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Bad Teacher
By S. Jhoanna Robledo,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Raunchy Diaz, Timberlake comedy aims low, misses the target.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this movie.
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Bad Teacher
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What's the Story?
Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) can barely be called a teacher. Her idea of a curriculum is showing movies about much better educators in her classroom. She drinks and smokes weed on the job and has a general disdain for everything that teaching entails. So when her escape hatch -- marriage to a wealthy, opera-loving mama's boy -- suddenly closes and she actually has to keep working, Elizabeth decides that she needs breast implants to snag her next man. But first she has to get through another schoolyear and raise the money for surgery ... or maybe she just needs to reel in the new substitute teacher (Justin Timberlake), whose family is linked to a wealthy watchmaking company. It won't be easy, though: Uber-teacher Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) is on to her (and is after the sub, too), and the charming gym teacher (Jason Segel) sees right through her.
Is It Any Good?
BAD TEACHER has some laughs, but it feels more like a tepid substitute than anything else, despite a fully committed -- and sometimes winning -- performance from Diaz. What's the problem? First, the characters. Though Diaz's Elizabeth has some laugh-out-loud lines, she's not exactly someone you'd want to root for, so why should audiences care what happens to her? Her antagonist is a goody-two-shoes colleague; Punch plays her well enough, but you pity the character too much to wish for her comeuppance.
As for who Elizabeth will end up with, does it really matter? We don't quite buy her evolution and don't think much of her romantic options. The side plots, though zany, don't amount to much, either. In fact, the entire enterprise feels more like an extended Saturday Night Live sketch (and many of the actors have, in fact, appeared on the show) than anything else.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the main character is portrayed. Is she worth rooting for? Why or why not? Do characters have to be "good" to be heroes/heroines?
What kind of message is the movie sending about consequences and character? Do people like Elizabeth succeed in real life?
Discuss how the drug references are handled in the movie. Are the characters who use drugs glamorized or portrayed as troubled? Which is more realistic?
Movie Details
- In theaters: June 24, 2011
- On DVD or streaming: October 18, 2011
- Cast: Cameron Diaz , Jason Segel , Justin Timberlake
- Director: Jake Kasdan
- Inclusion Information: Female actors, Latino actors
- Studio: Columbia Pictures
- Genre: Comedy
- Run time: 92 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use
- Last updated: May 25, 2023
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