One of my all time favorites.

Just so...so bad

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

There is an awful lot of yelling in 'Lean On Me' and maybe the filmmakers think that it is justified because it is based on a true story. The problem is that the main character, 'Crazy Joe' Clark is so loud, abrasive and obnoxious that it is hard to get an emotional foothold on what he is trying to accomplish. That's a problem when the movie is trying to siphon that hateful character into an inspirational teacher movie.The movie stars Morgan Freeman as Clark a loud-mouthed, bull horn-toting educator who is brought back to the once proud Eastside High School to clean it up and get the students through the state exam. The opening scenes show the school hallways as a place where drug-dealing, violence and vandalism are a way of life. Showing that the school is out of control is one thing but the corridors of this school look two bricks shy of a prison riot.Clark is brought out of a comfortable job as an elementary school teacher to whip Eastside into shape but for every action that he tries to accomplish there is another action that leaves us shaking our heads. It's one thing to expel 300 trouble-makers and demand that the graffiti be brought down but it's quite another to force students to sing the school song on demand and fire the English teacher because he moved during it's singing.I have no objection to a hard driving educator but I take issue with Clark who refuses to hear anyone's opinion and berates anyone who makes an opposing suggestion. The movie never makes any attempts to allow him to learn from his mistake, he is simply seen as a very trouble, bullying man who gets results but refuses to acknowledge those that he steps on to get his way.The ending of the movie isn't really dealt with in a serious way. Clark chains the emergency doors to keep drug dealers out which of course is illegal. One parent with a grudge insists that Clark be arrested and when he goes to jail, we get one of those tired old scenes where every single student marches up to the courthouse to demand his release.From the sides, the movie throws in a lot of one-dimensional characters. There is a portly teacher who functions as a whipping post for Clark's tirades. There is an arrogant music teacher who only figures into the story so that Clark can fire her for insubordination. Then there is an angry parent who wants Clark fired and whose only scenes involve her making demands.'Lean On Me' is a movie torn between two ideas. Director John G. Avildson wants to create a biography of what Clark did to Eastside but he also wants to make an inspirational teacher movie. The mechanics of both don't quite fit together because the script refuses to allow Clark to learn anything himself.

(Credit IMDb) The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school that he is determined to improve.This is a very important film about education. Some might find Principal Joe Clark to be an arrogant person, but I believe you have to look beyond that. The man was willing to fight for education and equal rights, regardless of the controversy. He wanted to make sure people quit dropping out and focus on the right people. Sure, he rubbed people the wrong way with his tyrannical style, but the man was extremely effective and a good person. Morgan Freeman gives Joe Clark justice with his memorable performance. He is mesmerizing at times and carries a good film into a great one. This movie would have been good with an above average lead, but Freeman makes all the difference in the world. This is an excellent movie that will make you teary eyed, laugh and saddened. It is a movie of many emotions8/10

This movie was so inspiring. Morgan, like all the reviews state, was cast PERFECTLY as Joe Clark. I cant think of an actor better suited to the role. I almost cried, and I don't cry for ANYTHING. This was a very deep movie and I recommend this to anyone whom likes Morgan Freeman, movies about finding yourself, kids improving themselves out of their own free will, and things like that. If you think movies like this are ghetto, your an idiot because thats the incorrect use of the word ghetto, Morgan RULES, and movies like this were meant to inspire. Which I believe, is exactly what it did for me. If you watch it. You will feel, invigorated, happy, sad, more happy, and inspired to do good things.Movies sort of like this but not as good are: remember the titans, The color purple, dangerous minds, and stand and deliver.PS, Lets go Morgan Freeman! YAY!

I liked this movie when I was in high school, and thought that Morgan Freeman was effective as a principal who was trying to make the lives of the kids better.However, as an adult, it seems that this movie was all about "Kids won't learn unless you threaten them. If a teacher is doing poorly, they should be fired immediately. It's my way or the highway." Seriously, if my job ever had a jag like "Mr. Clark" come in and run the place as a dictatorship, I'd be looking for a new job THE SAME DAY.Also, there are some serious stretches of credulity here... ***SPOILER ALERT*** Mr. Clark is arrested for chaining the school doors shut, and is thrown in jail??? Not just any jail, but one that looks like its from a 1920s William Faulkner tale, with a cot and a sink and a washcloth. He wouldn't have just bonded out and gone home? Also, Mr. Clark hires fascist security guards for the school? Doesn't he need to PAY them, and wouldn't this capital expenditure need to be approved before any checks are written?