virag's movie reviews: bad teacher (2011)

lifeless, bland, and inexcusably so considering the possibilities.  watching this film you get the sense that you might just be spying on a pre-production read-through done by the catering crew.  none of the cast had any chemistry, and the only decent work came from the normally-unwatchable, nearly giamatti-esque jason segel.  (his low-effort, low-ability 'natural' style makes george clooney look like peter sellers.)  justin timberlake is a shitty actor, and apparently nobody told cameron diaz that she was supposed to carry the movie.  her characterization lacked any of the naughty glee that the script seemed to want.  the annoying other teacher was little more than the simplest, most cartoonish presentation, again without any of the requisite fun.  the premise was an appealing one, and given a better director and some decent casting, this could have been a biting and cynical rewrite away from a ton of fun.