Today the unrated version of Bad Teacher hits the DVD shelves and with that so does a review of the potty mouth comedy. The film, which stars Cameron Diaz, Lucy Punch, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake and John Michael Higgins, is about a gold digging, foul mouthed teacher who could give two shits about anybody else in the world. All this middle school teacher wants is money and after being dumped by her wealthy sugar daddy decides that the only way she will meet the rich man of her dreams is to save up some money and get a boob job. That man is Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), a new and innocently quirky substitute teacher who loves his job and working with kids, the complete opposite of Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz). This movie is about her constant attempts to save up money for her boobs while also trying to woo the rich sub over.
Bad Teacher is what happens when a great cast gets paired up with a script that tries too hard to be funny. The entire cast does a really good job of delivering the material but a lot of the comedy comes off fake and forced. The best parts of the film usually came when Jason Segel was in the picture. As the gym teacher who used a nonchalant but persistent approach to try and get in bed with Elizabeth, he would say whatever the hell he wanted because he knew how dirty Ms. Halsey was. The two had great chemistry but Segal was the one that usually delivered the laughs. Justin Timberlake and Lucy Punch were solid as well but again, the situations didn’t feel real and that’s where much of the humor was lost and appeared stupid.
Director Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard, Orange County) does a decent job of leading this cast through a troubled script. My problem with his film is that can’t seem to make up his mind with regards to what kind of film he is making, is it a romantic comedy or just a plain potty comedy. There is too much plot flip-flopping. In one scene Cameron Diaz is getting dry humped by Justin Timberlake as she struggles to win him over but in another scene she is coming up with schemes to earn extra cash for her new boobs. Eventually, there are too many things going on and the story becomes a muddle hodgepodge of dirty jokes. While occasionally it can be funny, you end up alienating some of your more intelligent audience members who are looking to let loose, like me for instance.
The one thing that everyone seems to agree on with Bad Teacher is that it comes off like the middle school version of Bad Santa. You have the raunchy, careless lead that will do anything to have their way. Then you tack on a comical sidekick, in this case it would be Lynn Davies, played 
perfectly by Phyllis Smith, and put them in an environment where they can make fun children. The thing is, Bad Santa is so much better because it actually has a heart whereas this film tries to do a complete 180 by the end and changes the film’s flow because Halsey decides to redeem herself.
As for the DVD it has two versions of the film on it, the theatrical 92 minute version and a 97 minute unrated version. I opted for the longer version because there was no way I could watch this film twice in a row. It isn’t the kind of film that has staying power, let alone comedy that you can laugh at more than once. As for the extras, the disc includes OUTAKES, DELETED SCENES, a ‘Way Behind the Scenes with Jason and Justin” and a “Raising More than Funds” featurette. The best bonus material is in the outtakes when Diaz and Segel are trying to get through a scene involving the word boner. To be honest it is probably the funniest part of the movie. The deleted scenes are really just extended versions of scenes that we saw in the movie but were probably trimmed for time. The Jason/Justin featurette is a funny fake interview with the two cast members ripping on each other and the “Raising More than Funds” featurette is a video all about the car wash scene and how sexy Cameron Diaz is.
Overall, Bad Teacher is worth a watch if you are really bored one night and want something light and easy to relax to. It would never be my first recommendation but it you like the cast I’m sure you’ll find something in the film that will give you a good chuckle, I know I did.
DVD Review: A shallow comedy that’s worth only one screening. Save your money and just rent it. (5.5/10)
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