Teacher of the Year (2014) Reviews

• Finally--an authentic movie about teaching

  slymold2015-08-22

  The Netflix rating for this movie is one out of five stars. It rates five out of five on Rotten Tomatoes, and 5.3 out of 10 here on IMDb. The fact that the reviews are all over the place almost surely reflects Americans' ambivalence about teachers and public schools (or charter schools that are publicly funded, like the one represented here). My husband and I, both longtime educators, thought that this mockumentary was the most authentic representation of our profession that we have seen. Teaching is tough. It's tough when your students do not respond to your efforts, and, yes, it is even tough when you are "Teacher of the Year." Not that this is a humorless drama...not at all. It is hilarious because it captures how completely awkward and totally out of the box each day is when you work in this type of school. The teachers in this film display the full range of creativity, grit, anger, envy, compassion and depleted ego that comes with a high-intensity, socially essential job that is often completely disrespected and poorly remunerated.

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• Funniest movie I've seen in a very long time!

  kpjp-560582015-09-23

  Even though I'm not a teacher, I laughed so much I had to rewind a few times to catch the next lines. My daughter is a teacher & it reminded me of some of the stories she tells me about her experiences with crazy kids & crazy parents. This is a very funny film. I liked the different style used as well. It was kind of like a day in the life.... Really cool. Something out of the ordinary. Not the same old stuff you typically see in movies. You have to pay attention to catch everything cause there is a lot going on & you don't want to miss any of the witty comments. The writer did a great job. A very smart comedy is a wonderful thing to behold. I was very impressed with the cast as well. Top notch all the way. I know the movie has won a few awards, but in my opinion it deserves a lot more. Everyone will get something from watching this film.

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• Good Mockumentary

  johncg252015-05-20

  I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie, but I actually liked it a lot. One of the better "Mockumentary" style films I have seen, and possibly one of my favorites. Basically Keegan Micheal Key is hilarious as Principal Douche, and the other supporting comedic actors keep it funny, but at the heart of it is a very good story with some depth too which made me want to find out what would happen next. As a "Mockumentary" though it is not a typical style comedy with typical style jokes every minute. It has some serious moments, but plenty of funny stuff too. Making it one of the better Mockumentaries in many years in my opinion. Do not expect a typical film and let it take you where it will go, very funny and really well done.

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• Very very close to reality.

  andrewday12014-10-19

  Watched this movie at the Icon Theater on Roosevelt. I really liked it. I felt like the film had a few technical issues and focusing on a scene for too long. Which a better editor of a reality based show might have done better at. I really liked all the actors especially The science teacher Karl T. Wright Very funny. I would recommend this movie to all teachers. While it might not sum up a lot of the issues that teachers have to deal with. I do believe it is a lot more realistic then most teacher movies. There is a good story line about how separate the Administration and Teaching staff in schools are that I know is the case. In most adaptations of schools in film and television they are commonly portrayed as all working together. This cannot be further then the truth. The administrations of most schools will willingly throw a teacher under a very fast moving school bus to avoid bad PR. While this film is not exactly about that issue alone it was one of my more favorite parts. I do however absolutely hate this poster that is attached to the IMDb site. I think its really terrible and makes it look like it is a freaking Police Academy spoof film. When that cannot be further from the truth. BAD DIRECTION ON THE VISUAL HERE GUYS!!!!! In conclusion, ignore the poster and watch the movie. Yours truly Andrew Day

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• Good job, mostly funny but also inspiring

  vchimpanzee2017-08-29

  Truman High is a charter high school in southwest Los Angeles. Its students come from neighborhoods that they would like to be able to leave, and some students will succeed and likely make it in life. The teachers seem committed to making this happen, but many of the students don't seem to care. English teacher and soccer coach Mitch Carter is Teacher of the Year for California. Many of the students like him. But he has a chance at a high-paying job which will involve a lot of travel, and even though he loves teaching, it has its problems. And he has a wife who doesn't like her advertising job, which allows her to work from home a lot, and an adorable daughter and another baby on the way. The movie is a documentary, though it's obvious early that it is too silly to be real, and we see there are actors playing cast members. But almost the entire movie is the documentary, and while we may forget the cameras are there, there are often signs that these people are being followed around, and sometimes they want what they say to be private. The person making the documentary actually speaks a number of times but is not seen. Also, the documentary has a lot more than just Mitch's story. It almost seems to be about the school, its teachers, and the problem students. Parents come in when their children have done something wrong. Some care, some think their kids can do no wrong, some don't understand why their kids are being criticized. One teacher is falsely accused of an offense by a student and nearly fired. I won't say how his situation turns out, but the plot does show what a good man Mitch is. Will Mitch leave the school? I can't answer that question because, for one thing, I'm not sure the question ever gets answered. Be sure to stay around after the words "The End", which come prematurely. There are lots of outtakes, and the last few are bloopers. Matt Lescher does a good job. Most of the actors here do. Keegan-Michael Key is Principal Douche. The name is Dutch and not pronounced like one would expect. Except by just about every student and anyone who is mad at him. Douche tries too hard to be cool and is not respected by anyone. And if he tries to discipline students, they just don't listen. I am reminded of Barney Fife yelling and waving his hands, and Sheriff Taylor actually getting the job done. There is a vice-principal who hands out detention to nearly every student he sees, at least in the finished film, but people don't seem to take him much more seriously. I question if anyone is in charge at this place. Jason and Randy Sklar are the Hammer brothers who are the school's college counselors. I wouldn't recommend taking advice from either one of them. They are very strange. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think Jamie Kaler is the robotics teacher. He is serious about getting his students to do well, but he has an attitude problem. He is jealous of Mitch's success and doesn't think much of second place. And in one scene he is just plain cruel to his students. But don't be too concerned. They seem a lot happier at the end when the same scene gets messed up in one of the bloopers. Caitlin Carmichael is so cute as Mitch's young daughter. I like his wife too. Shari Belafonte also stands out but has only a few lines. This movie is not for the kids. One teacher uses the proper language when describing sex. But I'm not sure kids are ready for that. They're not ready for a lot of the humor here. Another teacher makes a tasteless Helen Keller joke, but the kids seem to respond to her style. Do I recommend the film? Of course. It has a good mix of humor, inspiring stories, and moral dilemmas.

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