citrin@ucbvax.ARPA (Wayne Citrin) (10/05/84)
It's hard to turn down a free preview, especially when the film has a good cast, so I went. "Teachers" is a film with its heart in the right place. You know that because the good teachers are always making speeches about how right their mission is; in fact the same speech is made three or four times. The film is a "slice-of-life" type comedy-drama about an urban high school. Its style reminded me of "Hill Street Blues," but most of all it reminded me of a 1979 film called "...And Justice for All." Nick Nolte plays a character similar to the Al Pacino character in the earlier film; an idealist who has gradually seen his values eroded away. The central plot thread concerns a lawsuit by a student who graduated without learning to read. Jobeth Williams plays the lawyer taking depositions from the teachers in the case. Naturally there is a love-interest between Nolte and Williams. The trouble with films like this is that in attempting to be both "hard-hitting" and funny, they are rarely completely successful at either. "...And Justice for All" wasn't, "M*A*S*H" and "Hospital" were more successful. "Teachers" is reasonably successful, although too often the film goes for the laugh when it is on the verge of making a point. One example of this occurs in the obligatory scene when Jobeth Williams removes her clothes. Now I generally don't complain when Jobeth Williams takes off her clothes, but in this case it was during the climactic (so to speak) scene, and the comic release that resulted was completely inappropriate. In fact, the film had me until that point. In all, the film was not bad. It moved along at a nice pace and was rarely boring. Too much of the dialogue is in the form of righteous speeches and these slow the film a little. The cast was good (Nick Nolte, Jobeth Williams, Judd Hirsch, Allen Garfield, Lee Grant) and the characters are well-drawn and recognizable. I give it **1/2* (out of ****). Wayne Citrin (ucbvax!citrin)