Bad Teacher Review: Cameron Diaz Is Funny Again

My girlfriend and I ended up in seats right in front of what had to be a group of middle school teachers. They seemed like a group that didn’t get out much. They were very talkative and seemed to have the general “oh, I can’t believe we’re out on a school night!” demeanor.

They were constantly shocked during the movie by the content and language. They cackled like teenage boys when a large set of breasts appeared on screen. The idea of a teacher sneaking a drink during class had them aghast. I think they were mostly horrified by the fact that their students might find out they had seen such smut. Either way, they were annoying. You know how you hate when kids talk during class? Everyone else hates it when you talk during movies. Kindly shut up or take your asses down the hall.

Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey, the titular bad teacher. Diaz is great playing a character that has absolutely no redeeming qualities. She lives up to the title by drinking, doing drugs, stealing and not giving a shit about her students.

As for the rest of the cast – it was a great ensemble. Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins and Thomas Lennon were all funny. Eric Stonestreet was great in very limited screen time. I don’t think you need me to go through each person and say “They made me LOL!” Hell, even the kids in this were solid.

Timberlake is cartoonishly goody-goody in the movie. He’s almost unbelievable and surprisingly was my least favorite part of the film. (Though he does have one great scene.)

Also, I would say we’re at the point where we can count Jason Segel’s involvement in a comedic film as a positive: Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You Man and, yes, I’m going to throw Slackers in there. All infinitely rewatchable films.

What I particularly love is that there is no lesson learned in Bad Teacher. This didn’t sit well with some of the crowd for the free screening. Since so many passes are given out I’m sure some people just go because its a free movie. (Like me and Transformers 3 next week…) When we were exiting the theater we overheard one older gentleman lamenting the fact that Cameron Diaz never got her comeuppance. That’s what made it so good.