The Principal

In order to like this film I think one has to like James Belushi. SInce I do, I found this film entertaining and exciting. Belushi takes a job as a principal at a tough inner city high school where he must contend with many problems there. Louis Gossett Jr. also turns in a strong performance as the custodian who befriends Belushi.

The Principal (1987) was another star vehicle for James Belushi. This fun film is Blackboard Jungle mixed with Class of 1984. The film is filled with a lot of the minor stars of this era such as Lou Gossett Jr., Rae Dawn Chong, Esai Morales and Kelly Jo Minter to name a few.

J.B.stars as a washed out High School Prep teacher who's personal life begins to fall apart. He snaps one day and his immediately canned. That is until he's given a second chance. He's appointed Principal at a local rundown high school. During his tour he plots out away to change not only the school but his own life around.

A nice movie in the vein of Lean On Me. Who am I kidding, this is a bone crunching exploitive film that features all of the things that we love about these type of movies. If this movie was made today it would be a P.G.-13 flick. Not a classic but a nice exploitive affair.

Recommended.

This movie falls in the genre of teachers in difficult schools, as with the 1955 'Blackboard Jungle' starring Glenn Ford, or the 1996 'The Substitute' starring Tom Berringer. In each a well-meaning teacher has to deal with not only misbehavior but also crime among small bands of students.

One difference here is Jim Belushi is a "softer" actor, not as menacing as either Ford or Berringer, as a result the whole story is harder to take seriously. Here he is Rick Latimer who has a run-in with the law and as a result is assigned as Principal of a "last resort" high school, filled with students who in general had been expelled from other high schools.

Then there is the one "student", played by a 30-year-old actor, who considers the school "his school" as he runs drug operations with the younger students. He resents the new principal and all he is trying to do and naturally the closing of the movie involves a reckoning between the two of them.

Interesting but just a mediocre school angst movie. It is just not realistic that so much misbehavior could be going on in a public school without swarms of police there too. I found it streaming on the 'Movies!' TV channel.

Stars a renegade teacher (James Belushi) who, as punishment, he is made Principal of a high school where all the hardship cases from the other schools are relegated. It's long before he discovers a drug ring, implicating a nasty leader (Michael Wright), but first , to wage successful war, the class' respect has to be won. Naturally, he whips it into shape; along the way, the Principal is helped by a security agent (Louis Gossett Jr).

A decent action movie , though at times its unrealistic treatment sabotage a little the interesting story. You can sense Christopher Cain's sight of relief when he's finally able to launch into a blazing actioner with plenty of tension, suspense and violence. James Belushi at his best, he does justice to his role as a tough, down-on-his-luck high school teacher hired as the Principal of a relentlessly violent, uncontrollable high school. In addition, Louis Gossett Jr is very good as the school's security chief. And other youthful secondaries who will have acceptable cinematic careers, such as Michael Wright, Esas Morales and Jacob Vargas.

The Principal belongs to subgenre about the school violence, in which teenager gangs terrorize high schools, executing crimen, mayhem and murders, whose main representations are: "Class of 1984" by Mark L Lester , "Class of 1999", "Class of 1999 II", :The Substitute I,II and III:, and "Dangerous minds". And no forget the classic "Bloackboard jungle" 1955 by Richard Brooks, starring Glenn Ford.

The motion picture was well directed by Christopher Cain. This is a good craftsman who has made some hit films, such as: "The stone boy", "That was then...this is now", "Young Guns" , "September dawn", "The next karate kid", "The amazing Panda adventure", among others. "The Principal" rating: 6.5/10. Better than average thanks to James Belushi who's really terrific.

I first saw The Principal as a young boy. It made quite an impression on me, and now as an adult, I can't help but revisit it every now and then. Despite having lost some of its shock value over time, the movie has retained its suspense. The style is unmistakably Eighties (I think in an endearing way) and James Belushi's charisma and drama chops carry the story- which occasionally gets silly (also endearingly). The plot is delivered in a compelling way, and evenly divides it focus between character development and the central conflict. By today's standards, the exaggeration and melodrama would probably lead most to dismiss The Principal as stupid. Although I partially appreciate it in the way it was intended, a lot of what makes the movie entertaining is how easily it can be laughed at.