Bad Teacher
Dir. Jake Kasdan; writ. Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg; feat. Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake (R)
Bad Teacher’s one joke is right there in the title.
Cameron Diaz plays Elizabeth Halsey, quite possibly the sluttiest woman to ever lead a seventh-grade classroom. After her fiancé dumps her, Elizabeth tries to snag the nerdy new substitute teacher (Justin Timberlake), who also happens to be an heir to a wristwatch fortune. She’s also trying to scrounge up enough money to buy a new pair of boobs. (Jason Segel, who regrettably isn’t given much to do, plays a likable gym teacher who has a thing for Elizabeth.) But instead of doing her job, Elizabeth gets high in the school parking lot, constantly shows movies in class, and organizes a car wash straight out of a Playboy fantasy.
Rude, crude, and stuffed with dick jokes, Bad Teacher tries hard to offend — too hard at times. But there are some funny scenes. As Elizabeth buckles down and softens up a little (for the wrong reasons, of course), the movie loses some of its bite. Still, Diaz plays it broad and bitchy throughout.
It’s her movie — the good and the bad.
