The Substitute (1996)

the audience applauded

Just perfect...

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

This film came out three years after Sniper, and it suffers from a serious identity crisis.The film wants to be every good-teacher-cleans-up-bad-school movie you've ever seen. That pretty dominates the first 95% of the film. Great White Hope with some of Class of 1999 mixed in. Then, at the end of the film, it basically turns into Rambo/Sniper but set inside of a school.It's quite entertaining to watch Berenger discipline an unruly class. There are some references to race in the film relevant to its production year of 1996, including one of the black teachers asking Berenger as Mr Smith if he's trying to be some Great White Hope. The soundtrack is very engaging and the production values are convincing.The movie builds well, but wraps up very abruptly, despite being engaging and at least somewhat believable up until that point. A blond man (one of the anti-hero mercs) kicks white cocaine dust into the face of a Seminole Indian drug dealer, calling him Snow. This was strangely racist, but then that guy gets shot so I guess he gets his comeuppance. Then, three minutes later, he saves Mr Smith, his old friend, but we're supposed to feel empathy for his death. Chaotic to say the least. I think there's a good chance this film was wrecked in editing, possibly without the director's approval. At least the film has some surprises.I enjoyed the film, but it goes so seriously and inexplicably astray at the end that it ruined the entire film. There was already a major confrontation near the end, and they didn't need to turn it into Rambo Attends High School for yet another violent climax. This was especially annoying as Berenger starts to show a softer side as a teacher who makes progress relating the similarities of violent wars in American history to violence in American inner cities. Done properly, this film could've been a semi-landmark, but someone had to screw it up, and that in itself warrants investigation. It does compare warring countries to gangs, in a simplistic, but plausible way.This movie is a period museum piece because of its reflection of a time of excess in the USA and Hwood that the 21st Century has seen end. Now there are effects excesses that movies wallow in, this one was among the last from a period of combat choreography.gun battle excesses. Its not that a incoherent script couldn't get made today, but this premise would never get produced today.This film gets an 7 for acting, a 0 for ending, and an 8 for novelty and entertainment. Re-edited, it could be a 7 star film.

(Plot) A mercenary is reunited with his fiancé after a failed mission in Cuba. The kids have a habit of terrorizing Jane and she ends up succumbing to injury. Tom Berenger is forced to take over her responsibilities and become the substitute teacher. He may have gotten a little more than he bargained for. Maybe it was Tom Berenger's stone faced performance, maybe it was the dullness that permeated for the whole movie, or maybe it was because I had nobody to root for. The answer? all of the above. It does have some scenes that are quite intense and gritty, but it's not nearly as powerful as it likes to believe. It does have a nice little twist near the end, but that's about it. Tom Berenger is pretty wooden here in my opinion. His stone faced performance got on my nerves. Diane Venora is fitfully sassy as the fiancée. She did well. William Forsythe, Luis Guzman and others add good supportFinal Thoughts: I don't remember a whole lot about this movie. It wasn't terrible, just mundane and not very interesting. I'd check out other films if I were you. Followed by three DTV sequels which I have yet to see. 4.3/10

This is like the ultimate "everyday" action movie. It's pulp fiction with a human touch. Tom Berenger is a beautiful warm hearted human actor. He makes roles seem human. I guess the weakness in that, is that since it's so human and less flashy, it may very well be the reason he never became a huge star - just human. He's so underrated. Anyway he is a big part in making this movie your ultimate take it easy and enjoy flick. This movie knows right from wrong and it gives us the satisfaction in a non cheesy way of supporting our belief that good will win in the end. Maybe I should have given it a 10. Cause it's a classic and perfect in it's genre. I guess it's a "B" movie that gets an A big time..

Even though it was kind of a low-class type of story and movie with mostly bad, profane people tossing the f-word around like it was candy, it still was an enjoyable movie in a lot of parts and certainly had a satisfying ending. Perhaps that's why it was successful enough to spurn a sequel (albeit, a weak one.)Tom Berenger is good to watch. He's convincing as a tough guy substitute teacher "Jonathan Shale" who won't put up with the punks in the classroom. And, boy, you see the worst group of high school students I've ever seen on film. Tough to imagine kids harder to encounter than these slime-balls but satisfying to see them dealt with accordingly. You have to love it.