Highly Overrated But Still Good

An action-packed slog

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Every time I think about a film that it "has its moments", I realize that the film I'm talking about isn't really very good. And from a former earth science teacher, vice-principal, and principal...I'll tell you that from an educational standpoint, this is not a good film. It's alright if you're one of the light subject teachers (like art), but if you're a content teacher, this film gets it all wrong in terms of what works in schools. I was a reasonably popular teacher and educator, but I never saw a teacher as adored as "Mr. D" that really taught his/her subect with any depth at all. Dressing up an Indian doesn't teach about the Indian wars or the history of the American Indian. And by the way, to show a flashy pop teacher, they have him jumping all over the place in terms of historical ears and events. But teaching is just lecturing, either. And the unpopular teacher here (at least for much of the film) is actually the better teacher.In terms of acting, the actor here that really deserves the credit is David Paymer, one of our finest character actors. Coming in second here is a young Ryan Reynolds. Both do fine, but Paymer shines.The overall plot gets way too silly way too often. A teacher waking up in school in his pajamas? A teacher dressing in homeless clothing and stealing a look at a hospital chart? Really...juvenile stuff.What's interesting about these reviews is most who wrote a review rate it highly, but most who just rated it, rated it quite low. Not sure what that tells us.If you want to see something more serious about education, try "The Emperor's Club" starring Kevin Kline. In terms of "School Of life", it's okay if you like fluff.

It's a very entertaining comedy slash soul searching film. I cried through some of it. Ryan Reynolds plays a really hip teacher who really connects with his students and fellow teachers. He inspires them in a legendary way. There's an image of humanity, as it is and as it should be, that moved me so. The one big question Mr. D asks of his students is "how much time do we have?". The answer is not much. One learns that the little time that we have should be used to help others, to enlighten them, to have fun and share the knowledge to empower everyone, to make a better world for all. Hugely aspiring film. Good date film. Highly recommended for those who want to inspire. 9 out of 10 stars.

I saw this movie when it first came out and a few times after but its been probably almost 2 years now since i've seen it. The first time i could relate to it right away. I had a teacher just the year before who was exactally like Mr. D. he's name even rhymed, Mr. b. we never called him by his full name like in the movie. They were so much alike it stunned me. Mr. b was always funny and had crazy ways of teaching that included using a microphone and using a guitar on spelling test. Mr. B taught has so many life lessons about living for the day and live like there's no tomorrow. The movie is great and teaches those same lessons wonderfully. Little did i know that only about 6 months after isaw this movie Mr. b would die just like Mr. d. I wish i could see this movie again cause now i can relate even more.

I just finished watching the movie for the 10th time and this movie was fantastic, Ryan Reynolds is a fantastic actor, His acting in this was amazing. He has a wide range of abilities. He can act like a college guy who just wants to have fun in one movie and be the complete opposite and similar in a movie. Fantastic great job. All the Actors and actresses in this movie did a fantastic job. It shows people who want to be a teacher some good parts of being a teacher and ways we can teach students. The movie does go overboard a few times but it ends in the most amazing way. Fantastic movie, with fantastic actors. Well Done to everyone involved in this movie, great job.