Naturally, she is bitter about having to return to work and does nothing but play movies all day to keep the students quiet. Her new goal is raising the money for a pair of enormous fake breasts to lure a wealthy husband, and the new substitute at the school, Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), just might fit the bill. While Scott seems oblivious to Elizabeth's feminine wiles, gym teacher Russell Gettis (Jason Segal) has had a crush on her for a long time, but his social status and lack of money knocks him out of the running.
Elizabeth comes up with several schemes to raise the $9000+ she needs for her boob job, including a sexy car wash for the 7th grade with her at the helm in her cut-off shorts and a scheme to help her students achieve the highest scores in the state on their placement tests, since the winning teacher gets a cash prize of $5700. However, her shenanigans require her to not only militantly force the students to learn when they've been floating by all year so far, but to also steal a copy of the current test by posing as a reporter. Before long, Elizabeth's various misdeeds begin to catch up with her, especially since painfully perky super-teacher Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch) is now watching her every move. When Scott starts to date Amy, throwing a kink in Elizabeth's plans to snag him for her own, she must strike out at Amy to keep her from chaperoning the big field trip to Springfield, leaving Scott open for Elizabeth to strike. As Elizabeth's plan begins to come together, Amy exposes her for what she is, but in the midst of it all, Elizabeth finally develops a sense of what it truly means to be a teacher and, for once, puts one of her student's needs above her own.
I found Bad Teacher to be an amusing film, although until the very end of the movie, Elizabeth is just so unlikeable that you don't want her to succeed. She doesn't deserve a wealthy husband, she doesn't care for her students, and for most of the film, she simply has no redemptive qualities. However, the laughs are definitely there, although the movie is absolutely raunchy, filled with excessive foul language, adult content, and a fair amount of nudity. The Unrated version is about 5 minutes longer than the Theatrical version and seems to contain extended scenes of nudity. Mind you, the nudity is present in the Theatrical version as well, just not as much. Even though the film is filled with middle schoolers, this is not a movie for kids. I watched it with my Mom and was a bit embarrassed at some of the content.
One thing Bad Teacher definitely has is a pile of special features, some Blu-ray exclusives. You've got a Gag Reel, Outtakes, Deleted Scenes, plus featurettes on various members of the cast like Principal Wally Snur and his excessive love for dolphins; the Jason Segal/Justin Timberlake rivalry; the making of the infamous car wash scene; one on writer Lee Eisenberg and his small role as a blacksmith in the film; and finally, one on what the cast thinks makes a good teacher. I found the JAMS Yearbook to be pretty amusing since it highlights certain cast members and gives some brief info about them, plus it contains "Memorable Moments" - clips and outtakes from the film. The high def visual and audio quality of the Blu-ray is a definite step up from standard def, but the real draw is the extra special features you'll get.
Cameron Diaz is funny as Elizabeth, even though she isn't very likeable. That being said, Diaz is a fearless actress and I love a beautiful woman who is not afraid to laugh at herself. Timberlake plays a bit of a dweeb, while Segal once again manages to work his "slouchy loser" look into something just a little bit sexy. My favorites of the entire cast have to be Lucy Punch and Phyllis Smith (as fellow teacher Lynn Davies), who are both just hilarious; however Smith steals every single scene she is in.
Bad Teacher is a funny comedy in the vein of the Judd Apatow films. It's not the best, but it's definitely not the worst. Check it out for a rental if you are looking for a raunchy comedy, but don't watch it with your Mom.
