Customer Reviews

Teachers

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is for and about teachers. "Teachers" lampoons a typical overcrowded urban high school and the group of burned-out, misfit teachers who work there. The school is being sued for graduating a student who can't read, and school administrators are more concerned about preserving the supposed-credibility of their school than with correcting the problem which led to the lawsuit.

Nick Nolte plays Alex, a former idealist who has grown bitter and cynical over the years. As the movie begins, he is a drunken womanizer who may or may not show up to class. He has been allowed to continue his dysfunctional ways because his behavior fits in with that of the other teachers. All this begins to change when his deposition for the lawsuit is taken by an attorney and former student whose life he had touched. She is appalled at his loss of ideals and challenges him to again make a difference in students' lives. When his interest in teaching reawakens, his attitude becomes a problem for the administration in their quest to squelch the lawsuit. They turn on him and try to make him a scapegoat for the school's numerous problems.

Many of the characters in "Teachers" are recognizable as people we have all known:

School Board Member - An overbearing bureaucrat whose main emphases are compliance and minimization of bad publicity.

Principal - A complete airhead whose most common response to any question is "I don't know". He hides in his office most of the time and defers all decisions to the assistant principal.

Assistant principal - A capable educator and former idealist who has become bitter and cynical over the years. His current emphasis is to survive each day with the fewest number of casualties. In the end, he conspires to make his friend Alex a scapegoat in the lawsuit in order to preserve the school's dismal status quo.

School secretary - A capable and unflappable matron who (along with the assistant principal) keeps the school running.

School psychologist - She's the craziest person on staff. In the opening scene, she goes nuts and attacks another teacher in the office in full view of students and faculty.

Gym teacher - Has a long history of having sex with students and getting them pregnant. He is passed from school to school by the school district to conceal his crime.

"Ditto" - A burned-out teacher who mimeographs worksheets for his students so that they can quietly work while he sits at the back of the room reading the newspaper. His proudest accomplishment is getting the award for "Most Orderly Classroom" several years in a row. He ends up dying behind his newspaper during class and no one even notices.

The school's best teacher - Richard Mulligan plays an escaped lunatic who masquerades as a teacher until he is caught. No one ever asks to see his credentials. In a short period he becomes the school's most beloved and most effective teacher. The unspoken message here might be that you'd have to be crazy to become a teacher.

Teacher union rep - A whining weasel who passes himself off as the teachers' best friend, but shamelessly sells Alex out in exchange for a meaningless concession from the school board.

This film is not an indictment against teachers per-se. Rather, it is an indictment against a community that would allow such an educational system to exist. Parent and community apathy seem to be the culprits here.

Consider how parents are portrayed in the film: First we learn of the parents who filed the lawsuit around which the film revolves. It is apparent they were less concerned about their son's education than about the money and/or notoriety to be gained from the lawsuit. (Surely they must have known their son couldn't read prior to graduation). Later we meet a set of divorcing parents who are more concerned about antagonizing each other than about meeting their son's needs. When Alex tries to help their talented-but-misguided son, they converge on the school to thwart his efforts. These are not the actions of parents concerned about education.

Community apathy has allowed the school system to become more concerned about its image than with education, which leaves teachers caught hopelessly in the middle. Without the support of parents, the school board, or the teachers union, they languish. It could happen anywhere, despite our obligation as a society to prevent it.

"Teachers" has a B-movie feel and the writing could be better. But it conveys a powerful message and is particularly interesting to teachers who can see some reality in it.

I have to wonder if some of the reviewers have ever been a teacher or remember their school days. I have been a teacher for 22 years and saw this movie when in college. It was funny then and is very real to me now. This movie hits home in more ways than those outside the realm of education will ever know. (one of those walk a mile in my moccasins things)

As a teacher, I have seen most everything this movie depicts (all at one suburban school district that most would consider an excellent school). I have seen the crime. I have seen the humor. I have seen the excellent teaching. I have seen the very pathetic teaching. I've seen the "Ditto" teachers. I've seen the screwed up kids with the even more screwed up parents. I've seen the lack of concern for the true well being of kids from everybody. I've also seen the truly caring and excellent teacher raked over the hot coals for daring to care and as a result simply want to give up and quit (Nolte's character).

Don't minimalize this movie. If you want to see a rare and real glimpse of what goes on behind the doors of the education profession, take a look at this very entertaining film. The fact that it mirrors reality is both very sad and enlightening.

Note: Finally came out on DVD though I'm a little upset that is was not a very clean mastering. Only marginally better than the original VHS in quality.

