Bad Teacher (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Directors C

  
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] In spite of a promising concept the film never lives up to it's true potential despite Cameron Diaz's impressive performance and Jason Segel's likable and a lot of the time; comedic supporting… More
  [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img] In spite of a promising concept the film never lives up to it's true potential despite Cameron Diaz's impressive performance and Jason Segel's likable and a lot of the time; comedic supporting role. It's a decently constructed comedy that would have worked if it didn't lack the raunchiness and laugh out loud moments that I expected. But what saved the well intended comedy Bad Teacher for me was it's demonstration that it had a heart and soul in the second half. It's a comedy worth seeing once for chuckles but nothing more than that.

• Raymond W

  
  Bad Teacher is sometimes actually quite funny, and at other times it had me chuckling at how utterly stupid it was. The acting for the most part felt really overdone, but I did enjoy watching Jason Segel, Lucy Punch and Phyllis Smith. Cameron Diaz was pretty good, but her character… More
  Bad Teacher is sometimes actually quite funny, and at other times it had me chuckling at how utterly stupid it was. The acting for the most part felt really overdone, but I did enjoy watching Jason Segel, Lucy Punch and Phyllis Smith. Cameron Diaz was pretty good, but her character was just too annoying to be likeable. Bad Teacher could have been so much better and funnier, and squanders it's potential with some truly horrible dialogue and some really awkward moments.

• Dan S

  
  A sometimes hysterical satire on the teaching crisis in America, detailing the life of one messed up individual (Cameron Diaz) and how she keeps skating by while attempting to marry a rich man in hopes that she will never have to work again. As said, it is an occasionally very, very… More
  A sometimes hysterical satire on the teaching crisis in America, detailing the life of one messed up individual (Cameron Diaz) and how she keeps skating by while attempting to marry a rich man in hopes that she will never have to work again. As said, it is an occasionally very, very funny film, sporting a monster of a performance from Diaz who turns in some of her best work in quite some time. However, the premise starts to wear thin by the halfway mark, and the remaining half of the movie feels like filler material instead of organic story-telling. Still, the first half of the film has some sharp dialogue and well-developed characters that fit nicely into the story. Definitely not a film for everyone, Diaz's character is a beast of vulgarity and immorality that no child should ever receive lessons from in life.

• Cynthia S

  
  Bad Teacher. Not so great movie. Even this talented cast couldn't help the lame storyline.

• Chris W

  
  Elizabeth Halsey is a gold-digging, foul-mouthed teacher who half-asses her way through her job and would rather spend her time drinking, smoking pot, and relying on a man's money to get her through life. When her fiancee dumps her, she's forced to return to the teaching… More
  Elizabeth Halsey is a gold-digging, foul-mouthed teacher who half-asses her way through her job and would rather spend her time drinking, smoking pot, and relying on a man's money to get her through life. When her fiancee dumps her, she's forced to return to the teaching job she thought she could leave behind. While there, she starts lusting after an attractive substitute who comes from a wealthy family and decides to start raising money so she can get a boob job to make her more desirable and hopefully become his main squeeze. Right off the bat, this film starts to draw some mild comparisons to Bad Santa, though here the concept of a down and out vulgar loser isn't taking to the fullest level, and there's also no real sense of heart or emotional connection. Instead the film comes off more like a cheeky farce, and more like a feature length SNL type of skit. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the film really isn't all that funny or interesting. There's a couple of moments that are actually pretty funny, and a handful of chuckle worhy instances, but for the most part the laughs just don't work and it feels like they wussed out in the raunch department, which is silly since they did get the go-ahead for an R. Luckily, Cameron Diaz gives a passable performance, and the car wash and dodgeball scenes are two of the better moments. Segel and Lennon are both also notable for their decent performances, but the three of them are really the only ones who seem to be attempting to create genuine characters as opposed to Punch and Timberlake who really come off as phony caricatures, and Smith who basically rehashes her role from The Office. The film's not awful, but it's really a missed opportunity. I wasn't bored, but I wasn't blown away. I did dig Elizabeth's choices of movies she shows to her class, and, while the film is kinda blase, it will do in a pinch if you're really bored, the weather sucks outside, there's nothing else on, and you're not expecting something great but still need to occupy 92 minutes of your life in some way.

