Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2009 > September > 08
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
What are your favorite movies about school?
Since the only DVD of note coming out today is the Crank sequel, I think it best just to mention that it’s available and switch to a new topic, which I think is timely considering what’s in the news today (oh boy):
What are your favorite movies about school or education?
I recently posed this question to some area educators and got some fun responses, which you can read here. I also made my own list of some of my favorite movies about school/education.
The Breakfast Club: Still the movie that best gets inside the skin of the misunderstood teenager. Watched it again recently in the wake of John Hughes’ passing; it still holds up very well.
Carrie: Admit it. Wouldn’t you just love to exact revenge in high school on some people the way a telekinetic could?
Election: This acerbically funny comedy, starring Reese Witherspoon in one of her best roles, skewers high school overachievers, underachievers and jocks, and the ever-so-noble teacher. Pick Flick!
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Well, OK — it’s the best movie about being out of school.
Freedom Writers: This underrated drama with Hilary Swank does a fine job of portraying both teachers and students. I actually like it better than Dangerous Minds or Dead Poets Society.
Mean Girls: Tina Fey brilliantly adapted this hilarious movie from a nonfiction book about high school cliques.
The Miracle Worker: Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke both deservedly won Oscars playing, respectively, Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller.
Rushmore: Extracurricular activities were never funnier than in this Wes Anderson comedy starring Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.
School of Rock: Dewey Finn (played by Jack Black) may not have been a “real” teacher, even in the movie, but I sure wish more music teachers were as fun as he was.
Stand and Deliver: I agree with many of the Middletown and Edgewood educators that this is a very inspirational film, with an outstanding performance by Edward James Olmos as a savvy, persistent math teacher. And math was always my weak subject!
Partly by design, and partly by coincidence, I have recently watched a number of movies that centered around teaching or education in some way.
The Class: This Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language film, about a French teacher’s attempts to reach sometimes unruly students is sharply observed and engrossing. It has teachers and students interact in fascinating ways that one rarely sees in the movies. Only debit: I would have liked to have gotten to know the students even better. GRADE: A-
Fast Times at Ridgemont High: I hadn’t seen this film in a long time, and revisiting it, I found it really has not aged well. The tone runs all over the map, from crass and crude to sweet and profound. A great cast makes it still worth watching, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the writer, Cameron Crowe, had directed instead of Amy Heckerling. GRADE: B
Goodbye Mr. Chips: At its best, this movie about a shy teacher who wins over his students is very charming, and much of the movie struck personal chords with me, as I tend to be shy myself. However, I wish the romance with Greer Garson were not cut short quite so abruptly, and as good as Robert Donat is in the lead, he still didn’t deserve to win the Oscar over Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, and especially Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. GRADE: B+
These Three: I recently watched the remake of this film, The Children’s Hour, also directed by William Wyler. Both versions are about how a child’s lie destroys lives, but in this version, the lie centered around a heterosexual love triangle between Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea. In the remake, starring Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn and James Garner, one of the women was a lesbian - as was the case in the play of the same name. Both versions are powerful and very well acted, but I hold the minority opinion that the remake is superior because the themes ring truer. GRADE: B+
Tell me your favorite movies about teaching/school/education.
Permalink | Comments (8) | Post your comment | Categories: Ask the Audience
