A bad teacher is a comedy that features Elizabeth Halsey as the main character. She is a gold digger who does not care about her job as a teacher to nurture young minds. She is also a frequent user of marijuana. Scott and Russell are Elizabeth’s prospective suitors who constantly fight for her attention. Scott is a handsome rich man, whereas Russell is his smart and funny opponent.
Russell is a serious gym teacher who catches the audience’s attention as well as Elizabeth’s. Amy Squirrel is a cunning character who is also very pretentious. She covers her callous, condescending trait behind a pretty smile and pretends to be Elizabeth’s friend.
Bad Teacher has striking similarities to a 2003 movie called Bad Santa. Bad Teacher is about teachers abusing their authority and power by taking advantage of young school-going children. Elizabeth comes home from school one day and finds that her rich fiancé is no longer interested in their relationship.
She goes back to school with a scheme on how to attract a rich man so that she can quit her teaching job. Luckily for her, the new teacher in her school (Scott) happens to be very wealthy. Miss Halsey is determined to do everything to catch his attention even if it means getting breast implants. She is even more determined when she realizes that Scott’s ex-girlfriend has an ample bust. However, she faces a challenge of raising enough money for the surgical procedure. She resorts to helping her students cheat in a test to raise money.
Bad Teacher comprises a sequence of segments linked together. It is a very entertaining movie to watch although it copies most of its plot from other movies. The quality of the picture is very good as well as the lighting. However, the language used in some scenes is quite obscene and is not appropriate for young audiences and family viewing. There is a lot of profanity, suggestive sexual insinuations, as well as drug abuse (smoking of marijuana and drinking of alcohol). Several songs are used to depict different moods and themes in the movie.
The issues that the movie addresses are clearly outlined throughout the film. Therefore, it is easy for a viewer to relate to the lives of the characters. The playwright also uses symbolism when assigning names to characters in the play. For example, Amy squirrel’s name (Squirrel) depicts her cunning character in the play.
The movie portrays the theme of change. A wicked teacher faces many challenges, which gradually transform her into a good person. Elizabeth learns valuable life lessons that change her ways. Ultimately, she realizes what is crucial in life and becomes a good judge of character when she chooses to date Russell, the gym teacher over Scott who is extremely wealthy. The movie also depicts immorality. Elizabeth is immoral to the extent of using students to get money illegally for their selfish needs.
In my view, this film scores three out of five points. The movie director does a commendable job in assembling a star-studded and talented cast who play their roles effortlessly. The key setbacks in the movie are the predictability of the outcomes and the flow of the plot. The events look like a series of skits or parts that are incompetently connected. The raunchy nature of the film also restricts its audience, yet the title suggests that the movie ought to be suitable for school-going children.