Bad Teacher

Director: Jake Kadsan
Writers: Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake
Release Date: June 27, 2011
Length: 1 hour 32 minutes

Cameron Diaz returns to her raunchy comedy roots, terrorizing our young ones with constant cursing and drinking in Jake Kadsan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story)’s Bad Teacher. Diaz plays 7^th grade English teacher Elizabeth Holsey, a superficial careless bitch, who’s just been dumped by her dorky rich fiancé, for spending too much of his money and not remembering his birthday. She finds herself back at the same job she can’t stand, but this year something is making showing up at John Adams Middle School worthwhile. The wealthy, handsome and idiotically pretentious Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) is the new substitute and Elizabeth makes it her goal to win him over. Believing Scott prefers women with bigger breasts, Elizabeth has to figure out a way to raise enough money for the expensive procedure.  When she hears that whoever’s class grades are the highest on the state test receives a bonus, Elizabeth must face an incredible task she never dreamed of performing – her job. While working hard to make her class learn for once, she must deal with competition for Scott from the irritating polar opposite teacher of Elizabeth, Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) and repeatedly refuse offers from the sweet but not as handsome gym teacher Russell (Jason Segel). After failed thrillers, action movies and dramas like The Box, Knight And Day and My Sister’s Keeper, it’s nice to see Diaz back in her home of comedy. Although unfortunately Bad Teacher did not have the strongest script, Diaz knows how to carry a film on her back from start to end. Screenwriters Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky create a truly hilarious and original fish-out-of-water premise that transmits through the entire film. They also give the film the most ridiculous extroverted characters flying in all directions. The only reason I say this was not the strongest of scripts was because it made clear room for a few clichés and unrealistic moments here and there that stretched a little too far. Sometimes however, those out of reach elements are what make a movie like Bad Teacher so ridiculously hilarious. Cameron Diaz is the real cause of laughter in Bad Teacher, though. Her blunt unsympathetic attitude toward talking to her students makes you laugh while always giving you the extra shock value that should come with insulting sweet children. Justin Timberlake is staggeringly hysterical as dense religious attractive weirdo that you can’t help but gawk at. Rising British actress Lucy Punch from Woody Allen’s You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Dinner For Schmucks, and this summer’s A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is just perfectly annoying and detestable as the extremely childish and devious Amy Squirrel who as a villain, could not stop entertaining the audience as she too was crazy like Timberlake’s character. Finally Jason Segel of course never stops being funny, but his likable character makes him truly adorable as a constantly rejected nice guy who can’t stop being attracted to a total bitch. His comedic and romantic chemistry with Diaz is one of the most enjoyable parts of this film and shows the only sweet side you’ll get out of Elizabeth. Phyllis Smith from The Office is also funny as Elizabeth's much older shy naive friend - or someone Elizabeth uses to buy her lunches. This movie is not necessarily this summer’s best comedy, but from the strength of the brilliant cast, it should not be so easily swept aside. Bad Teacher is a cute film you should catch if you want a good laugh.