Educators aren't only respected in the real world, but in cinema as well. From Morgan Freeman in Lean on Me, to Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, to Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds, teachers have been the center of some highly uplifting stories. Those characters would gasp in shock, however, if they saw the methods of learning that Cameron Diaz uses in Bad Teacher. The film is the ultimate anti to those mentioned before. Despite having Diaz as the undedicated instructor and a cast that's highly experienced in bringing the laughs, it doesn't fully reach the heights of a classroom comedy, but tries its best anyway.
Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) seems to have her life in order. She has ended her brief teaching career and is ready to breeze through life with the money provided by her future husband. When he suddenly breaks off the engagement, Liz reluctantly goes back to her old job. Not willing to accept this for long, she decides to use her class in ways to earn money for a secret plastic surgery, which Liz hopes will help her attract a new, and rich, boyfriend. When she meets a new substitute, Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), who has some family wealth, Liz realizes that he could be her ticket to the good life. In the process, she has to compete for his affection with an intrusive colleague (Lucy Punch), while also rebuffing the advances of the school's gym teacher (Jason Segel).
Diaz's character is the definition of a professional slacker. She does as little as she can to get by, and doesn't care about her students. Although many of her past roles have called for her to be gregarious and bubbly, playing a standoffish teacher is just as fun to watch. Seeing her able to make that switch into mean-spiritedness and deliver her snappy dialogue reminds us why she's a respectable, laugh-inducing actress. Her performance, yet, can be a double-edged sword. While she delivers some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, the character of Liz can be quite shallow on numerous occasions. Someone who we should be rooting for all the way instead forces us to bounce back and forth between liking her and disliking her.
For the most part, both of the male leads are put on the sidelines, not being able to express the dynamite wit that they both have. Jason Segel, who has shown to be a loveable comic soul in other films, is unfortunately not given much to do or have fun with. He is just a lovesick teacher with a crush on a coworker. Liz doesn't care about him, and we're in the same boat as her. It's a challenge for us to acknowledge him when we know his humorous side is being restrained. Timberlake, as the play-it-safe substitute, isn't utilized to his full comedic ability either. He finally gets an awkwardly funny scene closer to the film's end; but by the time that rolls around, we're left wondering where his usual bursts of hilarious charisma were for the rest of the movie. The cast is, however, punctuated by some supporting standouts, such as Lucy Punch, who plays Amy, an annoyingly sweet and meddling teacher; and Eric Stonestreet, who plays Liz's clueless roommate.
The idea of a bored and indifferent teacher is a refreshing twist on the typical story of an inspiring teacher. Diaz does what she can with what she is given and runs with it. If the movie was a little longer, there could have been more material provided to the other equally-talented costars. Since this is an R-rated comedy, there are several possibilities of where this could have gone that we unfortunately don't get to see. What's frustrating about the film is that Diaz's character gets away with her wrongdoings as a teacher too easily without any consequence, and let's others take the fall for her. This teacher doesn't provide us with many valuable lessons, but Diaz saves the story from being a lot worse. On a report card for Bad Teacher, we would put, "Is trying, but needs improvement."
Final grade: C+
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