Bad Teacher - sorta good, sorta bad

When my sister and I were in Hawaii there were ads all over TV for Bad Teacher. Literally, every ad break. By the time we left, we were brainwashed into thinking this was going to be the greatest movie ever screened and we had to see it immediately (I get really easily influenced by advertising).

Pic credit: imdb.com

We saw it last night and…eh. It's good but not the best. Definitely a guilty pleasure. Cameron Diaz is great. Phyllis Smith is great. Jason Segel is one of my favourite people on earth and I know we would be best friends if he would just return my calls. Justin Timberlake is wonderful and all, but his character isn't exactly likeable. The female antagonist to Cameron's protagonist, Ms Squirrel played Lucy Punch, is a character so gratingly annoying that I wanted to claw her eyes out. Put it all together and you have a great cast of caricatures and nutballs (keep an eye out for the cameo from David Stonestreet [of Modern Family fame] as Diaz's moron roommate) - sadly, the storyline is like a deflated balloon. Flat, limp, kinda sad.

There are a couple of laugh out loud moments, but these are overshadowed by the 'WTF you can't say that' moments. As we follow Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz) on her journey from marrying for money, to broke and back to teaching (a job she clearly hates, although we have no idea how she landed in the vocation in the first place) there are all sorts of shenanigans. I love shenanigans. Without giving too much away, think naughty car washes, blackmail, stolen tests and Diaz smoking more dope than a 16 year old boy behind an abandoned factory. There is also a sex(ish?) scene between ex-real life lovers Diaz and Timberlake that had me physically recoiling. Disturbing.

Pic credit: imdb.com - Oh Jason, why won't you return my calls?!

Word to the wise - go on Tightass Tuesday. Get a free ticket. Have a date pay for your ticket. Or wait for it to come out on DVD. It's amusing, but not in the same league as some other recent comedy favourites like The Hangover or Bridesmaids.

Bad Teacher
Price: $45, or however much it is these days to see a movie at Event Cinemas (better re-mortgage the house if you want to take a date)
Why you should see it: Cheap laughs. Maybe you should make like Diaz and co. and get stoned first. It might be funnier that way.
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