Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely the worst movie.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Truman High is a charter high school in southwest Los Angeles. Its students come from neighborhoods that they would like to be able to leave, and some students will succeed and likely make it in life. The teachers seem committed to making this happen, but many of the students don't seem to care.English teacher and soccer coach Mitch Carter is Teacher of the Year for California. Many of the students like him. But he has a chance at a high-paying job which will involve a lot of travel, and even though he loves teaching, it has its problems. And he has a wife who doesn't like her advertising job, which allows her to work from home a lot, and an adorable daughter and another baby on the way.The movie is a documentary, though it's obvious early that it is too silly to be real, and we see there are actors playing cast members. But almost the entire movie is the documentary, and while we may forget the cameras are there, there are often signs that these people are being followed around, and sometimes they want what they say to be private. The person making the documentary actually speaks a number of times but is not seen.Also, the documentary has a lot more than just Mitch's story. It almost seems to be about the school, its teachers, and the problem students.Parents come in when their children have done something wrong. Some care, some think their kids can do no wrong, some don't understand why their kids are being criticized.One teacher is falsely accused of an offense by a student and nearly fired. I won't say how his situation turns out, but the plot does show what a good man Mitch is.Will Mitch leave the school? I can't answer that question because, for one thing, I'm not sure the question ever gets answered.Be sure to stay around after the words "The End", which come prematurely. There are lots of outtakes, and the last few are bloopers.Matt Lescher does a good job. Most of the actors here do.Keegan-Michael Key is Principal Douche. The name is Dutch and not pronounced like one would expect. Except by just about every student and anyone who is mad at him. Douche tries too hard to be cool and is not respected by anyone. And if he tries to discipline students, they just don't listen. I am reminded of Barney Fife yelling and waving his hands, and Sheriff Taylor actually getting the job done. There is a vice-principal who hands out detention to nearly every student he sees, at least in the finished film, but people don't seem to take him much more seriously. I question if anyone is in charge at this place.Jason and Randy Sklar are the Hammer brothers who are the school's college counselors. I wouldn't recommend taking advice from either one of them. They are very strange.I'm not absolutely certain, but I think Jamie Kaler is the robotics teacher. He is serious about getting his students to do well, but he has an attitude problem. He is jealous of Mitch's success and doesn't think much of second place. And in one scene he is just plain cruel to his students. But don't be too concerned. They seem a lot happier at the end when the same scene gets messed up in one of the bloopers.Caitlin Carmichael is so cute as Mitch's young daughter. I like his wife too.Shari Belafonte also stands out but has only a few lines.This movie is not for the kids. One teacher uses the proper language when describing sex. But I'm not sure kids are ready for that. They're not ready for a lot of the humor here. Another teacher makes a tasteless Helen Keller joke, but the kids seem to respond to her style.Do I recommend the film? Of course. It has a good mix of humor, inspiring stories, and moral dilemmas.

Even though I'm not a teacher, I laughed so much I had to rewind a few times to catch the next lines. My daughter is a teacher & it reminded me of some of the stories she tells me about her experiences with crazy kids & crazy parents. This is a very funny film. I liked the different style used as well. It was kind of like a day in the life.... Really cool. Something out of the ordinary. Not the same old stuff you typically see in movies. You have to pay attention to catch everything cause there is a lot going on & you don't want to miss any of the witty comments. The writer did a great job. A very smart comedy is a wonderful thing to behold. I was very impressed with the cast as well. Top notch all the way. I know the movie has won a few awards, but in my opinion it deserves a lot more. Everyone will get something from watching this film.

Aah the forever neglected school education system. Its almost criminal how media overlooks the state of schools and teachers despite the fact that they play such substantial role in every kid's life. Films are often made on legendary educators and coaches (like Monalisa Smile, Dead Poet's Society, Coach Carter or even School of Rock) but those are highly dramatic tales of teachers either in extraordinary situations or creating extraordinary situations. Films rarely capture the ground reality of an everyday teacher's humdrum life. Truth is that majority of teachers employed by the schools are just doing their work as a day job and they really don't have the bandwidth nor the energy to get past the classroom let alone give individual attention to the students. That's physically not possible in countries like India where there are 60-70 students per class. Teacher of the Year tells a grim reality of modern day school education, albeit with humor and kudos for that.Teaching is a thankless job but it is also devoid of dignity these days. Stuck amidst bureaucracy and bad parenting, teachers are expected to keep their calm, be nurturing to their students and also be prepared to take the blame if anything goes wrong. The management's apathy towards teachers is heartbreaking, the mediocrity in classrooms is mind numbing, the nepotism for promotions and favours is deafening. "Are you here for the kids?" asks one teacher in the film. That question goes to all. Parents don't have time for their kids but they expect a teacher to mend their kids. Many parents come from a belief that since they pay the tuition fee, they've hired a patsy for their mistakes. ____________Some Spoilers Ahead_____________Public school English teacher Mitch Carter is right in the middle of a big career shift as he finds it tough to decide whether he should keep at his low paying yet fulfilling job or should he move on to work in the interest of rich kids as a lobbyist for independent schools. "Basically everything that I've fought against" as Mitch puts it. The money they're offering is good. "Opportunities like these don't come by everyday" as Mitch's wife confesses with a bit of reluctance as she mentally prepares to adjust to new lifestyle. Mitch, his wife and his little daughter haven't lived a day apart but this new job will keep him travelling constantly. Common men are at times so worried to take such big steps. Its true, family comes first to good people but the economic realities of our times are worse than the proverbial devil. Mitch decides to take up the new job after an unfortunate incident involving his fellow teacher and the school management. ______________end of spoilers___________________Despite the blatant reference to Spinal Tap, Teacher of the Year would never be remembered in the same way because unlike rocknroll and rock stars very few people care about public school system and teachers. Although it is my personal wish that this should be preserved by the academy much like Spinal Tap because this mockumentary talks about a subject in a time that is both massively relevant as well as deeply concerning. Just the way how Edge from U2 wept while watching Spinal Tap, my mom didn't laugh while watching Teacher of the Year. She's a high-school teacher for past 20 years. I don't need to say anymore.

A great film. It is a comedy with a heart touching story. It feels absolutely real but keeps you interested for the whole length of the film.Strange it's rating is so low. You will laugh a lot and will also have things to ponder about at the end, unlike some crude comedy films with crude jokes that leave a bad taste at the end.The film's style may not seem nice at first but later we realize that it's the style best suited to this film.By the way the action is really great.