A New Low: Bad Teacher Trailer

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• unreals | June 18, 2011 9:19 AMReply

  Wow- what originality. Yet another fart comedy, with loads of "raunchy" humor that, in the words of a previous poster, "we all love." Uh, no we don't. Only the incredibly stupid members of the increasingly large American idiocracy do. What an "empowered" woman this is. Tell me, do you think a movie could be made where a male teacher hit little girls in the head with a dodge ball? How about hitting them in their private parts? Would we laugh at that if it was a little girl instead of a little boy? This country is hopeless- we have sunk lower than anything in ancient Rome.

• Billy Preston | June 13, 2011 2:39 AMReply

  My family is full of teachers, principles and school administrators. I am also a guy. The trailer says US is #17 in the world because of bad teachers. This being offensive to women is totally lame. What is sad, is that schools lose 30% of their budgets because republicans are fiscally irresponsible and then teachers become the joke. Deregulation and spending billions on killing innocent Muslims in the middle east, is the reason why there is no money for education and is the reason why we #17. Have some self respect and put blame where it should be. Don't make this a sex issue, make it a child issue. This movie is a waste of money which could have bought some poor kids some tools to help them become smart adults. Cameron Diaz is only famous because she is hot, and gets half naked in her movies.

• Carol W. | May 27, 2011 1:59 AMReply

  Lately it has been open season on teachers, that is undeniable. As for the great comedic effects, I see nothing new or fresh here. Bridesmaids was funny and it had all the popular body jokes and silliness we love. Bad Teacher looks offensive (and tired).

• mimi337 | February 25, 2011 5:54 AMReply

  I'm with the raunchers - i saw this trailer and laughed outloud. To me it looked hilarious even if the car wash scenes were definitely on the side of distasteful (from a feminist point of view) - but anyone who can tell kids to fuck off has my vote. Talk about transgressive! And anyhow, look at Justin Timberlake - talk about a stereotype. I love seeing a totally uncaring, unkempt, and rebellious character like this. It's a comedy! (And if you want something to RUIN your day, check out the trailers for HALL PASS - a guy asks a woman if a napkin smells like chlorform before shoving it in her face...not funny AT ALL)

• Anonymous | February 25, 2011 5:48 AMReply

  I totally agree with Scott. You are saying that in the raunchy comedy world: Male Character = Sexist because he mistreats women. Female Character= Sexist because she misrepresents women I really don't understand your statement of how it is offensive because she is a woman? If it was a man would it be offensive? If there was another movie about an asshole man who drinks, smokes, is an asshole, and treats women like shit would it be less offensive? Hollywood makes so many movies that portray men as reckless and perverted assholes, which are then used to stereotype men as a whole. But, no one complains about this; except for women who say that men are assholes for making and watching them and that there aren't enough women. Why? Because sometimes it is funny to see these stereotypes used to produce intentionally over the top stories. Cameron Diaz's car wash scenes and the "I want a man" scenes are examples of this. In most male-centric raunchy comedies the men will go off and try to find women to manipulate. Here, Diaz is using her own sexuality and methods of manipulation to get what she wants, in ways that only a woman can. Is it empowering? Maybe not, but it is not supposed to be. She is not someone we are supposed to admire or emulate or look up to. We are laughing AT her, not WITH her. Sounds like most commenters here simply don't want to see another immature, innapropriate comedy. Thats fine, but after all these years of saying that women are never in these lead, funny roles you're saying that they shouldn't be in movies like this at all? That writers should not try to think of funny and humorously mean female characters?

• Grade "A" Teacher | February 25, 2011 4:18 AMReply

  I am a teacher and let me tell you: this. movie. looks. AMAZING! Stop being so serious for 10 seconds and have a laugh. Honestly.

• Pauliebklyb | February 25, 2011 12:51 AMReply

  Jesus! does someone need to rub sand in their crotch? This movie has nothing to do with REAL life. We are all well aware of the problems with the American Education system. This is just a movie that pokes fun at how ridiculous the EDUCATION system has become. There is Fiction and then there is NON-Fiction. Haven't you understood that the second you enter a movie theater you remove your common sense for the good of letting go of whats really happening out there? Movie producers, Directors, Actors/Actresses, Screen Writers, They all know how shitty things are right now. Going to a movie that is that far fetched is way to ESCAPE that reality and they know it! Cameron Diaz is a great Actress. I think this movie will make her career that much more Enjoyable. I cant wait to see it!

