Teacher of the Year

Told in a semi-documentary fashion, this film centers around an English teacher by the name of "Mitch Carter" (Matt Letscher) who has been nominated for national recognition as "Teacher of the Year." Needless to say, this high honor has its advantages and disadvantages with some of the people at his high school seeking to share the spotlight with him while others feel somewhat envious. Most notably, the principal, "Ronald Douche" (Keegan-Michael Key) belongs to the first category whereas the instructor specializing in robotics by the name of "Steven Queeg" (Jamie Kaler) definitely belongs in the second group. To that effect, Mitch soon finds that he has a difficult decision to make due to the fact that, while he feels a certain sense of accomplishment in his current profession, the honor also comes with an opportunity to make much more money as a national spokesman for certain causes for which he has no real regard. Now rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an okay comedy for the most part which had some good scenes here and there with those involving the college counselors, "Lowell Hammer" (Jason Sklar) and his brother "Clive Hammer" (Randy Sklar) probably being the funniest in my opinion. I also thought that Keegan-Michael Key performed quite well too. On the other hand, I thought the drama involving one teacher named "Chris Conner" (Brian Campbell) was a bit too deep and cast a shadow over the comedy which wasn't all that appealing. Be that as it may, this film still managed to pass the time fairly well and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Even though I'm not a teacher, I laughed so much I had to rewind a few times to catch the next lines. My daughter is a teacher & it reminded me of some of the stories she tells me about her experiences with crazy kids & crazy parents. This is a very funny film. I liked the different style used as well. It was kind of like a day in the life.... Really cool. Something out of the ordinary. Not the same old stuff you typically see in movies. You have to pay attention to catch everything cause there is a lot going on & you don't want to miss any of the witty comments. The writer did a great job. A very smart comedy is a wonderful thing to behold. I was very impressed with the cast as well. Top notch all the way. I know the movie has won a few awards, but in my opinion it deserves a lot more. Everyone will get something from watching this film.

I have to tell you, this is not a "comedy", this is actually a very seriously crafted, scripted drama, like a true story, an in-your-face/up-close- and-personal documentary, recorded right on the site, at the school, at home, with candid camera works, faithfully caught all important moments of how those teachers dealt with the students and with themselves.

When you watched it, you just felt that you were right in front of the teacher the camera was shot at and recording, it felt like it's you who was holding the camera, following the teacher(s), into the classrooms.

The camera realistically exposed what the true colors of all the teachers, what they really were, what they were thinking. Some of the teachers in this film just gave you the impression that they really existed in all the public/charter/private schools. Some of them were self-centered, self-righteous, self- important, obnoxious, arrogant, moronic, evil, stubborn, or self- serving only to themselves. And unfortunately, some of the teachers were just helpless, frustrated, even hopeless and failing to get connected with their students. But some of the teachers indeed were very good, very decent and so passionate in teaching, loving and caring.

This movie really showed us how a teacher could be greater to the other ones, and some of them were just pricks, like the science teacher, the two brothers who did the poor college counseling, and the vice principal who kept issuing penalty tickets to students without any probable cause. And the principal in this film just looked so real, and we completely believe there were principals just like him in our education system, they are bureaucrats instead of educators, they are only self-centered and self-serving to their own careers.

This is an amazing movie that have caught my complete attention and focus during viewing and it also turned out to be such a great viewing experience; a rare one, by the way.

I really enjoyed this film because, as a teacher, I recognized archetypes and situations and felt that the writers had a good sense of the craziness that is teaching in high school. However, I found that the political issues surrounding public vs. private/independent vs. charter are glossed over and dealt with in a single scene, yet they expect intellectual investment from the audience without true discussion.

I also saw a serious rift between two separate aspects in the film. Thee is a serious plot, and a serious subplot. Questions of unions and stakeholders, finances and resources are all there. And, yes, there is a little bit of humor in there. But then there are the supporting characters, the other teachers who are so criminally negligent and ridiculous in what they do that it undercuts any realism in the major story arc. Yes, in a school some teachers are eccentric and if this mockumentary wants to show a teacher singing a silly song in class in an effort to increase scores, then that's great. But then, to show a teacher making students cry repeatedly, or counselors endorsing alcohol and drugs? That makes for a great moment in a complete parody, but not in a film which purports to show the serious side of things.

This film owes much to the Christopher Guest/Harry Shearer/Michael McKean/Rob Reiner school of films. The dry, low key humor and scenes that are just a touch awkward (one character actually references Spinal Tap). But then it also tries to be the movie "Teachers" (Nick Nolte) with its hard moral choices and complex central character and also "Police Academy" with its wacky and zany supporting players.

The good parts were great, the dumb parts were silly, but the movie was not a cohesive whole.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie, but I actually liked it a lot. One of the better "Mockumentary" style films I have seen, and possibly one of my favorites.

Basically Keegan Micheal Key is hilarious as Principal Douche, and the other supporting comedic actors keep it funny, but at the heart of it is a very good story with some depth too which made me want to find out what would happen next. As a "Mockumentary" though it is not a typical style comedy with typical style jokes every minute. It has some serious moments, but plenty of funny stuff too. Making it one of the better Mockumentaries in many years in my opinion.

Do not expect a typical film and let it take you where it will go, very funny and really well done.