Plot: What’s it about?
Few professions out there really impact a person’s life more than that of a teacher. We all remember our good teachers we’ve had and, of course, the bad ones. Teachers are often over-worked and underpaid but they do it because they love it. This is epitomized in “Bad Teacher”, the story of a woman who works because she loses her fiancé…and her bank account. I’m often a bit leery when I see the word “Bad” in front of a movie as we never know what it’ll entail exactly. I remember watching “Bad Santa” a few years ago and, while funny, don’t let the latter of the two words fool you. Amid the superhero movies this last summer “Bad Teacher” as a diamond in the rough. With a budget of only $20 million, the film managed to rake in over $200 worldwide. But “Bad Teacher” is a little ambiguous – what’s it all about?
Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) is a teacher. She has been for over a year and has been getting by solely by doing the bare minimum. She’s quit her job at the end of the year as she’s getting married and will no longer need a steady source of income (namely because her husband is loaded). However this all changes when the engagement is called off which forces Elizabeth to go crawling back to her job. Elizabeth is forced to move in with someone she met on Craigslist and her only motivation is to get some new “enhancements” for her chest. Elizabeth isn’t that nice of a person and is an even worse teacher. She drinks, smokes (pot), steals money and thwarts the efforts of those who want to help her. The only beacon of light is the Gym teacher (Jason Segal), though Elizabeth only has eyes for well-to-do Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake). Will Elizabeth figure out that there’s more to life than breast implants and money or is she doomed to have her life run its miserable course?
One of the things that I like about “Bad Teacher” (and all films like it) is that you pretty much know what you’re getting when you look at the cover. As for Cameron Diaz, I’d have to say that I’m a casual fan of her and she’s had some good films and bad. Yes she was one of “Charlie’s Angels” but she was also in “Being John Malkovich” – that evens itself out. Diaz and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake do have chemistry for sure and though their scenes aren’t that plentiful, they’re good when they’re together. The film isn’t for everyone and I’m not sure how actual teachers will react to this. Ironically the film acknowledges other films that praise teaching like “Stand and Deliver”, “Lean on Me” and “Dangerous Minds.” Go figure.
Video: How does it look?
It would seem that nearly every movie out there these days is shown in an ultra wide aspect ratio so it’s nice to see a movie that actually fills up the screen. “Bad Teacher” is shown in an 1.85:1 AVC HD transfer that looks pretty darn good. Cameron Diaz isn’t getting any younger and though she still looks good, the detail of this Blu-ray does show some wrinkles. Colors are generally bright and well-balanced and the bright classrooms give a very warm atmosphere to the movie. Contrast and black levels seem to be right on the mark and “Bad Teacher” is right on the mark and looks as a new to Blu-ray movie should.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack isn’t the best out there, but it’s consistent with what a comedy should be. Dialogue is very clear and concise and surrounds are used sparingly, but with some good effect. There are a few scenes which really make use of this uncompressed soundtrack, though the majority of the brunt is shouldered by the front stage. There’s really nothing that stands out about this mix and I highly doubt there was supposed to be. Still, I don’t think viewers will be disappointed by the way this sounds.
Supplements: What are the extras?
We don’t get a lot of supplements here and the ones we do get are a bit on the iffy side. We start out with “Way Behind the Scenes with Jason and Justin” which features actors Jason Segal and Justin Timberlake who act like they don’t like one another. “Raising More than Funds” is a closer look at the car wash scene. We also get some outtakes as well as some deleted scenes and trailers. We do have some BD-Live functionality as well as a Digital Copy of the movie on the second disc.
