In Bad Teacher, Cameron Diaz plays teacher Elizabeth Halsey, a shallow and materialistic gold-digger whose only wish is to skim by until she can land a sugar daddy. Along the way, Diaz is the embodiment of all things “bad” by lying, cheating, bribing, boozing and dry humping her way to her goal—to get the boob job that Halsey believes will help her in her quest to marry rich.
Aside from the fact that the overall premise of the film and all subsequent motivations of the main character are built on her desire for breast implants, I was mainly disturbed by the way Diaz’s character was portrayed. I mean, her character is an awful human being. This woman has zero redeeming characteristics and shows no remorse for her actions throughout the film. She has zero back-story or reasoning as to why she constantly behaves in such an atrocious manner. Usually, in a film that presents such a terrible character, there is at least some growth that takes place during the film that makes you actually feel a bit of sympathy for the character. The fact that Diaz spends the film ruining several other character’s lives and still gets her happy ending left me feeling unsettled.
With that said, Bad Teacher still has its funny moments. Among them is a plethora of ogling Dads at a sexually suggestive car wash, an over-the-top cheesy love song from Justin Timberlake and quite possibly the best dry-hump ever caught on film.
The film’s only bright, genuine and truly funny moments feature Jason Segel as gym teacher Russell Gettis. An “every-man” gym teacher, Russell describes himself as a Terminator robot that will pursue Diaz forever. I am not sure what a good guy like Russell would see in Halsey, but I was thankful for his presence in this movie. Raunchy but good-hearted, Russell’s hilarious one-liners are a highlight of the film.
I suppose Bad Teacher was entertaining, if you like a movie without morals (which I do from time to time). The only thing I took away from the film is that boob jobs are the way to get to the top? Expect to leave the theater feeling a bit skeeved out and wondering about the state of today’s educational system.
Memorable quote:
“It’s medicinal, see I have a note.” – Elizabeth Halsey
