There is nothing like watching a film that involves someone's mom doing a little mattress mashing, right? I mean, jokes about grown men making motorboat noises between a woman's breasts are always hilarious, you know it and I know it. There is nothing quite as cool as hearing the stories of a man who is so "good with what the Good Lord gave him" that women black out during sex with him!

OK, these statements may not reflect my point of view. Apparently they do reflect someone's beliefs about a good film because they are included in, and a major part of, a film title Mr. Woodcock that has made a great deal of money recently.

Say what?!?!?
This film is about a high school gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock, who terrorizes his students. Mr. Woodcock bashes them with basketballs as they run laps, strikes their crotches with a wiffle ball bat, forces them to do chinups in their underwear, and any number of other unusual tasks.

Why is Mr. Woodcock important enough to make a movie about? One of his former students becomes a self help author famous for his best seller titled "Getting Past your Past" that is about letting go of traumatic events. Can you guess how Woodcock fits in here? Yeah, I thought you could. So, when this famous author returns to his small town in Nebraska he finds that his widowed mother is sleeping with the notorious Mr. Woodcock.

As the author attempts to ruin the relationship hilarity ensues. I assume that was supposed to be hilarity because otherwise it was just plain bull. It's not every day that I bash a "comedy" but this is not only juvenile, not only sophomoric, but every joke in it has been done hundreds of times before!

I won't lie!
The fact of the matter is I have a base sense of humor. Beavis and Butthead STILL make me laugh and I'm a full fledged adult now. Know a good fart joke? Send it to me, I'll enjoy it. I just don't require a complicated routine to make me smile or even laugh out loud.

There were things about Mr. Woodcock that made me laugh. Maybe three times during the movie I laughed out loud at Woodcock's mistreatment of his students both past and present.

With that in mind it seems like this movie should be right up my alley but it's not. Humor is attempted in the lamest of veins throughout the film. Speaking of Beavis and Butthead, if you were to watch the original American Pie and an episode of Beavis and Butthead that featured their gym teacher (I recommend "Baby Makes Uh, Three") you'd have seen Mr. Woodcock. The characters even look right to match the film.

But are the performances memorable?
I've seen Billy Bob Thornton (Mr. Woodcock) in plenty of films that I really liked. There was a time that I thought he was on the verge of breaking into the real top of the Hollywood main stream. This film set Billy Bob back a long way in my eyes though, I'd say this was more like an episode of "Joe Bob's Drive-In Theatre" than a feature film.

Waiting for Susan Sarandon to save the film? You'll be waiting until the sequel to Bull Durham is released because she's as transparent as an x-ray. I wonder if the script looked better before the final editing after filming or if Susan just really needed a job. Maybe she got paid well and enjoyed the money. I don't know but I know she can give a better performance than this stinker.

Overall
Sorry folks, I ain't laughin'. Before you say it, yes I know that ain't isn't a word but this movie just doesn't deserve a closing with perfect grammar. It was made to be filled with childish humor but the subject of the humor wasn't fit for children. How's that for irony? I wouldn't buy this DVD for anyone I know.



Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older