Review of Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) by Jessica H — 07 Dec 2012

Miss Banks: That was Mrs. Tingle. She's sick with the flu. She sounded really bad.

Principal Potter: She hasn't been sick since-In fact, I don't think she's ever been sick.

Miss Banks: Do you think it's serious?

Principal Potter: God I hope so.

[Both chuckle].

Leanne is in a dire situation when she needs to be valedictorian to get her scholarship to Harvard. The only class she is worse in is history, taught by Mrs. Tingle, and the teacher hates her. When an attempt to get ahead in Mrs. Tingle's class goes awry, mayhem ensues and friendships, loyalties and trust are tested by the teacher's intricate mind-games.

Helen Mirren: Mrs. Eve Tingle.

Katie Holmes: Leigh Ann Watson.

Jeffrey Tambor: Coach 'Spanky' Wenchell.

Barry Watson: Luke Churner.

Marisa Coughlan: Jo Lynn Jordan.

Also by the guy who did the Scream trilogy. Which you can see traits lifted from.

"Teaching Mrs. Tingle" may not be one of the greatest movies to grace the big screen, but it is not the worst either.

The movie is a fantasy/revenge story, yet a real world scenario, at its core. We've all had a person like Mrs. Tingle (teacher or not) that seemed like that their sole purpose in life was to make our lives miserable as possible. This movie explores the option of what could happen if we took the opportunity to get back at that person.

Provides laughs and some scorching lines from Mirren. It's a dark comedy which you will enjoy if you want a fun movie.

While this movie is not without its flaws, (acting has shallow points at times, the pop-culture references that are becoming cliches of their own, etc) this film is quite warm and comical...that is if you are not looking for the best picture of the year or something deep and turbulent.