Review of Stand and Deliver (1988) by Michael S — 06 Nov 2006

Sometimes I think we confuse the quality of a movie with the quality of the story it tells; I know I'm as guilty as the next person of that. I bring this up because the story of Jaime Escalante and his first class of Calculus students is so darn amazing that I don't think I end up paying attention to the movie itself.

I tried to on this viewing and, while the story is excellent and the acting enjoyable enough to make a large ensemble cast memorable, I think that the movie is too short. 104 minutes is not enough time to really convey all the hard work that was put in by both Escalante and his students.

While the scenes chosen were purposeful and powerful, there weren't enough images of the students sitting down and staring at Calculus, reminding viewers that these kids and their teacher really did get up early each day, really did study all day on Saturdays, and really did go from a rough first-step math class to passing the AB Calculus test TWICE EACH.

Absolutely fantastic story that makes for an enjoyable, but overly brief story.