Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan from a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins and Jason Segel, the film tells the story of a middle school teacher who hates her job, her students, and her co-workers but returns to teaching after her wealthy fiancé breaks up with her.

For the television series, see Bad Teacher (TV series).

Bad Teacher
A blonde woman slumped behind a desk, her boots on the desk. On the desk is a red apple with the label "Eat Me!"
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJake Kasdan
Written byLee Eisenberg
Gene Stupnitsky
Produced byJimmy Miller
David Householter
Starring
CinematographyAlar Kivilo
Edited byTara Timpone
Music byMichael Andrews
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • June 24, 2011 (2011-06-24)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]
Box office$216.2 million[2]

Bad Teacher was released in the United States on June 24, 2011, by Columbia Pictures. It grossed $216.2 million.

Plot

Elizabeth Halsey is a lazy, immoral, manipulative, gold digging teacher at John Adams Middle School in Chicago who curses at her students, drinks heavily, smokes marijuana and lets her kids watch movies so she can sleep through class. She plans to quit teaching and marry her wealthy fiancé, but he dumps her when his mother shows him that Elizabeth is only after his money, so she resumes her job. She tries to win over wealthy substitute teacher Scott Delacorte. Her dedicated and enthusiastic colleague Amy Squirrel also pursues him while Elizabeth rejects advances from the school's gym teacher, Russell Gettis.

Elizabeth plans to have her breasts enlarged and becomes more motivated to do so upon learning Scott's ex-girlfriend had large breasts. However, she cannot afford the $9,300 procedure. Elizabeth attempts to raise money for the surgery through the 7th-grade car wash, wearing provocative clothing and manipulating parents to give her money for more school supplies and tutoring, but her efforts are not enough. Amy informs the principal about Elizabeth's embezzlement, but he dismisses her claims when no evidence is provided. Scott also admits that he is attracted to Amy and only likes Elizabeth as a friend.

Discovering that the teacher of the class with the highest state test scores will receive a $5,700 bonus, Elizabeth decides to change her style of teaching, forcing the class to intensely study To Kill a Mockingbird for the test. However, since it is late in the school year, combined with her unorthodox teaching methods, the students score low on the book quizzes, further frustrating her. Meanwhile, she befriends Russell, as Amy and Scott start dating.

Elizabeth plans to steal the state test answers by impersonating a journalist and seducing Carl Halabi, a state professor in charge of creating and distributing the exams. She convinces Carl to go into his office to have sex, but drugs him and steals the answer key. A month later Elizabeth wins the bonus, completing her needed funds, and books her breast enlargement.

When Elizabeth learns that Amy and Scott are chaperoning an upcoming field trip, she smears an apple with poison ivy and leaves it for Amy, who ends up with blisters covering her face and cannot go. On the trip, Elizabeth seduces Scott. They dry hump and Elizabeth secretly leaves Amy a message through Scott's phone, recording all the action. However, Scott's ever-changing ideals disappoint Elizabeth. After her student Garrett is taunted by his classmates for confessing to an unrequited attraction to a superficial girl in the class named Chase, Elizabeth consoles him and helps make him popular, which prompts her to begin reflecting on her own superficial ways.

Back at the school, Amy switches Elizabeth's desk with her own to trick the janitor into unlocking Elizabeth's sealed drawer. The evidence Amy finds leads her to suspect Elizabeth cheated on the state exam. Amy informs the principal and gets Carl to testify against her. However, Elizabeth took embarrassing photos of Carl while he was drugged and uses them to blackmail him to say she is innocent. Having been informed that her desk was switched, Elizabeth states that teachers in the school use drugs. When the police bring a sniffer dog to search the school, they find Elizabeth's mini liquor bottles, marijuana and OxyContin pills in Amy's classroom, in Elizabeth's desk, leading to Amy getting arrested and transferred to another school by the superintendent. Scott asks Elizabeth to start over, but she rejects him in favor of Russell, having learned they have a lot in common.

When the new school year starts, Elizabeth has reformed. She is kinder to her co-workers, and has started a relationship with Russell, and did not get her breasts enlarged because she feels that it is unnecessary. Elizabeth also has a new position as the new guidance counselor.

