The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz) is a bad teacher. She couldn’t care less about
her personal image, behaviour and least of all, her students’ education. Her pursuit
of happiness revolves around finding a wealthy man who will cater to her
superficial needs. So when her rich fiancée dumps her, Elizabeth has no other
choice but to go back to teaching to pay her bills. Only this time, she’s much
worse than before.

At school, she meets Scott Delacorte (Timberlake), a handsome, rich and
recently single substitute teacher. Seeing a photo of his curvaceous ex,
Elizabeth somehow concludes that the best way to snare Scott or any rich guy is
by having breast enhancement surgery. Since she can’t afford the procedure on
her teacher’s salary, she comes up with fundraising activities for her boob
job.

Elizabeth discovers that she could win prize money if her students win a
special school tournament. So she goes head-to-head with her competitive
rival and all-too-perfect colleague Amy (Punch) to win the tournament
and impress the world with her attempt at being a good teacher, much to the
amusement of the sarcastic gym teacher, Russell (Segel), who obviously likes
her.

You’ll have to give Cameron Diaz credit for taking on such an easily
dislikeable, vulgar and offensive character. Her Bad Teacher is almost identical to Billy Bob Thornton’s Bad Santa, which is a big deal for an
actress known for her sweetheart roles and sunny disposition. Almost every
single laugh in the film is a result of Diaz’s foul mouth, obscene behaviour
and dialogue, in addition to a strong supporting cast that sadly doesn’t get
enough screen time. Her students, however, pale in the background; Diaz’s
character doesn’t particularly connect with any of the students, nor do any of
them stand out memorably. If you’re hoping for a female version of School of Rock, you will be
disappointed.

As the supporting characters and rival suitors, Segel and Timberlake
deliver okay performances, though Segel’s easy, relatable and humorously sarcastic
character definitely makes him more charming than Timberlake, who fails to go
all out with his nerdy, good-boy character. Punch is quite surprising in this film, proving a more than worthy rival
to Diaz’s comedic talent and stealing the limelight in several scenes that they
share together.  

Bad Teacher is basically all
about Diaz, with an interesting cast that sadly lack the brilliant script that they deserve. Several plot holes and weak jokes are the script’s shortcomings, and the direction is only saved by Diaz’s
charisma and Segel’s affability. Bad
Teacher is a funny film, but it’s definitely not hilarious.