Mr. Woodcock (2007)

That was an excellent one.

Purely Joyful Movie!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A Masterpiece!

John Farley (Seann William Scott) is a successful self-help writer going back to his Nebraska hometown to get a local award Corn Cob Key. He tells his callous agent Maggie (Amy Poehler) that the book is about letting go of past trauma like his dead father. However the title comes from his gym coach Jasper Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton) bullying him. He is shocked when his mother Beverly Farley (Susan Sarandon) reveals that she's dating Woodcock. He falls for former classmate and English teacher Tracy Detweiller (Melissa Sagemiller). With Nedderman (Ethan Suplee) and his brother, the group of Woodcock victims haplessly try to break up the relationship.Billy Bob Thornton is fine as the cruel Woodcock. Susan Sarandon is playing it too dumb. She doesn't play dumb well. The character has to be less simplistic or they should have gotten somebody different to play the mom. Seann William Scott is simply not funny in this movie. His natural personality is being suppressed. This could still work as a black comedy if it took more chances and be darker.

I am sure that I saw clips and trailers for this film during the time it was playing at cinemas, I had a feeling it wasn't going to get the greatest of reviews from critics, and I was right, but because of the cast I went against their advice and watched it. Basically as a child John Farley (Seann William Scott) and all his other physical education students were almost tortured by the abusive and bully like behaviour of gym teacher Jasper Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton), grown up John has become a successful self-help book author and is returning to his hometown in Nebraska to receive an award. Arriving home he is happy to hear that his widowed mother Beverly (Susan Sarandon) is dating again, but he is both shocked and angered when he finds out it is Mr. Woodcock, and it gets worse when they announce they are engaged to be married, so now the son is trying to think of ways to break them up. John becomes obsessed trying to beat Woodcock in a series of competitions, and trying to find evidence that Woodcock has been disloyal to his fiancée, and his behaviour is becoming so childish and over the top that he is pushing away his former classmate and love interest Tracy (Melissa Sagemiller). His friend Nedderman (Ethan Suplee) is the only one willing to help him end the relationship of his former gym teacher and his mother, as he agrees that the teacher was evil towards them as children, and they believe that they have found evidence of his having an affair in his former marriage, and currently cheating at the moment. At the same award ceremony he is attending, John is appalled to see Woodcock receiving "Educator of the Year" and being praised by all who know him, so John uses his acceptance speech as an excuse to explain why Woodcock is an "asshole", he presents what he thinks is evidence of an affair and cheating, but this is explained away. Beverly is appalled at both her son and fiancé's behaviour, especially when they challenge each other to a fight, she breaks up with Woodcock, John eventually reconciles with his mother in a heart to heart conversation, but Woodcock and he still want to have a proper fight with gloves, but after a few moments of this it ends when Woodcock suffers concussion, in hospital all are around to make peace with each other. In the end John realises that if you are to move on into the future you have to sometime relive the past, he accepts that Woodcock made him the man he is today in some respects, Woodcock and Beverly get married, and John writes a new self-help book called Backbone: The Definite Guide to Self Confidence. Also starring Amy Poehler as Maggie, Jacob Davich as Nedderman's Brother, Kyley Baldridge as Young Farley, Alec George as Young Nedderman, Lost's M.C. Gainey as Hal - Barber #1 and The Fighter's Melissa Leo as Sally Jansen. Scott has only a hint of his jock character in his role as the formerly chubby boy turned thin teacher hating author, Thornton is certainly a good choice as the sadistic seeming teacher who may be trying to be nice but you're not sure, and Sarandon hardly has anything to do, the plot is pretty straight forward, a guy with a grudge on his nasty teacher trying to ruin the relationship with him and his mother, there are not many overly funny moments, it is a slightly disappointing comedy. Okay!

This is one of these films that so hateful and so unlikable, I wish it were never made. Poor John Farley gets abused by not just Mr Woodcock, but every character under the sun. You can't help but feel sorry for him. Also, whilst all this is going on, you'd be asking yourself "I'm sorry, this is supposed to be a comedy. Where are the jokes?"Well, the comedy is Ethan Suplee who plays Farley's only friend and he's an idiot. That's it. There's your comedy.Mr Woodcock is supposed to be a jerk with a heart of gold, but the movie doesn't show the heart of gold. Maybe if he saved John's life at the end, or explained why he's a bit mean, it might've worked. But it's hard to appreciate Mr Woodcock when he's mean to Farley in very scene they're in.And the end of the film, does he and Farley get along? No. In fact he's even more mean to him. Also, Amy Poehler plays the same character in every film she does. In here she's no better.Billy Bob and Sean Scott have nothing nice to say about this film. I don't blame them. They're probably angry at this film as much as I am.Overall, I HATE THIS FILM. I hate the characters (with the exception of Farley, it's nice to see Sean not play Stifler for once, he's the only good thing about this film), I hate the story, I hate the ending, I HATE IT!I'm getting angry just writing this.

What started out as a mildly entertaining comedy version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" (you know : wronged man exacts revenge upon the body of his enemy, where you find yourself rooting for the former pupil of an unbelievably cruel gym teacher, to finally get the better of his Nemesis, actually ends with the morally ambiguous (to say the least) finale, which states that it is actually alright for teachers to bully, humiliate, hit, and generally terrorize children. Well done, Mr. producer. Instead of the pretty damaged youth getting the upper hand on the man that virtually ruined him for life, we get this cheesy "moral" of "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." Great. Now that we've all had that epiphany, there's nothing that stands in the way of us making life for our children completely unbearable anymore. It actually feels like the jocks from school made this movie to justify themselves...