Teaching Mrs. Tingle (PG-13) ** 1/2 Starring Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes Directed by Kevin Williamson A Review by Frankie Paiva
Whoever thinks that this type of film will appeal to teenagers is obviously wrong. Teaching Mrs. Tingle opened to mediocre box office and mostly bad reviews. And yes, there is a very good reason why.
Leigh Ann Watson (Holmes) is a straight-A student, she's hoping to become valedictorian and get a scholarship to college but her plans have to pass by one person. The teacher from hell, Mrs. Tingle. (Mirren) She enjoys being mean to everyone just for the sake of being mean. She uses long and confusing words often to criticize and poke fun at her students. Leigh Ann is trailing a rich snobby girl by one point and Tingle's C doesn't help. When Luke (Barry Watson) brings the answers to the final exam to her and her best friend Jo Lynn (Marisa Coughlan) they are confronted with their morals. But when Mrs. Tingle catches them, she can't wait to break out the scandal.
When they appear at her front door to tell her tell are sorry, one thing leads to another and they eventually have her hands tied to the side of a bed and have decided to blackmail her with incriminating photos. This begins a bunch of mind games that set off the trio and make them even more determined to make her pay. Also included is an embarrassing role for Jeffrey Tambor (and right after Muppets From Space too) and a crossbow that keeps firing in all the wrong places.
With all of the controversy surrounding this film and Columbine, it's not surprising the film did bad. While it's not really all that violent (the bad attitudes between teachers and students should rank the highest amond parental concerns) there really was no reason to call it Killing Mrs. Tingle in the first place.
Mirren rounds out a well-cast cast. As the bitchy Tingle she has a chance to flex a different kind of acting. Marisa Coughlan also does an uneeded, but funny spoof of The Exorcist (it got her the part) and steals a lot of scenes. The rest of the cast (including WB veterans Holmes and Watson) don't turn in the same calibur performances. Since the film is set to appeal to my audience, I obviously liked it more than the average movie critic, so Teaching Mrs. Tingle gets ** 1/2 stars.
The Young-Uns: The film contains extremely bad attitudes towards people and authorities. It also contains some violence and a passionate make-out scene. Good Age: 12 & Up
A Review by Frankie Paiva The 12 Year-Old Movie Reviewer E-Mail me at SwpStke@aol.com Visit my website at: http://expage.com/page/teenagemoviecritic
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