• Linda Silverstein | February 24, 2011 11:55 AMReply

  so offensively stupid. I totally agree with the assessment of the always brilliant Melissa Silverstein.

• Krista | February 24, 2011 10:14 AMReply

  I laughed out loud at this trailer when I saw it on HuffPo yesterday. And that NEVER happens. I agree with miliKitty, that I can see why you think it's awful, it certainly has unfeminist themes, but I love that the lead is a female who gets to be over the top and raunchy and foul-mouthed. Is that so wrong? And it looks from the trailer that Cameron Diaz, who has good comedic timing, can really pull this off. And why not a female lead for a movie that at first glance feels very Apatow-esque, but it's written by The Office guys, who are clever. Let's wait and see. Maybe it will be really funny? I'm hoping. I need some funny. And while the car wash scene, and the I'm going to get me a man to take care of me thing pains me, let's see how she can turn that on its head and make it funny, because it's so ridiculous.

• Scott Mendelson | February 24, 2011 10:10 AMReply

  This is EXACTLY the kind of parity we want. We complain about the lack of strong female comic roles in mainstream films. We complain that the men get all the fun while the women stand in the corner being uptight and morally 'proper'. Yet here is a vulgar bit of comedy that just happens to star a well-known comic actress. It's no secret that Diaz enjoys playing in the slop, as evidenced by Very Bad Things and the slightly underrated The Sweetest Thing. I say this as a regular reader and general proponent of what you preach, but he idea that the film (good or bad) is more offensive because it stars a woman is the very kind of sexism that causes the lack of female comic characters in films like this. Cameron Diaz's character should not and cannot represent all women nor should it represent all teachers (the union-busting has nothing to do with teachers and everything to do with gutting wages and destroying the last strong base of Democratic voters). We don't hold up the various 'vulgar Billy Bob Thornton mentors kids' films (Bad Santa, Bad News Bears, etc) as representations of manhood. Her character is no worse a role model than any male variation on that character, and the need to judge her (and other female film characters) by a different standard is but-one reason that it's that much harder for genuinely funny actresses to play anything other than the perfect dream-girl or the henpecking shrew. Point being, true progress comes when women can enjoy popcorn movies like Bad Teacher, Obsessed, or Sex and the City 2 without being accused of denigrating or betraying their own gender. Just progress will come when both Christan Bale and Natalie Portman can physically transform themselves for a role with NEITHER of them being criticized for it. If Bad Teacher is a hit and/or Bridesmaids is a hit, that can only mean more comic opportunities of this nature for female comedians, which counts as a win no matter how good or bad these films may be.

• Laura | February 24, 2011 10:00 AMReply

  I'm with you on this one. A movie about a pissed-off, cynical woman teacher would be great. But this one looks to be all about tits and ass and man-hunting. Is that really the only way this movie could have gone? I guess there's a chance that the trailer's dumbed down and the Diaz character is more intelligent than she appears to be here - but I'm not optimistic.

• JayMay | February 24, 2011 9:28 AMReply

  this trailer is one of the funniest i've seen in a long time. I don't want to see you're wrong, because comedy IS subjective... Anyway, it's refreshing to see a woman get to have the fun. Can't wait to see this.

• miliKitty | February 24, 2011 8:41 AMReply

  Hilarious... besides the whole "I'm going to find a man to take care of me" thing. On it's own is no big deal - but it's disproportionately represented in the general scheme of things. I can see what you don't like about this move and I don't disagree with you. To tell the truth: I won't see this in theaters but I'll probably enjoy it at home with my hubby.

• stellans | February 24, 2011 8:03 AMReply

  I think it looks just like all the other 'guy' flicks: body humor, swearing, and boobs. Pass.

• Linn D. | February 24, 2011 6:20 AMReply

  Okay, I'm torn. Because at a certain point - comedy is supposed to be over the top. And have characters you would never want to be, much less be friends with. Look at half the Will Ferrell or Seth Rogen movie characters. ("Talladega Nights," etc.) And the fact that Cameron Diaz is the main comedic element, rather than just-the-girlfriend is huge, too. So I think I'm going to say - I plan on waiting until I've seen the movie before commenting. And as far as "bad teacher" in these tough economic times, I'm sure many of the good teachers are just as frustrated by bad behavior as we, the public, are. Have you seen the LA Times articles about how hard it is to fire a bad teacher in Los Angeles public schools? It's depressing. Maybe this is just what we need, a chance to laugh at the insanity because it's either that or cry...

• Jess | February 24, 2011 5:25 AMReply

  this movie looks hilarious.