Review of Lean On Me (1989) by Brandan W — 11 Jan 2011

Morgan Freeman made himself into a star with this film, and also made the movie a hit with his great performance. He IS the movie playing fascinating real- life high school principal Joe Clark. He's just fun to watch all the way through.

All the characters in this movie all have the same trait: tough on the outside, soft on the inside. Here is a bit of a warning for people who want to show this to their kids and don't know the material: there are at least a half-dozen abuses of God's name in vain and some unneeded sexual remarks.

Also, they dealt with teen pregnancy a little too liberally but didn't dwell on it. ("There are alternatives," Clark says to a young girl after she confesses she's become pregnant.)Other than that, solid acting and an interesting based-on-a-true life story made this a deserved hit film.

A year later, Freeman solidified his status as a "star" with "Driving Miss Daisy.".