Education Cameron Diaz-style

Bad Teacher (2011)
Certified: 18
Duration: 92 minutes
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch, Phyllis Smith, Eric Stone Street
KRS release

Bad Teacher is a very uneven film that never really lives up to its fantastic premise and the sexy and dirty central role by Cameron Diaz on which the film rotates upon. Under Jake Kasdan’s direction the film has its fair share of laugh out loud moments but these are bracketed by long moments where nothing seems to happen. Cameron Diaz does her best and it has been quite a long time she has been this sexy, confident and funny but her best is not enough.

For Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) teaching at John Adams Middle School is not a vocation. It’s a sacrifice. She is all set to get married to a rich guy but when the marriage is called off not only she is left penniless but has to continue to teach. Teaching 7th graders for her is now a prospect worse than before. Russell Gettis (Jason Segel) is the physical education teacher who seems to like her for what she is but she constantly ignores him as he cannot offer her the benefits she is looking for. For Elizabeth life becomes a collection of booze, getting high and sleeping, with school being the place where she does most of this. Meanwhile Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) is doing her best to win the cash prize of Teacher of the Year Award. Elizabeth is good friends with Lynn Davies (Phyllis Smith). Elizabeth has her eyes on Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) the new substitute teacher.

Elizabeth finds out that he is heir to a considerable fortune as his family is in the watch-making business. So she decides to become the perfect teacher to win the award and finance new breasts, which she knows Scott will like.

As Elizabeth Halsey Cameron Diaz is very decent when she is being a “good teacher” but even more fun and convincing when she is chucking balls at students, terrorising the children under her care and simply acting all bored out of her mind. In this film once more she shows that she has quite a knack for physical comedy. As for the supporting cast: Justin Timberlake is inane to an extreme, Jason Segel is likeable enough while Phyllis Smith isunderused. Lucy Punch as Amy Squirrel the walking time bomb of a teacher is a hoot though at times her hand is overplayed.

The problem with Bad Teacher lies mostly in its script and the way the film is tackled. The production knows they have a firecracker of a star. But the premise that the script could have led to are never really explored.