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DVD REVIEW FOR
"TEACHING MRS. TINGLE"

(1999) (Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes) (PG-13)

Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides
95 minutes Letterbox (1.85:1)
16x9 - Widescreen
English English Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS 1

PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW

VIDEO:
(B) This is another of those releases that will have viewers - who've grown accustomed to the sharpness and fine detail of this format - repeatedly checking their eyes while watching it. That's because the picture in the letterboxed format is often a bit out of focus. While the severity of that problem varies in different parts of the disc, it's bad enough to make you glance away somewhere else in your room looking for any sort of sharpness reference. Beyond that, the colors are decent, but the picture also suffers a bit from compression-related pixelation.
AUDIO:
(A) Fortunately, the audio fares somewhat better, although it's certainly not imaginatively mixed. As such, some limited sound effects join the dark comedy score and a number of pop songs that all sound good but don't make much of a lasting impression.
EXTRAS:
  • Scene selection/Jump to any scene.
  • Theatrical trailer
  • COMMENTS:
    Although teachers are supposed to nourish and encourage the learning process and their students' education, every once in a while a bad apple comes along in some given school who seems determined to make everyone's academic days a living hell. Most students have encountered such anomalies at one point or another, and by being on the "losing" end of the authority/student seesaw, couldn't do anything about it.

    Apparently that was the case for writer-turned director Kevin Williamson. Although he's now a successful screenwriter (penning the "Scream" films and "I Know What You Did Last Summer"), his idea for his first screenplay -- "Killing Mrs. Tingle" -- stemmed from a teacher who told him he couldn't write. While that particular teacher -- if still around -- may debate the artistic merits of his work, Williamson's presumably had the last laugh.

    You may have noticed the difference in the titles. Evidently in the wake of all the recent high school shootings, Dimension Films decided it would be politically correct and make a smart move (to avoid negative publicity) by changing "killing" to "teaching." Actually, the newer title is more appropriate since the film isn't about homicide as in the scribe's horror plots, but is more akin to the shenanigans of "9 to 5."

    That 1980 film, where Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin inadvertently kidnap their demanding and belittling boss, played by Dabney Coleman, certainly seems a likely influence for this film's plot. Others will obviously see some similarities to "Misery" (a writer tries to outwit a crazed fan who's kidnaped and restrained him in bed) and 1998's "Suicide Kings" (where some young men kidnap and restrain a Mafioso).

    Despite the familiar plot and a few decent moments, however, the film otherwise isn't particularly that funny or entertaining. Only an over-the-top, full camp performance from the titular character saves the production from complete abysmal mediocrity.

    As the mean-spirited and venomous Mrs. Tingle, Helen Mirren (best known as Det. Chief Inspector Jane Tennison in the TV series "Prime Suspect" and also an Oscar nominee for her work in "The Madness of King George") is an absolute hoot. Playing the camp approach with utmost ferocity, Mirren not only goes against her normal character type, but also creates a comedic villainous character that comes close to being one of the best ever to grace the silver screen. Something of a mixture of Leona Helmsley and "The Wizard of Oz's" Miss Gulch (the Wicked Witch of the West), Mirren as Tingle is a blast to watch.

    Unfortunately, she's saddled with two problems that prevent her performance from going down in the annals of Hollywood's best. It's been said that you're only as good as your competition, and that's certainly the case here. While Williamson has personified his old school self in the form of fellow would-be writer Leigh Ann -- played without much zest by Katie Holmes ("Go," TV's "Dawson's Creek") -- and given her accomplices -- newcomer Marisa Coughlan as her best friend and Barry Watson (TV's "Seventh Heaven") as their hunk friend -- they're clearly no match for Tingle despite having the initial upper hand.

    To make matters worse, Williamson doesn't provide either side with much in the way of good "ammo" for their war of wills. While it's natural that the students wouldn't have many -- if any -- prefabricated plans, their modus operandi (tying her up, taking incriminating photos, etc...) doesn't exactly fall into the clever, viewer pleasing variety.

    The same holds true for Tingle, who simply tries to seduce Luke when not pitting the two best friends against one another. In fact, Tingle's reactions to the overall event defy the "What would she really do?" litmus test. While the film is obviously not meant to be viewed as a realistic drama or comedy, viewers will immediately question why Tingle doesn't take appropriate and/or believable measures to free herself.

    Of course if we fully bought into the notion that she saw the students' actions as a challenge -- a point that's partially addressed but never fully supported or developed to make it completely credible -- then her inaction would be understandable. As it stands, one can't help but question why she doesn't scream out for help when not gagged (making her house isolated or super insulated would have solved that), or do the same when Leigh Ann calls Jo Lynn's mom on the phone right next to Tingle's bed (a call from downstairs would eliminate that possibility).

    In general, and despite Mirren's "snake in waiting" type performance that I fully like in concept and somewhat in execution, for a movie like this, the character just doesn't do enough to make the students' life a living hell. Of course the film has plenty of other similar problems (she never needs to use the bathroom and once free, doesn't respond in a very imaginative or believable fashion) and inconsistencies (such as why Leigh Ann would suddenly develop a conscience about having taken photos of a married man with Tingle when she's already aware that he was having an affair).

    Beyond Mirren's performance as the lead character, the rest of them are rather flat, although Marisa Coughlan has a fun moment where she recreates a scene from "The Exorcist" (which is also referenced another time, making one initially wonder how many more referential movie bits -- ala "Scream" -- will show up).

    Meanwhile, the likes of Jeffrey Tambor (best known as Hank Kingsley on HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show") Lesley Ann Warren ("Victor/Victoria"), Michael McKean (best known as Lenny on TV's "Laverne & Shirley," also "This is Spinal Tap") and Molly Ringwald ("Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink") all have small roles limited in both screen time and development.

    Beyond Mirren's performance, there's not really much reason to see this film. Not as funny as "9 to 5," creepy as "Misery" or as thoroughly blackened as it should have been to be successful, the film doesn't really offer anything new to the inadvertent kidnaping plot and thus doesn't leave much of an impression.

    As far as the technical merits of the disc itself, while the audio is decent, the picture is often a bit out of focus, giving it a near constant soft look and the viewer the nagging need to look away to check their eyesight. Supplemental materials consist of a sole theatrical trailer.

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