Review: Bad Teacher

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Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher

In Jake Kasdan's latest comedy, Bad Teacher, Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) ends one school year assuming that she will never have to teach again, only to have her opera-loving fiance -- and his mom -- dump her. Instead of living off her rich almost-hubby, she ends up rooming with someone she found on Craigslist (Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family) and goes back to teaching at John Adams Middle School. She befriends an older teacher (Phyliis Smith, The Office), is annoyed by Ms. Squirrel (Lucy Punch) across the hall, and starts saving up for a boob job. Oh, and there's also a new slightly spacey substitute teacher (a geeky-looking Justin Timberlake), and a phys-ed teacher (a schlumpy Jason Segel) who assures her that her breasts are fine the way they are.

Diaz portrays the despicable -- yet still a tad likeable -- Ms. Halsey with aplomb. She stumbles into class high and/or drunk in scuffed-up Louboutin heels, pops in a school-related movie and is stunned when her students admit to never seeing Stand and Deliver before. Throughout the first half of the film, I don't recall a mention of what subject she is supposed to be teaching (it's English). Compare that to Halsey's nemesis for the film, Ms. Squirrel, who kicks off the start of the year with apples for each of her students, wearing a captain's hat as she welcomes the kids to her class. I joked to my middle-school teacher friend that I was sure she did the same with her students.

Bad Teacher is a hilarious movie, and I laughed more times than I could count. The humor does tend towards the raunchy -- there's breasts and bodily fluids aplenty -- but there weren't any moments that I felt too grossed out. The script, by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg, makes use of quick wit and biting sarcasm as well as more obvious laughs. I'm convinced that "Damn it, Squirrel!" should be the next overly-quoted movie line.

The musical score by Michael Andrews adds to the humor of the film. The strong supporting cast includes John Michael Higgins as the principal with a dolphin obsession, Molly Shannon as a student's mom and Thomas Lennon as someone who gets duped by Ms. Halsey.

The love story -- or love square, if you will -- is the weakest plot point. While Segel and Diaz's scenes spark somewhat, Timberlake's scenes with Diaz fall flat. However, the film is still plenty enjoyable.

Bad Teacher is not family-friendly (seriously, this movie is not okay for little kids), but I'm sure other teachers besides my friend will love it. Bonus if you catch it at the Alamo Drafthouse: they were showing clips from Schoolhouse Rock and Timberlake's stints on Saturday Night Live before the movie.