This movie is seriously overdue for a DVD Release!! This Movie has some big name stars in it some in small parts; Laura Dern-who gets pregnant by a teacher, Crispin Glover who always plays an odd character.....
Others in the starring roles, Morgan Freeman,Richard Muligan, Ralph Macchio,Lee Grant,Jobeth Williams, Nick Nolte, and Judd Hirsch (who gives a great performance here!). The soundtreack is great as well-one that I used to have on Tape. Overall this movie is a Gem of School Flicks, There is only one thing missing - the DVD Format!!

I purchased my first copy Teachers used a long time ago. I'd pull it out whenever, like the lead character, Alex, I began to feel that I "couldn't make a difference." Over the years I wore it out and came to ... (the website) to buy another copy.

This movie has an uplifting message that can inspire both educators and parents. It's a good watch.

< Teachers > is criticized in these reviews for the very duality that makes it so much like reality. There are true tragedies, and truly comedic moments, that occur in back-to-back moments in an everyday high school. There are also a batch of famous people in the film.

The movie is more like reality than most movies of its era, and is tedious for people not in the education industry or paying close enough attention to understand what is going on. It is funny, then poignant, then exasperating and finally hopeful. Christopher Plummer, the crazy-but-outstanding teacher, is truly inspiring, while whatzisname, the Vice Principal, is the self-serving authority figure we all love to hate. Other teachers are lampooned just like the characters one would expect to find in a more gothic version of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

But real high school IS duality-- the juxtaposition of the giddy, the outlandish, the hypothetical and the grim, played out all day long.

Nolte and Williams play the dual sides of the stereotypical teachers who are in the middle, trapped somewhere between hope and desperation as they try to do their best with what they have. They give good performances, but it's only the teachers in the audience that can fully identify with how the characters must truly feel. In my opinion, it's a film that's more or less an inside joke-- written by teachers and school board members, for themselves.

Ralph Maccio plays his Outsiders character, more or less, which was no stretch for him despite the fact that he was about 24 years old when the film was shot.

I haven't seen the film since Columbine. It would be interesting to go back and view it from a more modern perspective.

Forget Nick Nolte who is simply competent here. This movie is worth the price for two things: the teacher who never teaches and dies in the classroom but the class doesn't notice and the teacher who is an escaped maniac who turns out to be the best teacher in the building. These are priceless sendups of the profession. Show these to your high school class --- just those scenes because the rest has some profanity.

I enjoyed this movie. Granted, it's not one of the best movies ever made, but it can still captivate some interest. The main plot (there are subplots) concerns the school's administrator's attempts to pull the school through a lawsuit from a former student. The main attraction of this movie to me is not really the plot, but the various characters of Teachers:

Alex (Nick Nolte) a once dedicated teacher who has become jaded and lost most of his compassion for teaching, but not for his students.

Revel, the vice principal (Judd Hirsch) a veteran of the education system who is burned out from carrying most of the burdens from the public and the administration on his back, making him bitter and cynical.

Lisa (Jo Beth Williams)a former student who is now a lawyer representing the former student who is suing the school because he graduated as an illiterate. Her goal is to fight back against the system to make a difference for students, but ultimately faces disappointment when her client settles for monetary gain.

Principal Horn (William Schallert) the completely unaware and clueless principal who hides at the first sign of action.

Pilikian (Ralph Macchio) a troubled student who all teachers give up on except Alex. Throughout the movie, we see that the source of his trouble is his parents, who use him as a pawn against each other.

Ditto (Royal Dano) a teacher who just doesn't care anymore who reads his newspaper while his student quitely work on their worksheets

Herbert (Richard Mulligan) a refugee from a mental institute who assumes the identity of a substitute history teacher. He quickly becomes the most popular and effective teacher.

Rosenberg (Allen Garfield) a teacher who tries, but just can't earn the respect of his students

Danny (Crispin Glover) the most troubled character, a student who feels afraid and unwanted.

Dr Burke (Lee Grant) the school superintedent who tries in vain to minimize the school's deserved bad image.

Grace (Madeleine Sherwood) the school secretary who helps hold the school together.

Teachers has some pretty good moments, such as the school psychologist flipping out and attacking Ditto by spraying him with ink. We see a teacher in the lounge concealing a gun in her briefcase. The ultimate fate of Ditto is one of the better moments as well. The scene where Danny panicks and draws a gun during a locker search and is shot by a policeman, and the scene where Herbert is found out an led away are two of the most effective moments the movie has to offer.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the movie seems disjointed, and the balance between comedy and drama is a little rocky. The main satire is not so much about the teachers as it is about how an uninvolved community can cause such a school to exist in our education system. I recommend this movie, nontheless, because it is a decent attempt, and the acting is somewhat average.

