The English Teacher

I was captivated by this movie and laughed from beginning to end.

I do not get the people who did not like this movie. They say nasty things and say nothing about the movie. Did any of them even watch the movie? They all deserve an "F". Yes, everybody who hates this movie gets an "F" in good taste and an "F" in life. Now, go back to High School and learn what you didn't learn when you first attended.

For the rest of us, especially those of us in the teaching profession, this is a gem. Not since Neil Simon retired have we had such sharply drawn characters and such sweet and gentle self mocking humor. It is both English teaching and High School theater that gets gently ridiculed. Yet, underneath the humor there is a real understanding of the importance of both subjects in our curriculum.

Any humanist, Jane Austin fan, Julianne Moore fan or theater lover will appreciate this movie. Go for it.

Julianne Moore gives a memorable performance as Linda Sinclair, a stodgily cool, attractively nerdy high school English teacher who finds herself in a compromising position with a talented former student whose play she's promoting to the school's administration and Thespians. While I loled once or twice, most of the consistent humor is of a drier, more satirical variety. This film does a nice job of compassionately satirizing a number of institutions and stereotypes, and this is one English teacher that really knows how to keep at least some of the class's attention without asking them to think too hard.

Notwithstanding the mock Masterpiece Theater narrator, THE English TEACHER is quite light comedy in the end, without a lot of character depth or conflict development. Though it's pretty tame stuff and looks like it could be rather uneventful, plenty happens throughout its short (90-minute) length.

Not to sound snooty, elitist, or anything else, but it seems that someone would need one and preferably both of the following in order to really enjoy THE English TEACHER: A) Some familiarity with the world of Secondary Education, its various workplace clichés ("Just take it down one level, please," etc), and sensitive legalities--admin's concern about the possibility of a lawsuit if they allow the students to put on a play that ends in bloody murder, etc.

B) Some familiarity with (and interest in?) classic American and British literature. While the frequent allusions are nothing heavy, it helps to know a little about who Lord Byron was, the basic plot of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN, and so forth.

I strongly recommend this film to anyone who falls under those categories, particularly those who teach English. Some current high school students (and parents) with relatively sedate tastes may also like it. Those outside these perimeters may be rather bored by THE English TEACHER.

Nothing really wild happens beyond some implied sex, a lot of realistic profanity, and generally sensitive subject matter.

This is one of those indie movies that is much better than many big budget feature film comedies.

The story combines original comedy, a touching partly dramatic climax and a feel good plot that comes together perfectly. The comments on screen are an original touch. No wonder such a top notch cast appears in it.

The performances are stellar. Julianne Moore gives a wonderfully varied and moving performance as a spinster English Teacher in high school who mounts the play of an ex student played by Michael Angarano. She can do comedy just as well as she does drama and biopics.

The supporting cast includes Broadway veterans Jessica Hecht and Norbert Leo Butz as school principals, Nathan Lane as the diva of a drama teacher, the lovely Lily Collins as a high school student and aspiring actress and finally Greg Kinnear as the young playwright's father.

This is one of the best indie comedies in years and deserves much more critical acclaim and financial success than it received. Look forward to seeing more from the screen writing duo who penned the story.

I think it was nicely done. I am very anti cuss words but, The occasional cuss word in this film were perfectly placed and funny. I have a soft spot for Nathan Lane and his inclusion was the main reason I put aside an hour or so to watch this movie. He was brilliant as a play director. I think the casting department did a fabulous job with everyone. I had the distinct feeling the cast were good friends off camera. The story was unique despite a couple of cliché moments and I didn't notice any lighting of camera errors, no mikes hanging in view, editing smoothly done. I am having trouble finding fault, so let's say it was over too soon. Oh, I hoped for the ending, and I got it.

"The true romantic is always alone and must ever be on guard against a dangerous world." Linda (Moore) is an unmarried English teacher with a passion for teaching her students, when Jason (Angarano) a former student of hers shows up and fills her in on his life. After graduating from NYU he has become a failed playwright and his overbearing father is forcing him to go to law school. After reading one of his plays Linda talks the school into producing it which causes tension between him, his father, and the school as well as bizarre love situations. Based on the cast alone I was very much looking forward to seeing this. Greg Kinnear is one of my favorite actors and Julianne Moore is great in everything. The idea didn't seem all that original or exciting but the acting more then makes up for it. It seems like every movie made about a teacher involves an English teacher and most of the time they are very good. This is really a toned down, less classic version of Dead Poet's Society in the way that the teacher tries to help a student realize his potential against the wishes of his father and the school. I am in no way comparing this to Dead Poet's Society but it is worth watching and I did enjoy it. Overall, great acting and funny, very much worth watching. I give it a B.