I was shocked and amazed upon seeing this film. I had procrastinated seeing it as I was to much of a curmudgeon to ante up the $10 to buy it and did not want to pay $3 to rent it. When I got it as part of my all the dvds you can watch in a month for $29, the price was right. In retrospect, this movie is worth anybody's $10. It does a good job so easily, it is difficult to understand why so many films on limited budget can't get it right. Although many of the actors are young, the performances are believable and professionally delivered. I was amazed because I could so relate to the D.L. character working as a shrink in a prison with classes myself. I spearheaded a spelling bee contest almost single handedly, am sympathetic to the plight of inmates which does not always sit well with D.O.C. staff and have played the students in basketball in winning and losing results, but always to the end of building rapport. These are just a snippet of the similarities. I appreciate the idea that the hero character did not always have to have all the answers or get the last word. Sometimes silence is the best therapy and persuasion is not always the best avenue. When the one student rebels and resorts to an arrogant finger pointing indictment it might be a natural and particularly Hollywood reaction to argue back. Just as I do, D.L.'s character absorbs the onslaught and tries to extract some positivity out of the situation. A very perceptive and therapeutic film. Finally, D.L. should be commended for his straight face dramatic turn. He is witty as ever, but as a matter of coincidence and not necessarily design. Thoughs who know him as a King of Comedy or a sitcom father should put aside past indications of his range and give this movie a shot. Similar to comic Jamie Fox, he shows adequate acting chops in carrying the film. One viewer asked why this had not been widely released. I would guess that with the release of Coach Carter in close proximity and the archives which include Remember the Titains and Lean on Me, the inspirational teacher is a film genre that is sparingly devied up for theatrical release. This film has the right stuff, just like those films did.
