character may be crap but the movie does have some real funny moments. I just don't know if there's enough to save it from fading out shortly after watching it. If it helps, I find the movie is funnier the less sober you are when watching it.

People are calling this movie "disgusting" pointing out how unsavory the main character is as a "bad teacher". People must be dumb AF. That's the title of the film you dolts. The caricature of the worst possible teacher in charge of a class of kids is precisely why the joke here is and makes this movie a riot. Laughs from beginning to end.

Just watched it. It's just a timepass movie, watch if you have enough time. We are at a lockdown here, so yeah completely free. It has many funny moments, and a story as well. I went in not expecting one. Turned out to be quite decent. The movie picks up brilliantly and the cast have done great job. The two top teachers are remarkable. Students could have been better had they learn from a great classic movie Kindergarten Cop! Average! Go for it if you have time!