Cast

Production

Bad Teacher was directed by Jake Kasdan based on a screenplay by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. Columbia Pictures purchased Eisenberg and Stupnitsky's spec script in August 2008.[3] In May 2009, Kasdan was hired to direct Bad Teacher.[4] The following December, Cameron Diaz was cast in the film's lead role.[5] Justin Timberlake was cast opposite Diaz in March 2010, and filming began later in the month.[6]

Release

Box office

The film grossed $100.3 million in the U.S. and Canada, while its worldwide total stands at $216.2 million.[2]

The film was released in North America on June 20, 2011, in 3,049 theaters. It took in $12,243,987—$4,016 per theater—in its opening day, and grossed a total of $31,603,106 in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office, behind Cars 2.[2] In Germany, the film reached No. 1 on the country's Cinema Charts in its opening week after 496,000 people saw the film. This caused Kung Fu Panda 2, which reached No. 1 the week before, to fall to No. 2.[7]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 192 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "In spite of a promising concept and a charmingly brazen performance from Cameron Diaz, Bad Teacher is never as funny as it should be."[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 47 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[1]

Accolades
AwardCategoryRecipientsResult
2011 ALMA Awards[10] Favorite Movie Actress – Comedy/Musical Cameron Diaz Nominated
People's Choice Awards[11] Favorite Comedy Movie Nominated
2011 Teen Choice Awards[12] Choice Movie – Comedy Won
Choice Movie Actor – Comedy Justin Timberlake Won
Choice Movie Actress – Comedy Cameron Diaz Won
33rd Young Artist Awards[13] Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor Matthew J. Evans Won
Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress Kaitlyn Dever Nominated
2012 BMI Film & TV Awards[14] Film Music Award Michael Andrews Won

Home media

Bad Teacher was released on DVD, Blu-ray, and a combo pack on October 18, 2011.[15]

Television series
See also: Bad Teacher (TV series)

On May 23, 2013, CBS announced a TV series based on the film, with CBS Studios and Sony Pictures Television as production partners. The show premiered on April 24, 2014, in the 9:30pm time slot.[16] Ari Graynor played the Cameron Diaz role,[17] while Sara Gilbert, Ryan Hansen, David Alan Grier, Kristin Davis and Sara Rodier also appeared. On May 10, 2014, CBS canceled Bad Teacher after airing only three episodes.[18]

References
  1. Kaufman, Amy; Fritz, Ben (June 30, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Transformers' will detonate competition at holiday box office". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  2. "Bad Teacher (2011)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  3. Fleming, Michael (August 26, 2008). "'Teacher' in Columbia's class". Variety.
  4. Fernandez, Jay A. (May 27, 2009). "Director Jake Kasdan enrolls for 'Bad Teacher'". Reuters.
  5. Siegel, Tatiana (December 9, 2009). "Cameron Diaz is a 'Bad Teacher'". Variety.
  6. Siegel, Tatiana (March 2, 2010). "Justin Timberlake hot for 'Teacher'". Variety.
  7. "GFK Entertainment – "Bad Teacher" holt Bestnoten". June 27, 2011.
  8. "Bad Teacher". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  9. "Bad Teacher". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  10. "2011 NLCR ALMA Awards – Nominees" (PDF). almaawards.com. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  11. "People's Choice Awards 2013 Nominees". PeoplesChoice.com. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  12. Ng, Philiana (July 19, 2011). "Teen Choice Awards 2011: 'Pretty Little Liars,' Rebecca Black Added to List of Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
  13. "33rd Annual Young Artist Awards – Nominations / Special Awards". The Young Artist Foundation. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  14. Gallo, Phil (May 17, 2012). "Backbeat: Rolfe Kent Receives Career Achievement Honor at BMI Film and TV Awards". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  15. "Bad Teacher Blu-ray: Unrated + Theatrical". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
  16. London, Derry (April 24, 2014). "'Bad Teacher' From CBS Premieres Tonight at 9:30PM". www.wltx.com. WTLX 19. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  17. 'The Crazy Ones' and 'Two and a Half Men' Switch Timeslots + CBS Announces 'Bad Teacher' & 'Unforgettable' Premieres
  18. Swift, Andy (May 10, 2014). "CBS Cancels The Crazy Ones, Intelligence, Friends With Better Lives and Two Other Series". TVLine. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
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