You'd think this sort of humour would be right up my street, and you'd be absolutely correct. The sneering at the well-intentioned, the relentless mocking of the disadvantaged, and the courage to show us sometimes nice guys (or gals) DO finish last is like ambrosia to my ears.
However, I can't help but compare and contrast to a similar film by the name of Bad Santa, and not just because of the name. Both movies have alcoholic, drug-addled losers in the main role who are only in their current job for personal satisfaction. They steal, cheat and manipulate every good soul around them to achieve their goal, before finding some sort of minor personal redemption by the end.
But unlike the Xmas film, Bad Teacher operates to so many extremes of what it mocks it all becomes a wee bit improbable. No-one for instance, could be as sickly-sweet as Lucy Punch's character in real life... you can tell this is a comic creation all the way, and she plays it too broadly. Same with Justin Timberlake.... they make him so obnoxiously nice in his part, he is never that funny, just plain irritating. And he ditches that persona entirely for a startlingly bad dry-humping scene late on, the less said about the better.
Thank Heaven for Cameron Diaz though... She might be damaging children's delicate mental health with her corruptible influence, but at least she's a fleshed out person. All the humorous moments flow through her and her utter disdain for the goody two shoes surrounding her. A school like this, with it's right-on attitude and it's stultifying political correctness would probably be more of a nightmare to attend than a little place I know called Potterspury Lodge.
It's just a shame then, that unlike the slightly superior Bad Santa, sometimes it just gets so OTT that it crosses the line between satire and silliness. It's still generally a chucklesome affair, but I just feel like it could have been better. Ah, well... 6/10
