The English Teacher (2013)

Pretty Good

hyped garbage

Blistering performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This is a predictably sweet comedy, with a mildly nasty turn. Moore is great as usual, as spinster teacher Linda Sinclair. She lives in her world and finds reality distasteful.Linda goes on blind dates, but the men are not up to her standards. Until one day former student Jason comes back in town from New York. Jason is a gifted writer, but he's planning to give up writing to become a lawyer.Jason's father is blamed for his change of heart and surely Linda does blame him. Things take a different turn when Linda insists to have Jason's first play performed in her school.Complications ensue, but a happy ending is on sight. If anything, this should "teach" anybody never to believe somebody's version of facts, until you get further proof.

Sleeper success that catches its audience unawares. Julianne Moore proves she's still at the top of her game playing 45-year-old spinster school teacher in Pennsylvania who encourages a former student with his writing, committing herself to seeing that his original play is approved by the school board for production by the drama department, but instead yielding herself to a sexual indiscretion in the process. Tangled-web dark comedy, framed like a modern day absurdist fairy tale, begins as a lightly-comic character study before fusing itself to a sharp satire of the high school dynamic. Fortunately, both sides work beautifully, with excellent supporting turns by Michael Angarano (a terrific young actor), Greg Kinnear as the boy's father and Nathan Lane as the passionate drama teacher. Extremely well-written by Dan and Stacy Chariton, who provide such an offbeat touch to both situation and dialogue that one never knows what's going to happen next. A marvelous surprise. *** from ****

In Kingston, Pennsylvania, the forty-five year-old lonely spinster Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) is a high-school English teacher with a routine life that loves literature. When she stumbles with her former student Jason Sherwood (Michael Angarano), she learns that he has returned from New York after failing as a playwright in Broadway. Linda borrows his play named "The Chrysalis" to read and she loves the play. Then she shows "The Chrysalis" to the drama teacher Carl Kapinas (Nathan Lane) and they decide to produce the play in the high-school. However Vice Principal Phil Pelaski (Norbert Leo Butz) and Principal Trudie Slocum (Jessica Hecht) are against the production since the conclusion is too dark for the students and they can not exceed the budget. Carl offers to change the ending and Linda offers to cover any amount that exceeds the budget. However, along the rehearsals, the naive Linda learns that real life is not a literature and people are flawed and may disappoint."The English Teacher" is an unpleasant movie with despicable characters; Julianne Moore's actress and her character are the only attraction of this movie. Jason Sherwood is a liar and ungrateful character; Carl Kapinas is a sophisticated ridiculous character incapable to keep and assume his own word; Halle Anderson and Will are among the worst that you can expect from teenagers. Linda Sinclair is unselfish teacher that sponsors the production of the play for love for the art, but is not supported by the selfish Jason Sherwood and Carl Kapinas and has her career destroyed by the disgusting Halle Anderson and Will. My questions to the writers Dan Chariton and Stacy Chariton are: Do you believe your story is funny? What is the message of this story? My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "Adorável Professora" ("Adorable Teacher")

Considering that 'The English Teacher' was clearly intended to be a light comedy, watching it while awake is an excruciating experience. The film's basic concept has some promise - a failed young playwright returns to his home town where he encounters the high school English teacher who had inspired him to write. Unfortunately the idea is treated as broad farce from the moment the disillusioned Jason runs into prim Ms Sinclair at an ATM, and she mistakes him for a mugger. After attacking her former student with a pepper spray, the apologetic teacher decides to recommend Jason's latest work to her school's drama department.The remainder of the film exudes a sense of desperation, as director and cast put on an over-acting showcase at the level of provincial theater. After several pratfalls, shameful revelations and last minute hitches in search of easy laughs and melodrama, the play opens to a predictable reception. Needless to say, Ms Sinclair's dedication earns her the formulaic romantic reward of a 'unexpected' suitor. As the curtain falls, she sheds her primness for a prosperous, contented future in American rom-com dreamland. It makes Jane Austen's work look like gritty urban drama.