• MisterYoda ?

  
  three stars

• Candy R

  
  Funny movie about a bad teacher. Cameron Diaz is a gold digger who gets dumped so she has to work as a teacher. She cheats to win a bonus, steals from the kids' fundraising car wash and gets off with a teacher (Justin Timberlake).

• Brad W

  
  Bad Teacher was just stupid, nothing more, nothing less. After being dumped by her fiancee, Elizibeth (Cameron Diaz) has to come back to her teacher job which she hates, and she is horrible at it. Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) is a hyperactive crazy teacher and starts to suspect… More
  Bad Teacher was just stupid, nothing more, nothing less. After being dumped by her fiancee, Elizibeth (Cameron Diaz) has to come back to her teacher job which she hates, and she is horrible at it. Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) is a hyperactive crazy teacher and starts to suspect Elizibeth of Drugs and cheating on the State Test. But the main plot is about after Elizibeth gets dumped, she meets Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake) a sensitive and rich guy who Elizibeth thinks will take care of her and buy her whatever she wants, but he recently got out of a relationship with a girl with large breasts, leading Elizibeth to think she needs breats implants, and she will not rest until she gets the money to pay for them, using even her students to ge her way. The plot is so boring and pointless it made me mad, nothing happens for and hour and a half, but its so slow it seemed like 2 hours, you could describe the plot as "a teacher wants to nail Justin Timberlake so she needs new boobs." Cameron Diaz is doing a new character in this, and in a way, its a good new change for her. Justin Timberlake is the show stealer here, he is funny, weird, and perfect for his role he was given. Jason Segal is a really funny guy, but they only use him in a few scenes, which was stupid because he is a hilarious guy. The comedy is the main problem with the film, it is at least 25 minutesper laugh, I am not kidding you, there is one hilarious scene with Cameron and Justin having non-penetrative sex, and that was the funniest part in the film, other than that there are a few chuckles every 25 minutes and the we sit there bored out of our minds. I didn't enjoy Bad Teacher, but I overall did like most of the cast, except Lucy Punch, I have never liked her.

• Emile T

  
  Some lines are pretty funny, but the whole is an insult to the viewer's intelligence from start to finish. This has a bad screenplay, a bad direction worsened by bad editing and bad cinematography and the only decent performances are from supporting roles (and I am not talking… More
  Some lines are pretty funny, but the whole is an insult to the viewer's intelligence from start to finish. This has a bad screenplay, a bad direction worsened by bad editing and bad cinematography and the only decent performances are from supporting roles (and I am not talking about Justin Timberlake). When you can point at all of the scenes that felt like they were specifically added to make up for its inconsistencies and its stupid plot, the whole project should have just been aborted...

• Melvin W

  
  Elizabeth Halsey: Did you know I walked in on him trying to fuck his dog? Peanut butter everywhere.  "She doesn't give an "F"." I liked Bad Teacher. Despite all the bad things I had heard about it, it turned out to be a pretty funny little movie. Nothing… More
  Elizabeth Halsey: Did you know I walked in on him trying to fuck his dog? Peanut butter everywhere.  "She doesn't give an "F"." I liked Bad Teacher. Despite all the bad things I had heard about it, it turned out to be a pretty funny little movie. Nothing special, but I wasn't expecting anything special. The movie has a great cast and a cool, if not entirely original plot.  A teacher tries to get with a man that can take of her. She is a gold digger looking for that special someone who has everything she wants; namely a sick car and a huge bank account. She is constantly going after a rich substitute teacher, and fighting off the advances of an average gym teacher. She also has to deal with a more than energetic super teacher. Like I said, the plot isn't original, but it is extremely fun to watch.  Cameron Diaz is the reason to watch this movie. She gives a funny performance as the Bad Teacher. I wish this movie had been made 5-10 years ago when she was crazy hot. Don't get me wrong, she is still banging, but damn, her in this role a few years back would have been awesome. The rest of the cast is great too. One of my favorites, Jason Segal is in the film and I'll watch anything he is in. Justin Timberlake and Lucy Punch are also fun to watch. I didn't really like where the movie went towards the end, but I'm willing to forgive plot mistakes because it doesn't really matter with a movie like this. The movie is what it needs to be and that is a funny, entertaining and highly watchable comedy. It didn't make any promises of being more than that.

