It took me a long time to watch this. I was recording shows on one DVR I didn't really need anymore except the other ones were always full. And it was inconvenient to watch anything on this DVR if I had time. But it's not important when the movie aired in my area.
What is important is that this was sort of a comedy about a school that appeared to be bad on the scale of the one Morgan Freeman ran later in the decade. And I have more to say about Freeman later. But the truth is the school wasn't as bad as the first scenes made it appear at first.
Can it be stated that this is a movie like many others? Maybe back in the day it was groundbreaking. I wouldn't know. Even if there is a formula, I like the formula.
Apparently the faculty is mostly apathetic and the students who need more aren't going to succeed, while there are others who can succeed if given the chance. But the focus is on the faculty and just a few students.
Nick Nolte starts out as a lazy bum who will apparently be more apathetic than the other faculty. Wrong. Regardless of how well Alex did as a teacher, of course, Nolte clearly shows how talented he is and how respected he will be when the time comes for awards. But he ends up as the most caring of all the faculty, even breaking the rules to make a difference for his students.
Judd Hirsch does a great job as he does in most of his roles, showing he is in charge and that he should have been the principal instead of the pathetic Henry Blake character who has the title. However, he is part of the problem as one of the faculty who says they can't do it all and they'll settle for good enough.
Richard Mulligan is great as an escaped mental patient who pretending to be a substitute teacher delivers realistic performances of historical characters such as Abraham Lincoln.
I didn't know Ralph Macchio but I've seen him those "Karate Kid" movies and he is really good as one of the students who is smart but not achieving by measurable standards. He might have been dyslexic but the movie never makes clear what his problem is. He can get things done even if he can't study and learn what is taught in class.
I must have seen Jobeth Williams in other movies and she is certainly pretty and likable, and her lawyer character really tries. She is up against obstacles. As for her big scene, I was watching on broadcast TV so I don't know how much I missed.
In a time before he became the authoritative and respected actor we all know, Morgan Freeman was a con artist lawyer. The role doesn't seem to suit him now that we know him as a man who might have been able to turn this school around. Yet he does a good job with it. If made years later, this movie should have had Jamie Foxx or Chris Rock in the role, and they could have really done something with it.
Laura Dern has great hair. I forget she was ever that young, and in fact she looks too old to be a high school student. She does a good job here.
There is a tragedy that seems too dark for a comedy movie, but the movie mostly works.
This movie was cleaned up for broadcast and I was grateful.
As would be expected for the movie' intended audience, the "music" was everything that was bad about 80s music.
Does this still work today? Some things may have changed, but even forty years later, there are apathetic teachers and students who need someone to care and don't have that.
I think it's really good.
What is important is that this was sort of a comedy about a school that appeared to be bad on the scale of the one Morgan Freeman ran later in the decade. And I have more to say about Freeman later. But the truth is the school wasn't as bad as the first scenes made it appear at first.
Can it be stated that this is a movie like many others? Maybe back in the day it was groundbreaking. I wouldn't know. Even if there is a formula, I like the formula.
Apparently the faculty is mostly apathetic and the students who need more aren't going to succeed, while there are others who can succeed if given the chance. But the focus is on the faculty and just a few students.
Nick Nolte starts out as a lazy bum who will apparently be more apathetic than the other faculty. Wrong. Regardless of how well Alex did as a teacher, of course, Nolte clearly shows how talented he is and how respected he will be when the time comes for awards. But he ends up as the most caring of all the faculty, even breaking the rules to make a difference for his students.
Judd Hirsch does a great job as he does in most of his roles, showing he is in charge and that he should have been the principal instead of the pathetic Henry Blake character who has the title. However, he is part of the problem as one of the faculty who says they can't do it all and they'll settle for good enough.
Richard Mulligan is great as an escaped mental patient who pretending to be a substitute teacher delivers realistic performances of historical characters such as Abraham Lincoln.
I didn't know Ralph Macchio but I've seen him those "Karate Kid" movies and he is really good as one of the students who is smart but not achieving by measurable standards. He might have been dyslexic but the movie never makes clear what his problem is. He can get things done even if he can't study and learn what is taught in class.
I must have seen Jobeth Williams in other movies and she is certainly pretty and likable, and her lawyer character really tries. She is up against obstacles. As for her big scene, I was watching on broadcast TV so I don't know how much I missed.
In a time before he became the authoritative and respected actor we all know, Morgan Freeman was a con artist lawyer. The role doesn't seem to suit him now that we know him as a man who might have been able to turn this school around. Yet he does a good job with it. If made years later, this movie should have had Jamie Foxx or Chris Rock in the role, and they could have really done something with it.
Laura Dern has great hair. I forget she was ever that young, and in fact she looks too old to be a high school student. She does a good job here.
There is a tragedy that seems too dark for a comedy movie, but the movie mostly works.
This movie was cleaned up for broadcast and I was grateful.
As would be expected for the movie' intended audience, the "music" was everything that was bad about 80s music.
Does this still work today? Some things may have changed, but even forty years later, there are apathetic teachers and students who need someone to care and don't have that.
I think it's really good.