By snoadmin
“Bad Teacher,” a raunchy, whimsical comedy, is an entertaining ride strung together by a handful of amusing scenes, despite its irritating lead character.
This is not to say that Cameron Diaz’s “bad teacher” is poorly done — quite the opposite. Diaz, who grew up in Long Beach, portrays a dreadful middle-aged gold digger with such perfection that it’s hard to root for her. Still, the plotline works. This may be because the rival teacher, played by Lucy Punch, is even easier to hate.
The flick, which also stars Justin Timberlake and Jason Segel, is a testament to Hollywood’s recent comedies with leading ladies. “Bad Teacher” defies societal norms for ladylike behavior and paves the way for women to have the freedom to be as vulgar as men.
Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey — a foul-mouthed, pot-smoking grade school teacher who wants nothing more than to marry rich and escape her dead-end day job. However, when her marriage plans fall through, she’s forced to remain at work, where she meets substitute teacher Scott Delacorte (Timberlake). Upon realizing Scott is a wealthy heir to a rich throne, Elizabeth seeks to win his heart by saving her money and getting a boob job.
She becomes so obsessed with her money goal that she commits absurd stunts, such as cleaning cars in a pair of Daisy Dukes at the school’s fundraising car wash and going to extremes to make sure her class receives the top marks on the state examination so that she may receive the monetary bonus.
Amy Squirrel (Punch), Elizabeth’s co-worker and nemesis, is a redheaded perfectionist who’s outwardly happy to an extreme, but internally brimming with dark intentions of her own — exposing Elizabeth’s teaching flaws and bringing her down. The two battle head-to-head not only scholastically, but romantically as well — both vying for Scott’s attention.
Scott is a goofy, innocent teacher still coping with a break-up he went through last year. Although Timberlake’s character is meant to be doofy, the performance is embarrassing and over-the-top. Sure, the former teen sensation has a dashing sort of charm and his eyes tend to sparkle when displayed on the 40-foot screen, but viewers are still left wondering why Diaz would be so persistent to nab a guy who is quick to pour over his fondness for the novel “Eat, Pray, Love.”
Gym teacher Russell Gettis (Segel) is Elizabeth’s only co-worker who sees her for who she really is, and still manages to like her. Segel’s laid-back, nice guy routine comes across as perfectly natural, which is no surprise considering it’s been his niche in many of his past roles as well. The romantic connection between Russell and Elizabeth is inevitable. However, Segel’s on-spot comedic timing removes the predictability of his role and instead makes it feel like he’s improvised his lines on the spot.
The other highlights of the film come in the form of Phyllis Smith’s awkward, soft-spoken humor. Similar to her character on “The Office,” Smith looks out of place as the shy, socially inept friend next to Diaz’s loud, outspoken nature. But that’s why their relationship works so well.
“Bad Teacher” isn’t exactly a must-see movie, and it’s not entirely innovative, but it has its moments. Liking Diaz’s zany character is a slow process, but once it happens, the result is nearly uncharted territory — a feel-good black comedy.
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