Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake are back together again!?? Oh wait, it’s just a film.
Your local multiplex is probably overrun with mediocre comedies, trading on tired old jokes, farcical premises and non-existent characters; so will Bad Teacher actually make us laugh? I like Cameron Diaz, I like looking at her, and I even like just hearing her voice. I understand she’s not the greatest actress of her generation or anything, in fact not even Martin Scorsese could get a good performance out of her when she starred in his Gangs of New York, but comedy is her strong suit.
Like a young Goldie Hawn she excels at making a fool out of herself on the big screen, in a cute and charming kind of way. She can easily carry a film on her own and her comic timing is good enough to raise audible laughs from the audience, but there’s a little more to making a good movie than just that.
The trouble with Bad Teacher is it thinks it’s something it’s not. It aims for satire but isn’t quite intelligent enough to manage that. The premise of an out of control, couldn’t care less teacher is a nice twist on what Hollywood normally offers. Don’t expect a repeat of Robin Williams’s aspirational professor from Dead Poets Society, or any hard-nosed heroics like we saw with Michelle Pfeiffer’s teacher in Dangerous Minds. Cameron Diaz plays Elizabeth, (the bad teacher in question) who drinks, smokes, takes drugs and is generally the kind of teacher you might have loved at school.
While that’s a refreshing change, sadly the rest of the film subscribes to some very tired stereotypes. Diaz’s character is hell bent on marrying a rich man, to save her from her hated job – a worryingly romantic view of the ‘gold digger’. If that’s not bad enough she decides the best way to bag the new teacher (played by Justin Timberlake) is with breast implants.
Not to worry though, Elizabeth isn’t meant to be liked, but even as a stereotype she feels a little two-dimensional. Her rival for Timberlake’s affections comes in the shape of goody-two-shoes teacher Amy Squirrel (played by Lucy Punch).
There’s a good dash of Glee in Punch’s performance, but as a polar opposite to Elizabeth she also seems more stereotype than character. One thing that isn’t two dimensional is watching Timberlake and Diaz together. In fact there’s a good deal of fun to be had from scrutinising their onscreen relationship. The once high profile Hollywood couple broke up some years ago, on what I assume was amicable terms, as their onscreen chemistry seems to testify.
What the film really lacks though is edge. It seems to tread the line a bit too carefully by playing it safe, which is a shame as some more risqué gags would have done this film the world of good. The film seems a little old fashioned, from Diaz’s character right down to the comedy and tone. It’s not even as modern as some of the films from the Judd Apatow school of comedy. There is a pleasantly surprising ending though and it is a cut above most of the comedies that have been released in the past year, just not that far above. I guess I’d write “must try harder” on Diaz’s report card.
Bad Teacher is out now.
Warren Beckett works full time as a powerful wizard, but moonlights as an online journalist. He likes talking in the third person. For frequent updates on how his hair looks follow his Twitter @WarrenBeckett