‘Bad Teacher’ is a really lame substitute

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Bad Teacher

Rated R for sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.

 

Bad Teacher is a “shock comedy;” the gags are anchored on words and situations that are so shocking that the audience laughs reactively. For example, a teacher (Cameron Diaz) of middle school kids who sleeps while she shows her students DVDs (about teachers), smokes marijuana, curses like a pimp, steals, blackmails, and even inflicts pain and suffering on people who prevent her from achieving her primary goal: getting breast augmentation.

The film starts out with Elizabeth Halsey (the bad teacher) leaving her job at John Adams Middle School — known as JAMS — to get married to a rich guy who has showered her with extravagant gifts. But that marriage collapses before it occurs and she is forced to go back to teaching at JAMS. She decides with plastic surgery she can snag another rich man and live the “good life” gloriously empty and vacuous.

Her new target is some rich, handsome, substitute teacher named Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake). Scott is kind of nerdy and empty-headed but his full and robust bank balance is what compels Elizabeth to commence the seduction dance.  

Our bad teacher has, of course, an enemy: a perky, “super-teacher” named Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch playing Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin — wink, wink). Her chipper personality is too much for Elizabeth…and for all of us except Scott; he is smitten — much to the consternation of Elizabeth. Meanwhile, JAMS’s gym teacher, Russell Gettis (Jason Segel) — just a regular guy — falls for Elizabeth and he patiently pursues her, waiting for her to come to her senses. Elizabeth has one friend, Lynn Davies (Phyllis Smith from TV’s The Office) who, frankly, Elizabeth treats rather shabbily.

Bad Teacher is like a cheesy, network TV situation comedy but with nudity, drug use, and naughty words. There are some laughs but many fall flat turning the film into something like the proverbial hilarious uncle, who gets drunk at a wedding: we laugh, but mostly out of habit, waiting for his wicked, hilarious wit — but the anticipated moment never arrives.

Ms. Diaz is appealing but she has little with which to work. She is good playing the amoral Machiavellian, but her transition to wiser…amoral, Machiavellian…is without an effective epiphanic experience.

It is fun watching Mr. Timberlake play against character — dancing without a trace of rhythm and singing badly, but his role has all the depth of a Saturday Night Live sketch; he isn’t bad, he is just earning his salary by what he is bringing to the role: his star reputation with an inside joke and what he is not bringing: a song and dance man playing a guy who can neither sing nor dance. In short, he is a sexy mega-talent playing a sexy talentless dolt. Hardy, har, har…

Ms. Smith is the one who steals the show. Her muttering, weak willed Lynn Davies actually hints that she could not only play comedy but that she probably has some major untapped reserves just waiting for the perfect vehicle to display them. Alas, her talents were underutilized.

All and all, Bad Teacher is a Hangover wannabe (the original, not the crummy sequel).  Watching the previews to this film makes it oh-so-clear to me that we are about to see a passel of imitators. While Bridesmaids did credit to the “shock comedy” genre, Bad Teacher is more of a wince-worthy copy. Bad Teacher isn’t a bad film; it is just a lame substitute.

 

Bad Teacher gets a “D+.” I mean two and a half bow ties.