• Tim S

  
  Ugh. This movie is awful. Definitely needed more Jason Segel. And Justin Timberlake is absolutely atrocious in this movie as if his entire part was a really, really, really bad SNL skit that seems to never end. I laughed a couple of times but those were also the same parts in the… More
  Ugh. This movie is awful. Definitely needed more Jason Segel. And Justin Timberlake is absolutely atrocious in this movie as if his entire part was a really, really, really bad SNL skit that seems to never end. I laughed a couple of times but those were also the same parts in the trailer that were funny.

• Nicki M

  
  Really enjoyed this movie. Yes, Cameron's character is pretty vile for most of it, but I found her amusing and it was funny in a black way. It's not often you see a character in a movie this shallow and self obsessed, I really quite liked her style, although i wouldn't… More
  Really enjoyed this movie. Yes, Cameron's character is pretty vile for most of it, but I found her amusing and it was funny in a black way. It's not often you see a character in a movie this shallow and self obsessed, I really quite liked her style, although i wouldn't like to come across her in real life! What a b#%^*h. Haha. This reminded me a lot of a female Bad Santa. It is even set over Christmas time! Justin Timberlake I could of well done without. He puts me off anyhow, but that dry hump scene - yeech! Jason Segal plays the same character he always plays. If you have a black sense of humor, or just want to watch Cameron looking fabulous - this is the movie for you!

• Alexander D

  
  This film is messed up on so many levels. Any teacher who drinks, does drugs, swears liberally, etc. in front of her class is much more than just a bad teacher. The story tells of a gold digger (Cameron Diaz) who is dumped by her fiancà (C)e. While in search for another man, she… More
  This film is messed up on so many levels. Any teacher who drinks, does drugs, swears liberally, etc. in front of her class is much more than just a bad teacher. The story tells of a gold digger (Cameron Diaz) who is dumped by her fiancà (C)e. While in search for another man, she teaches. (But she still can't help but to badly influence her class!) If that plot sounded shallow, good for you, because there is a very loose amount of plot here. The good it could have been is sadly overrun by countless vulgar (and typically not even funny) jokes. If you want to see a good Justin Timberlake film, go rent THE SOCIAL NETWORK.

• Josh L

  
  Starts off well enough thanks to a fiery performance from Cameron Diaz who spits out gross humor and naughty bits like she does it all the time, but by the end of it I was underwhelmed. It started off as a good premise and had the laughs going for awhile, but it overstayed its welcome… More
  Starts off well enough thanks to a fiery performance from Cameron Diaz who spits out gross humor and naughty bits like she does it all the time, but by the end of it I was underwhelmed. It started off as a good premise and had the laughs going for awhile, but it overstayed its welcome and eventually became pointless and boring. It's only funny the first and maybe the second time you do something, but if you repeatedly do it then it becomes repetitive and stale. There was no creativity and freshness by the half way point. Not a good sign.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast:Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins, Dave Allen, Jillian Armenante, Matthew J. Evans Director:Jake Kasdan Summary: Cameron Diaz stars as Elizabeth Halsey, a scheming and coarse-tongued middle school teacher who… More
  Cast:Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins, Dave Allen, Jillian Armenante, Matthew J. Evans Director:Jake Kasdan Summary: Cameron Diaz stars as Elizabeth Halsey, a scheming and coarse-tongued middle school teacher who gets dumped by her wealthy boyfriend and rebounds by sinking her claws into a handsome substitute teacher (Justin Timberlake). My Thoughts: "This is a type of comedy where you keep waiting for the laughs to come but they never do. I enjoyed Cameron Diaz in this vulgar raunchy character, but I didn't find the character funny, just highly unlikable. None of the character's were very likable besides Jason Segel, who seemed to be the only funny one in the film. Inappropriate behavior and a raunchy dialogue doesn't make a great comedy if the script fails to be funny. I guess some will enjoy this and other's will find it a less then average comedy like myself. Disappointment and a waste of a rental is my feelings after seeing this film."

• Scott G

  
  Obviously 'Bad' doesn't describe this film, disgraceful cuts the grade more like.

• Shawn E

  
  It's off and on humour makes this flat comedy difficult to enjoy.

