When dealing with an anti-hero in movies, we're usually presented with some form of a despicable individual who goes through a character arc and eventually comes out a changed person...a fact that Bad Teacher sorely should have taken note of.
Vulgarity is at an all time high with the character of Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz); she's a gold-digging, self-centered, conniving excuse for a human being (and trust me, I can add way more less-than-pleasant adjectives to that description). She steals, does drugs while still on campus, and even tells a bright-faced little girl that the cookies she baked for her "taste like shit". She definitely has no business teaching -- and she makes it clear she has no interest in it either. Her one reason for sticking around: to make the $10,000 she needs to get the boob job she needs in order to snag a wealthy man who will take care of her. I know, feminism has taken a real hit with that synopsis.
Part of me enjoyed how blatantly bad this bad teacher was...while the other part of me kind of just really, really didn't like her. She's so hard to like, in fact, that one may find it hard to fully immerse themselves in the film. After all, she's the protagonist, the person we're supposed to be rooting for...and frankly, I was completely indifferent towards her quest. Perhaps it sounds like I'm getting a little too deep for a movie of this kind -- it exists simply to make the audience laugh, nothing more, nothing less. However, a good handful of laugh-out-loud jokes (the best, unfortunately, you've probably already heard in the trailers) can only take you so far when you start to feel like you're heading towards a dead end. I could deal with the practically non-existent character arc, but the film really takes a blow from its complete lack of plot progression. With a short hour and a half running time, the time should fly by, but around midway through I couldn't help but get a bit tired of seeing a bad person do increasingly bad things, which, a funny as it was at times, left no room for variety.
Cameron Diaz is surprisingly raunchy and downright entertaining as Elizabeth. This is her best comedic performance since There's Something About Mary, and while her performance alone can't bring Bad Teacher into in the same league as the Farrelly Brothers smash hit, she earns a hard "A". A few scenes left me gasping for air (most notably a dry hump scene between Diaz and Timberlake), and it was moments like that that leave me split. My final consensus? Bad Teacher isn't at the top of the class, but provides enough smutty laughs to give it a passing grade.
Rating: C
Super 8's marketing campaign was the kind that varied from person to person as either a hit or a miss -- for me, it was a super hit. From that magnificent train crash we see in the trailer (which is all the more magnificent and grand on the big screen) to the overall mystery that was surrounding the plot, I yearned to find out what the heck this movie was about already. Then when I heard comparisons to ET, I was sold. But don't be fooled: ET it ain't. Not by a long shot. However, Super 8 does bring something special and coveted to the table: It temporarily lets you re-experience the wonder and innocence of childhood. It takes you back to a time that was pure, and uncomplicated...a time where you were more than content to just spend the entire summer hanging out with your friends and making zombie movies - which is exactly what the gang in Super 8 was up to before their plans were completely derailed when they witnessed a massive train crash while filming a movie -- something they absolutely weren't supposed to see.
Yes, I know I'm being vague, but it's for your own benefit; the less you know about Super 8 going in, the better your experience will be. The filmmakers are on the same page with this, too; once the strange, unexplainable things start happening (which soon escalate into menacing things), whatever it is, it's kept a secret and for most of the film isn't seen at all, Jaws-style -- though we see plenty of the terrifying things "it's" doing to the citizens of this small town. Keeping things shrouded in mystery did heaps to make the film more compelling, and even a bit frightening at times. Bravo Abrams, bravo!
Those who grew up in the 80's will feel a real kick of nostalgia watching these kids use cassette Walkmans, walkie-talkies, and of course, Super 8 film cameras. The young actors interacted with each other like genuine pals, and each had a distinctly memorable quality about them, that, even if they weren't as developed as I would have liked, still added an overall charm (and occasional chuckle) to the end product.
Super 8 had potential to be compared to some of the great kid-centric movies that we all look at with unwavering fondness: The Goonies, Stand by Me, ET, etc. Unfortunately, a rushed, messy third act and some inadequate explanations left me feeling like I was missing out on something deeply affecting, the kind of emotions that elevate a big summer blockbuster from another entertaining sci-fi hit to something that can in good conscience be compared to the now-classics listed above. Even so, with dynamite visual effects, an intriguing story, and a young heart, Super 8 turned out to be, as character Charles would say, a pretty "mint" movie indeed.
Rating: B+
Producer Judd Apatow, also known as The King of Raunch, brings us his first female-driven gut-buster -- but don't think because it's overflowing with women that that changes anything. Just like Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin, we get a movie with no shortage of deliciously crude humor, gross-out gags and shenanigans...but also a surprisingly warm heart to go with it. Kristen Wigg leads the pack as Annie, a down on her luck, single and disheartened woman who pretty much lets the world walk all over her -- that is, until her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) announces her engagement, appointing Annie as her maid of honor. That's when everything Annie has been keeping inside her slowly starts to bubble to the surface -- with hilarious results.
What makes the film work like a charm is Wigg's pitch-perfect portrayal of Annie. SNL star Wigg bounces between being aloof and dry humored to the spazzy nutcase that's always begging to be unleashed from her...two persona's that surprisingly complement each other perfectly (especially in a scene involving a flight to Vegas). Joining Wigg in the bridal party are a colorful group of characters indeed, most notably Melissa McCarthy as Megan, Lilian's future sister-in-law. If there are any lines you're going to leave the theater quoting non-stop, they most likely come from her (think Allen in The Hangover).
Then there's Lilian's new friend, Helen (Rose Byrne). She's posh, beautiful and a perfectionist; she also seems to be pulling out all the stops in order to undermine Annie and become Lilian's new bachlorette party planner and BFF. Every moment may not have you rolling in the aisles, but it's hard not to laugh when you can totally relate to some of the things Annie is going through: the fear of losing a best friend, the difficulty of being middle-aged and single, and the harsh consequences of giving an entire bridal party food poisoning (I kid). But seriously, while watching you won't be able to stop thinking to yourself: why the heck haven't we seen women let loose in the movies like this until now?
Rating: A-