Taglines: She doesn’t give an “F.”
Some teachers just don’t give an F. For example, there’s Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz). She’s foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate. She drinks, she gets high, and she can’t wait to marry her meal ticket and get out of her bogus day job. When she’s dumped by her fiancé, she sets her plan in motion to win over a rich, handsome substitute (Justin Timberlake) – competing for his affections with an overly energetic colleague, Amy (Lucy Punch). When Elizabeth also finds herself fighting off the advances of a sarcastic, irreverent gym teacher (Jason Segel), the consequences of her wild and outrageous schemes give her students, her coworkers, and even herself an education like no other.
“Elizabeth isn’t a teacher because it’s noble – it’s just a job, a necessity: she has to pay the rent,” says Cameron Diaz, who plays a teacher redefining education in Bad Teacher. “In fact, her whole motivation is to find a way that she never has to teach again.”
When the idea for the movie came to the screenwriting team of Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg, they knew they’d hit on something incredibly rare and special. “It seemed like there weren’t a lot of comedy roles for women,” says Eisenberg. “We would see so many funny women on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and on talk shows, and they’d be hysterical and charming, and then we’d go to the movies and they’d be props to get two guys to become friends or whatever. We really wanted to write a project for a comedienne.”
About the Film
“Elizabeth isn’t a teacher because it’s noble – it’s just a job, a necessity: she has to pay the rent,” says Cameron Diaz, who plays a teacher redefining education in Bad Teacher. “In fact, her whole motivation is to find a way that she never has to teach again.”
When the idea for the movie came to the screenwriting team of Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg, they knew they’d hit on something incredibly rare and special. “It seemed like there weren’t a lot of comedy roles for women,” says Eisenberg. “We would see so many funny women on ‘Saturday Night Live’ and on talk shows, and they’d be hysterical and charming, and then we’d go to the movies and they’d be props to get two guys to become friends or whatever. We really wanted to write a project for a comedienne.”
The opportunity to play a character that is so over-the-top outrageous but at the same time fully drawn is what appealed to Diaz. Diaz enjoys pushing the envelope – as evidenced in the worldwide hit There’s Something About Mary – but she says that this kind of role doesn’t come along all that often. “You just don’t come across parts like this. It just doesn’t happen. And particularly for women. The script is just so subversive and brilliant and so funny. By the time I finished reading it for the first time, there was no question – I had to play her.”
And how misguided is Elizabeth? “She’s driven to get money so that she can get a new pair of boobs,” Diaz explains. “She’s looking for a guy who is rich enough to take her away so she never has to work again, and she’s convinced that if she gets those D-cups they’ll be her ticket out.”
“I thought it was one of the funniest scripts I had ever read,” says director Jake Kasdan. “Lee and Gene have a completely original, hilarious voice – I think that they’ve written one of the great female comedy parts, and we found the perfect person to play her.”
Eisenberg says that he and his partner were confident from the beginning that the project was in good hands. “Of course, we’ve always been fans of Jake’s work – ‘Freaks and Geeks’ is, to me, one of the greatest shows of all time, and the fact that he directed the pilot sealed the deal,” says Eisenberg. But, the writer continues, Kasdan also seemed to share an innate understanding of what set the material apart. “Jake was very collaborative. Of course, he had ideas about the development of the script – small changes that were key to Elizabeth’s growth. When I see the movie now, I remember having those discussions in Jake’s kitchen – all of his instincts were so smart.”
“It’s important to me, when I’m directing someone else’s script, to have the writers really involved with the production,” says Kasdan. “Particularly with comedies. It’s a huge asset. You can have different jokes available to you as you do it – try to make the movie funnier as you shoot it.”
Kasdan says it is Diaz’s willingness to completely give herself over to the role that sets her apart. “Cameron has got this great thing: she is completely fearless,” says Kasdan. “She enjoys being dirty and edgy and she’s completely open-minded about what might work. She was the perfect person to be at the center of this and it was a real gift for the writers and me to be working with her.”
Describing Diaz’s character, Kasdan says, “Elizabeth isn’t a bad person – she just has terrible, terrible values.”
“She isn’t aggressively mean – she just thinks she’s above it all,” Diaz explains. “She has no passion for teaching, no desire for the kids to learn anything. Even when she finds out she can get a big payday if the kids do well on the state test, it doesn’t make her want to be a better teacher; she just wants the scores. I love that she never changes.”
Indeed, for Elizabeth, it’s all about Elizabeth. Everything she does is about moving toward her goal of no longer having to be a teacher – even if it means stealing money from the seventh grade car wash. “Elizabeth isn’t a hard worker, but she knows how to work it and she’s a piece of work,” says Diaz. “She shows up for the car wash in a pair of short shorts and heels and a shirt tied up, washing cars for the parents. It all seems pretty simple to her – she worms her way into being in charge of the car wash and then takes her cut of the earnings.”
Kasdan says, “Cameron is probably the only actress in the world who can pull that off, because she is the only person I can think of who can be that funny while looking that hot. She’s just completely hilarious in that scene.”
Elizabeth Halsey’s Top Ten Teaching Tips
1. There is no heel too high, no sweater too tight, no neckline too low. Besides, it’s nothing these kids haven’t seen on the internet.
2. Movies are the new books. You would be surprised how educational Stand By Me and Dangerous Minds really are.
3. Stay hydrated: keep a bottle of your favorite liquor in your desk drawer.
4. For those moments when the booze doesn’t cut it, keep an emergency J in your purse. It’s medicinal, and it’s OK as long as you do it in the gym.
5. Always be honest with your students. If they suck, they should know.
6. Get your rest. If you stayed out too late the night before, sleep in class.
7. Throwing things at your students prepares them for the real world.
8. If you are the school’s top fundraiser, they expect you to skim a little off the top.
9. Cut corners wherever you can. Like top ten lists… just do nine. No one will notice.
Amy Squirrel’s Top Ten Teaching Tips
1. Alexander Pope once wrote, “A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.” Like, duh!
2. Whitney Houston once sang, “I believe the children are our future,” and I truly, truly believe that. Truly.
3. Anything your students bring you is something they have obviously poured their heart and soul into and deserves your full attention. And probably a place on your wall.
4. Method teach. Get into character and engage your students by incorporating voices, costumes and charades to get their attention. Trust me, your students won’t think it’s lame.
5. You are a role model and the students take their behavioral cues from you. So take any opportunity to chaperone a school event.
6. Keeping a close eye on your lunch quadrant is next to Godliness.
7. Diverting from the lesson plan could affect a student’s future. Treat your curriculum like the bible.
8. Try giving your students an apple for once… After all, we learn as much from them as they do from us.
9. You will find that there are other teachers who are not committed to the profession as you are. If you need a secret satisfaction, just remind yourself that you are a better person than they are.
10. Never talk about that thing that happened in 2008.
11. Always give a little more than what they asked for.
Bad Teacher
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Justin Timberlake, Eric Stonestreet, John Michael Higgins, Aja Bair, Jillian Armenante, Kaitlyn Dever, Kathryn Newton, Lucy Punch
Screenplay by: Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky
Production Design by: Jefferson Sage
Cinematography by: Alar Kivilo
Film Editing by: Tara Timpone
Costume Design by: Debra McGuire
Set Decoration by: Ronald R. Reiss
Art Direction by: Andrew Max Cahn
Music by: Michael Andrews
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: June 17, 2011
Some teachers just don
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