Bad Teacher

Review by Sean Lynch

When it comes to the alumni of cult classic TV series Freaks & Geeks, in my mind, they can do no wrong.

Whether it's Judd Apatow and his all conquering productions, Paul Feig and his heart warming books (he also directed Bridesmaids) or Bad Teacher director Jake Kasdan - no matter what they do from this point onwards, I'll regard it as a win no matter what anyone else says.

Although, with Bad Teacher, Kasdan isn't making it easy for me.

A comedy centered around a foul-mouthed, junior high teacher (a smoking hot Cameron Diaz) who, after being dumped by her sugar daddy, begins to woo a colleague - a move that pits her against a well-loved teacher.

While, admittedly, audience shouldn't be surprised that a film called Bad Teacher involves as lead character who is far from perfect - they can't be blamed for not realising how deplorable Diaz is throughout.

Sure, at first her selfish ways seem funny, but it isn't long before you genuinely despise everything about her - which makes you struggle to really care for her plight.

However, thanks to some stellar turns from Jason Segel, Lucy Punch and Justin Timberlake (as well as some fine "ass acting" from Diaz) this weird and wonderful world of truly horrific characters starts to infiltrate your mind.

The beauty comes from the fact that there is not a single character with any redeemable quality. Even Segel (as the High School Gym teacher), despite being "the cool guy" of the piece, is actually a Bad Teacher too. It's in doing that Kasdan manages to keep everyone on a level playing field.

The flick plays out very much like an episode of Eastbound & Down, with Diaz stepping into the role normally held by Kenny Powers and  The Office's Phyllis Smith taking on the role of Stevie Janowski.

In fact, the attitude of the film feels almost identical. Not that it's a bad thing - it just takes a little getting used to.

Another master stroke is that handling of Timberlake's too-good-to-be-true Mr Perfect character. I won't give it away, but Kasdan's choice to not twist where you might expect makes the concept of his over-the-top characterisations even more hilarious.

Bad Teacher is an acquired taste and is by no means as mainstream as Bridesmaids, but once you free yourself from the constraints of needing "likeable characters", this turns out to be something of a very guilty pleasure.

3 out of 5

Bad Teacher
Australian release: 13th July, 2010
Official Site: Bad Teacher
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake
Director: Jake Kasdan