Review of Teacher's Pet (2004) by Rick E — 11 Jul 2004

Teacher's Pet, based on the popular Disney Channel cartoon, is as entertaining for parents as it is for kids. The dialogue snaps and crackles with the witty and ever-effervescent Nathan Lane heading up a fine cast of character voices. Teacher's Pet is loaded with humorous musical numbers and the fact that no one seems to recognize that the family dog is masquerading as a human boy adds to the delicious amusement. While it sometimes goes overboard with exuberance (it often becomes as obnoxious as a sugar-crazed toddler with ADD), but the underlying message about being who you are and love for family rises nicely to the surface. Teacher's Pet is one of those kid films that parents can enjoy, too.

Butterfly Effect has received mixed reviews with some being downright Gigli-like. Ashton Kutcher has been on the receiving end of a fisting worse than anything "prison-bitch" Evan ever endured and I think he's been getting a bum deal in more ways than one. I actually enjoyed his attempt to break out of his idiot party-boy persona, tackling one of the most complex story plots I've seen on film in some time. Okay, so the script isn't perfect and there are some gaping holes in the plot in places, but, dammit if this movie didn't keep me on the edge of my seat trying to anticipate where Evan's attempts to right the past would take me next. The final act is a downer and I think I might have preferred one of the tidy alternate endings featured in the DVD extras, but then it wouldn't have been as satisfying. As it is, the finale forces Evan to make an unbelievably selfless decision and it packs a pretty good emotional punch. I thought Butterfly Effect was a pretty good time.