Review: Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher follows an abusive, pot-smoking, foul mouthed teacher – Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz), who after being ditched by her rich fiance, decides to woo new teacher Scott Delacorde (Justin Timberlake). In order to do this she saves up for a new boob job – however, things aren’t so easy as she faces competition for Scott’s affections from her slightly unhinged co-worker, Miss Squirell (Lucy Punch).

Bad Teacher is an incredibly impressive directorial follow up to Jake Kasdan’s previous feature Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Kasdan continues to show us he’s got a fantastic flare for comic direction – bringing out excellent comedic performances from main cast members, as well as the supporting cast. The script from Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky is tight and most of the jokes hit the spot.

Phyllis is awesome

I’ve no reservations in saying that this is Cameron Diaz’s most fun performance since 2000’s Charlie Angels – it’s a very different performance though. Diaz is hilarious in the role, making a character that should be unlikeable, extremely cool. She’s also supported by Lucy Punch, who is excellent as Elizabeth’s obsessively cutsie yet slightly unhinged colleague. The conflict between the two characters is fantastic and is really the driving force behind the film. Justin Timberlake is also on fine form but isn’t given much to do (apart from a strange bit of dry humping), although he still makes a nice alternative to Jason Segel’s slightly dull gym teacher . Also much love to Phyllis Smith and John Michael Higgins, who both put in top-notch supporting performances.

Bad Teacher reminds me slightly of last year’s Easy A – a lot of the funnier points are given away in the trailer, yet it still makes fantastic viewing, that I look forward to watching again. It really puts Diaz back on form after a lot of bland roles in recent years. Bad Teacher = Good Film.