I am a teacher! So sue me!

TEACHERS (1984)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

American cinema during the 1980's was not any sort of breakthrough era. Still, even with many films that failed to captivate, something was always being said that seemed to speak from the heart. That is the case with the intrinsically watchable and flawed "Teachers," a satire of the education system with enough memorable scenes and performances to warrant a special viewing.

Nick Nolte, in of his best roles, plays the perfect Nolte blowhard - a teacher with hangovers. Yep, the first words out of his mouth in the morning may as well be, "Awwwww, sh@#!" Anyway, this time, he is a teacher named Alex Jurel. He convinces dates he is a licensed pilot, save for that "Teacher of the Year" plaque (Who keeps such a thing on their kitchen counter?) A typical Monday morning involves more than any teacher could bear (and, yes, even more than the shenanigans at "High School High"). A student bites a teacher. A teacher throws ink at another teacher. The principal is unaware and clueless. A gym teacher has sex with a student (how utterly prescient!) A narc sticks out like a sore thumb. A stern teacher has a class where he never interacts with the students, merely mimeographs his lesson plans. A mental patient pretends to be a substitute. Oh, and Alex teaches his students about how to fix a window with the proper tools. To top it all off, a lawsuit has been filed against the school for graduating an illiterate student. Yes, a typical Monday morning.

As for the lawsuit, Vice Principal Roger Rubell (Judd Hirsch) assures the school superindentent (Lee Grant) that the teachers will claim they had no knowledge of the student's illiteracy despite the student's passing grades. But there is a slight problem - Alex was once a visionary and thought he could make a difference in students' lives. He feels obligated to help a troubled illiterate, Eddie (Ralph Macchio), and this can spell doom for the lawsuit.

I think we can see where "Teachers" is headed. Despite a silly subplot involving a lawyer (Jobeth Williams), a former student of Alex's who falls for him, most of "Teachers" is entertaining and inspiring. As directed by Arthur Hiller, it has enough subtlety and simple, stable camera set-ups to really drive forward the satire. Sometimes, it can get a little heavy-handed but never preachy.

Nolte has never given a bad performance and brings an honesty to the role that eclipses every other actor in the movie. Macchio is not completely credible as a Fonz-like hooligan but he is watchable. Same with the brazen antics of Crispin Glover as another troubled student who plays pranks on every teacher, including stealing their desks! Judd Hirsch lends credibility and unmistakable pathos as a school official who has to play by the rules, and hopes everyone does likewise. Jobeth Williams is not always convincing as the prosecuting lawyer, and her final scene is ridiculous and will leave you chuckling for all the wrong reasons. Major heaps of praise, though, go to Morgan Freeman as the defense lawyer who handles the depositions (before he played a teacher himself in "Lean on Me"), Allen Garfield as the nervous, caffeinated teacher, the late Royal Dano as the inexpressive teacher who suffers a horrible fate, and the priceless Steven Hill as an attorney.

"Teachers" is occasionally melodramatic but never too exaggerated for maximum effect. It teeters between seriousness and comedy and not always smoothly, but it has vitality and strength. The movie leaves you inspired in the hopes that a teacher can make a difference after all.