• Jeff "

  
  Bad Teacher is a virtually laugh free film. The film contains a few laughs here and there, but the gags are quite poor and the cast feels bored. The thing is, is that the film had potential to be a great comedy. Instead, it ends up being a mediocre comedy. The film lacks anything to… More
  Bad Teacher is a virtually laugh free film. The film contains a few laughs here and there, but the gags are quite poor and the cast feels bored. The thing is, is that the film had potential to be a great comedy. Instead, it ends up being a mediocre comedy. The film lacks anything to really make it a good comedy. The film misses the mark, and bringing on the laughs, and the film feels sloppy, and lazy. I lost interest most of the time, and found myself not laughing most of the time. This could have been a great film, if there would've been more effort put into creating effective joked. The script is sloppy, and the film fails on so many levels. The film is crap, and is a waste of time. Cameron Diaz shows yet again that she can't act or be funny. This film should never have been made, and it's simply an unfunny comedy with few laughs. You'd think that the film would be funny considering the plot, but it's not. Most of time, the comedy is lazy and aside a three or four scenes, the film was unfunny. If you're looking for a good comedy, Bad Teacher is not that film. In Fact along with The Hangover 2, this is the worst comedy of the year. Bad Teacher could have been much better considering that it had an interesting idea; however the screenwriters didn't how to develop that idea into an effective funny film. The result is a film that is quite bland, and pointless. There's nothing entertaining about this film, it's a waste of time.

• Thomas A

  
  Bad Teacher is not funny, for the simple reason its not "Bad" enough. Simply throwing a few f-bombs and occasionally smoking weed do not constitute being offensive. Episodes of Family Guy rated TV-14 have more "offensive" content. This movie had potential to go… More
  Bad Teacher is not funny, for the simple reason its not "Bad" enough. Simply throwing a few f-bombs and occasionally smoking weed do not constitute being offensive. Episodes of Family Guy rated TV-14 have more "offensive" content. This movie had potential to go into "Bad Santa" territory but it shys away from anything too, well, bad. Comedys don't need the hard R rating but when a film like this sells itself as "crossing the line" that is what a viewer wants to see. Regardless of what the film could have been, the jokes aren't funny. Diaz fails to really get in to character the way Jennifer Aniston drops the good girl image in Horrible Bosses. Jason Segal is wasted. Even the short amount of screen time he has, which are the highlights of the film, fail to bring any laugh out loud moments. Justin Timberlake who has proven himself an accomplished comedy actor cant save the film either. His character is dull and feels forced. Bad Teacher has potential but cant live up to any of it. Its one you should skip completely when much better R rated comedys have been released this year. Bad is bad but not in the way the film wants to be.

• Michael S

  
  This is the best performance I've seen from Cameron Diaz in ages (since "Gangs of New York" or prior). It's definitely the most likable she's been since "There's Something About Mary," which is ironic because "Bad Teacher" revolves… More
  This is the best performance I've seen from Cameron Diaz in ages (since "Gangs of New York" or prior). It's definitely the most likable she's been since "There's Something About Mary," which is ironic because "Bad Teacher" revolves almost exclusively around her being a completely horrid and repulsive individual. But like Billy Bob Thorton in "Bad Santa," I liked Cameron's character. Though "Bad Teacher" isn't In the same league as Zwigoff's Christmas classic, it's another example of a dark comedy that's clever enough to have us relate to it's incredibly nasty centerpiece against all odds. I guess that's a testament to both the writing and performance. It also helps that the film itself is really funny, albeit not always in a broad way. If you enjoy subtle, dead-pan humor and politically incorrect zings... this is most likely the film for you (that's not to say there isn't some BIG laughs. There are). An array of solid supporting performances also elevate the film, from Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake (who gets probably the film's biggest laugh in it's most memorable scene), and the great Lucy Punch who could be hilarious while not doing anything funny! A sublime comedic talent. Also, kudos to the filmmakers for not copping out in the end by making Cameron's character learn the error of her ways. She's still a bitch; but perhaps less so to certain people she has gotten to know. "Bad Teacher" is a good comedy. No, it Isn't perfect, and whether or not you like the film will reside greatly in your feelings towards it's central character (I can't stress this enough), but if you can embrace your inner rebel, you'll have a great time with this one!

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