Bad Teacher - 2011 - BluRay

Certificate: 15

Director: Jake Kasdan

Writer: Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg

Cast: Cameron Diaz (Elizabeth Halsey), Nat Faxon (Mark), Lucy Punch (Amy Squirrel), Jason Segel (Russell Gettis), Justin Timberlake (Scott Delacorte), Phyllis Smith (Lynn Davies), John Michael Higgins (Principle Wally Snur), Dave (Gruber) Allen (Sandy Pinkus).

Brief Plot: When her wealthy fiancé breaks it off, gold digger Elizabeth Halsey returns to middle school: she’s an awful teacher but wants to save for breast-implant surgery. She brightens when Scott, a new teacher, turns out to be rich, and she stops showing films and sleeping in class when told there’s a bonus for the teacher whose class scores highest on the state exam. Her competition for Scott and the bonus is cheery and tightly wound Amy. Amy digs for dirt on Elizabeth who cheats her way toward Scott’s bed and the money. Honesty with students seems to be her only skill. She ignores Russell, a droll gym teacher, who looks on. Will she succeed with Scott and get those new breasts?

Review: Admittedly, when we heard that Cameron Diaz was to do a comedy film about an American school teacher, especially a film called “Bad Teacher”, the thought was shadowed with Billy Bob Thornton’s “Bad Santa”. So where would Cameron Diaz pick up where Billy Bob left off?

Having been a teacher for only a year at a local middle school, Elizabeth Halsey has plans of marrying Mark a wealthy businessman who suddenly gets information that his wife to be Elizabeth has been spending money like it’s going out of fashion. For this he calls both their wedding and relationship off, but that is the least of Miss Halsey’s problems – she is now homeless.

Returning back to the school as a teacher Miss Halsey decides she needs time to evaluate her position and make every effort to make enough money for a boob job, so that she can attract the perfect wealthy man who will support her for the rest of her life. It is the in-between capers that this teacher gets up to which makes this movie work, as did “Bad Santa” with Billy Bob.

Filled with a lot of off the wall jokes, hilarious undertones and side splitting tongue in cheek, up front and in your face humour; it will be “Bad Teacher” that puts “Bad Santa” into the minor category of a PG-13 Rating – and this is regardless of Billy Bob’s colourful language.

A warning may be needed for some viewers regarding this film as some scenes may cause spontaneous laughter and that of the occasional falling tear due to excessive comedic mastery put into the script. All in all, we loved this film and we loved how Diaz has changed her acting direction to concentrate on Comedy.

DVD Archive Rating: 10/10 (+1 if Catherine Tate would have been introduced as Miss Squirrel’s younger sister)

Additional Information:-

Taglines: Learning is Fun-Tastic, She doesn’t give an “F”.

Runtime: 92 minutes – Blu-Ray 97 minutes (Uncut)

Release Date: 17th June 2011 (UK)

Budget: $20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $31,603,106 (26th June 2011)

Gross: $201,800,000 (Worldwide)

Odd Bits: Bradley Cooper was considered for a role.

Throughout the movie, Cameron Diaz wears mostly Christian Louboutin shoes. This is due to a contract between the movie producers and Louboutin himself for marketing his company’s red-soled shoes.

© Marcus De Storm 2011

Bad Teacher (Official Trailer)