BAD TEACHER – The Review

So far this summer the R MPAA rating may stand for raunchy. We’re now getting the comedies inspired by the box office smash of 2009, THE HANGOVER. It’s success proved that comedies did not have to tone things down ( and get an all-ages friendly PG-13 rating ) to be a hit. Of course the groundwork was put down many years before by the Farrelly brothers with THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and later by Judd Apatow with THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP. In the past couple of months we’ve already see THE HANGOVER’s inevitable sequel and the hysterical BRIDESMAIDS. Now Mary herself, Cameron Diaz, enters the crude, rude laugh sweepstakes with BAD TEACHER ( which owes a bit of it’s inspiration and title to BAD SANTA ).

Summer’s approaching and Elizabeth Halsey ( Diaz ) is finishing what she believes is her final school year teaching at John Adams Middle School (JAMS ). At a year end teachers’ party she flashes her monstrous engagement ring, then jumps in her new sports car, and speeds home. There she’s surprised to see her fiancee and his mother. He’s just gotten a look at last month’s astronomical charge statement. The wedding is off-FINITO! Months later, Liz returns to JAMS. Thumbing through some celebrity gossip magazines, she formulates a plan. In order to snag another rich guy, she needs to get her breasts aug—aw, she wants a “boob job”! After visiting a plastic surgeon, she decides to raise the thousands of dollars for the new ‘rack’. When she meets a new, nerdy substitute teacher, Scott Delacorte ( Justin Timberlake ), who comes from a wealthy family, Liz becomes even more determined. Over the next months she tries to raise the dough by hook or ( mostly ) crook and stay several steps ahead of her rival fro Scott, the obnoxiously perky Amy Squirrel ( Lucy Punch ).

There’s such a multitude of great comic actors supporting Diaz that I was expecting a lot more hilarity. Phyllis Smith scores some big laughs as Diaz’s best teacher bud. She’s similar here to her character from TV’s ” The Office”, but she’s still a delight. Speaking of TV, Eric Stonestreet of ” Modern Family” does a 180 from Cam to play the stoner, biker roommate  of Diaz. ” Reno 911″ star Thomas Lennon is very funny as a ‘ pervy’ state school test official. The real surprise here is Jason Segel as Russell the gym teacher who on to Diaz’s scheme, but is still attracted to her. They really spark in their few scenes together. Certainly more so than the scenes with Diaz and her real-life ex-boyfriend Timberlake, although their ‘ near sex ‘ scene is pretty funny ( as is his performance of an original song, ” Simpatico”, for Ms. Squirrel ). It’s a shame that Punch wasn’t given more to do in her villain role after showing her comedic skills last year in YOU WILL MEET A TALL, DARK STRANGER. Director Jake Kasdan is no stranger to school comedies after helming many episodes of the sublime ” Freaks and Geeks”, but this film feels disjointed. The kids at the school are mostly background and Diaz’s character is so self-centered that’s it’s tough to root for her to succeed ( her compassion for a misfit, lovesick student near the film’s end doesn’t even things up ). Too often she utters a crude remark that only exists to score a cheap, shocked laugh. Perhaps more work should have gone into the script and editing. In other words, before it was released BAD TEACHER should have stayed after class.

Overall Rating; Two and a Half Out of Five Stars