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In the last few years, movies featuring Cameron Diaz haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire.  In some of her most recent films (THE GREEN HORNET comes to mind), her role isn’t just underwritten, it practically seemed unnecessary.  The new comedy BAD TEACHER puts her back in a leading position, and shows us a side of her acting we don’t often see – the “darker” side.  But after playing a sweet and lovable persona so many times, will audiences really want to see her play it mean?

The new film opens by introducing us to grade school teacher Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz), who is saying goodbyes to her co-workers and preparing for a new life with a rich husband-to-be.  But things go bad with her personal plans, and just months later she finds herself back at the school she planned to never see again.  Reluctantly and resentfully taking on a new class, Elizabeth finds herself right across the hall from Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), a rather overly-enthusiastic and somewhat hyper instructor.  Needless to say this does not sit well with her.  Halsey spends most of her days in the classroom showing movies and passing out on whatever drugs and booze she has hidden in her desk.  Elizabeth’s pseudo-friend Lynn Davies (THE OFFICE‘s Phyllis Smith) tries to comfort her, but discovers what she really wants is to find a rich guy to make life easy.  Enter the new substitute teacher Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), who as it happens in the heir to a watchmaker family fortune.  Elizabeth sees potential dollar signs, but also gets the impression that Scott likes large-chested women, so her new mission becomes to save up enough money to get a boob job.  As time passes throughout the school year, her relationship with Amy Squirrel becomes highly competitive, and she finds the gym teacher Russell Gettis (Jason Segel) chasing after her rather relentlessly.  When the competition becomes motivated by money, Elizabeth finds herself using her unscrupulous nature to get a leg up with her students, and hopefully give herself a much-needed boost.

BAD TEACHER is one of those films that has you laughing quite a bit, and enjoying politically incorrect humor at full force, but sadly leaves you with a forgettable feeling.  Sure, it’s fun to watch Cameron Diaz be a bitch to pretty much everyone around her, mainly because we don’t normally get to see it.  But going beyond that there’s little to really enjoy.  Justin Timberlake (Cameron’s real life ex) ends up being a sort of one-note joke playing a flat character who is as hopeless as he is clueless.  Lucy Punch shines in an over-the-top and scene-stealing performance, playing that overly cheery woman we’ve all met at some point, but really taking the character to the fullest lengths.  Jason Segel is supposed to be that sort of sympathetic side character that we want to root for, but is sadly underwritten to the point of being aggravating.  Phyllis Smith essentially plays the same character we see her play on THE OFFICE, which isn’t a bad thing, and she does get some awkwardly funny moments here.  Thomas Lennon (RENO: 911!) shows up in a few scenes as an unsuspecting mark for one of Elizabeth’s plans, giving us a few chuckles, and Eric Stonestreet plays her roommate very against the norm we’re used to seeing on MODERN FAMILY. The principal of the school is portrayed sparingly by the always funny John Michael Higgins, but even he seems a little too casually used in this disjointed script by Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg.

The movie is directed by Jake Kasdan (the surprisingly good ORANGE COUNTY, and the silly but fun WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY), but even he can’t seem to save the overall presentation from being an amusing but pointless ride. BAD TEACHER doesn’t seem to have any real purpose other than to create laughs and dispense shock value. But as the audience we can’t help but expect there to be some underlying satisfaction in the end… and there never really is. I have to wonder if somewhere in the original script there was more movie than what we’re given. The film isn’t offensive (outside of the moments that intend to be) or insulting, it’s just not ultimately effective the way you want it to be. I love seeing Lucy Punch get a showcase role, and hopefully this will lead to bigger and better things for her, but outside of that one comfort there’s little else to recommend about BAD TEACHER. It’s good for a few hearty laughs, but sadly little else.

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