Alex Jurel (Nick Nolte) is a Social Studies teacher at JFK high school and one who believes in the educational system but he's bordering on burnout. Here's a learning institution that is always two steps away from going off the rails and where Murphy's Law has become a permanent fixture. If something bad can happen, it will. And it does, several times.

Currently, the school is being sued for graduating a student who is functionally illiterate and that sets the tone for chaos to come. In rapid succession the drivers education vehicle is stolen, one teacher is bitten by a student while another teacher dies in the middle of his class, the promiscuous gym teacher gets a student pregnant, and the substitute down the hall is really an outpatient from a mental hospital. Is that all, you say? How about the school psychologist losing her composure (and her mind practically) in the front office while a student nearby bleeds from a stab wound followed by a teacher in the lounge checking her pistol to make sure it's fully loaded before going to her class. Monday mornings are a killer at JFK high school, no doubt about that.

Amidst all the great moments of humor and drama going on, a morality tale is tucked away in there somewhere. Is the lawsuit about education or is it about money? Can the lawyer for the plaintiff (JoBeth Williams) and a former student of Mr. Jurel's really make a difference for the better to save a failing system? It's a bumpy road to the end but one with a lot of laughs, a decent plot, and a fine cast of characters.

It's nice to finally see this movie out on DVD as it took forever for the studio to put it on the market. Sadly, it is about as bare as you can get. There aren't any special features to speak of and the sound is only two channel stereo which is unfortunate because it has some great 80`s music in the soundtrack. Looking past the faults above, it is still a worthwhile movie in my opinion, for the 80's genre of films, and I'd recommend it to everyone.

Nick Nolte leads an allstar cast along with Richard Mulligan (Empty Nest), Jobeth Williams (Poltergeist), Morgan Freeman (Lean on Me), Lee Grant (Omen 2), Judd Hirsch (Independence Day), Crispin Glover (Back to the Future), Laura Dern, Art Metrano (Captain Mouser in Police Academy 2 and 3), and Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid and My Cousin Vinny).

The movie centers around a average Monday at Kennedy High School were a student gets stabbed, a teacher is bitten, a teacher who frequently takes Mondays off, and a school psychologist who can never get to the ditto machine (anyone remember this???) before "Ditto", and snaps. The teachers are tense, the students need a lot of help, and the principal has no clue on what's going on. He says the same comment, "Really I didn't know that." There's even a NARC in the school posing as a student.

This is a great movie (love the 80's flicks). It's interesting to note that most of the movie takes place in one day; Monday. Besides Nick Nolte's Alex Jurel, the popular teacher was Richard Mulligan as Herbert Gower. Unfortunately he's taken by 2 guys in white jackets. It seems like Mr. Gower is an escapee. It wasn't until the end of the movie that the secretary catches up with Mr. Gower and questions him if he is a teacher which he smirks and replies,"No".

When a lawsuit shows up at the school, the vice principal sifts through the teacher folders to see who would be a problem. Apparently they aren't concerned that the student who filed the lawsuit was passed on to the next grade even though the student can't read or write. Morgan Freeman; the shcool's lawyer is trying to save the school from the million dollar lawsuit. All eyes become focused on Nick Nolte who had been teaching for many years and is showing the signs of being a burned out teacher. He believes in his students as well as the school as a whole but everytime he fights for the students he always seems to be stopped by the administration (Hirsch- the vice principal and Lee Grant- the superintendant). He goes as far as showing his AP class how to fix the radiator in the classroom. Jobeth Williams plays the lawyer who is representing the former student witht he lawsuit. She was also a former student of Mr. Jarels. She begins to see the red tape in the school and tries to reignite Alex Jurel's passion for teaching.

Great soundtrack, great movie and Im not saying this because JoBeth Williams goes streaking in the hallways at the end of the movie. After 20 years this movie still makes me laugh. The laughs, the zaniness, and the cast as well as the students make this a great movie. It highlights the bureaucratic red tape and an administration that doesn't meet the needs of its students but just wants warm bodies in the classroom. The movie is over 20 years old however, it's a comedic take on an old profesion; and it succedes. Teaching for almost 9 years in the NYC school system, many of my collegues bring up this movie as well. By the way, what you read in the papers or have any perceptions in the NYC school system, it's not as bad as you think. They are terrific kids.

Finally, I only wish Boston Public is the next to be released.

Good movie. Nothing new but the struggle of youth is always something I've enjoyed seeing on screen I'd suggest renting it, but not buying it.