Review of Bad Teacher (2011) by Genevieve R — 25 Nov 2013

Why does Hollywood let Justin Timberlake act? What does he have that other musician wannabe actors don't? I honestly hated his acting in this movie, because his character is supposed to be a kindhearted, hardworking teacher but, since it's Justin Timberlake the one-trick pony, the character gives off a douchey aura. We were supposed to find out that he's an asshole later when he cheats on his girlfriend and not right away... It's presumptuous enough letting him act, but you have to cast him as a good person? I think he's only believable when he plays characters like Sean Parker (Social Network).

That said, the other actors did a fairly good job. Cameron Diaz was awesome; completely phoning it in as a teacher and mastering the art of bullshitting. It was weird seeing a skinny, drop-dead gorgeous woman gorging herself on junk food and never gaining any weight! Phillis Smith had a few funny lines, but I didn't like the way she was often shooed away or belittled by the other characters (fat people don't matter so let's shoo them away while the people who matter talk).

Lucy Punch's performance was perfect. She definitely came off as a nice person (but perfectionist) at the beginning, but the crazy leaked out gradually throughout the movie until she turned full-blown insane. However, I think they could have used Jason Segel to their advantage a bit more; they only used a smidgeon of his capabilities.

Many scenes seemed a little too reminiscent of School of Rock, especially when she asked the class if they had seen Stand and Deliver.

At first I thought this movie was quite stupid and badly done, but it was at the same time entertaining to watch and I'll admit that the last third was pretty hilarious. I thought the people who made Horrible Bosses were the same people responsible for this movie, because of the similar titles, but apparently not (Horrible Bosses was much, much funnier).

Another downfall for this movie is that Elizabeth didn't really learn anything. At the end, she continues to be a horrible teacher and makes the lives of children a little bit worse through her job. So the moral is... if you're terrible at teaching, continue to be terrible at teaching unless you need money for a boob job!