Review of Lean On Me (1989) by Jordan K — 19 Jun 2014

Sorry I've been so inactive lately, I was attempting to review on another site and I made my mind up that this site is my reviewing home. Anyways...

Lean on Me has a likable charm to it, being one of Morgan Freeman's finest performances and having likable characters. The plot is extremely cliched, it's one of the many "we've got to save the _____" movies, but its great acting and memorable moments make up for a poor plot.

Lean on Me follows a New Jersey high school, Eastside High. After a history of drug dealing and constant fights and bullying, a stern principal arrives to take over named Joe Clark, played by Freeman. He tries to prepare the school, which is basically hopeless, for a big test made by the state. He also makes debatable decisions such as firing the majority of teachers and kicking out any neer-do-well there. He also has a conflict with the fire marshal on locking school doors to keep out the kicked out students, eventually getting arrested for resisting all threats. The end is pretty predictable: Joe gets out of jail after all the students rally and the kids pass the test.

Like I said, Morgan Freeman has an outstanding and incredibly real performance as the stern Joe Clark. The teens are typical '80s teens so they're obviously just meh. Lean on Me has the formula I mentioned earlier that so many other films have (I can name Max Keeble's Big Move off the bat, I dunno about others), but Freeman's performance and the fact that the plot sucks you in is worth all the while.