Bad Teacher squarely belongs to Lucy Punch. The pluck British actress portrays Amy Squirrel, a righteous Suzy Creamcheese, Miss-Prim-and-Proper foil to Cameron Diaz’ badass, conniving central character, Elizabeth Halsey. Buffeted time and again by the aloof yet shrewd Halsey, Squirrel reacts with irrepressible determination to hold her place as John Adams High School’s champion boot licker.
Deviously taking over the helm of the school charity car-wash duties from Squirrel, Elizabeth raises the ante when she spreads herself across a convertible in spicy sex-kitten fashion. Bad Teacher takes their teacher rivalry to a greater frenzy once Elizabeth embarks on a quest to raise $10,000 for (sheesh!) breast implants. Bribery and plagiarized test scores are no small potatoes for Elizabeth’s schemes. Squirrel, in perfect counterpoint, draws the extremeness of her character deftly up to the edge of credibility, reacting with perfect anger, then recovering to schmooze the school principal once again.
Diaz (now and then recalling her best role in There’s Something About Mary) is especially effective when she scorns her students or fellow faculty. Her air of superiority to both is exhilarating, although it may just as easily come along with a wicked hangover or a need to blow a joint. It’s the gags that wear down the production, however. It’s hard to be respectful of a comedy whose laughs are too often cookie-cutter routine and whose outrageousness seems in check to make sure it only goes so far. Choppy bits and a flat raunchiness hamper Bad Teacher when a more frenzied pace with fewer dull punchlines would have better framed the comic scenes with Diaz and Punch. When they’re on, they’re on, though, if you don’t mind waiting through the rest.
Justine Timberlake plays Scott Delacorte, a prim fellow teacher and eventual beau to Squirrel, who!
naturally is set to be poached by Elizabeth. Timberlake’s much better in the forthcoming Friends With Benefits, which along with Bridesmaids, towers above Bad Teacher as one of the summer’s best comedies.
5 detentions out of 10