LouAnne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a marine getting a divorce from her abusive husband. Her friend Hal Griffith (George Dzundza) gets her a job at his high school. She's shocked to find her class full of problem kids bused in from the poor part of the city. Principal Grandey is uncaring and insists on people knock on his door. Emilio Ramírez is the most problematic student. Callie Roberts is the smart one. LouAnne tries to help Raúl Sanchero as well as her other students. She uses karate, Bob Dylan, rewards and poetry to get to her kids.
This is another one of those cliché white savior teacher genre. I don't have any complaints about Pfeiffer or any of the kids' acting. I really like Renoly Santiago and Bruklin Harris. The main problem is the simplistic ideas being presented. The story isn't the most compelling. I am glad that LouAnne doesn't fall in love with another teacher. Her friendship with Hal is quite refreshing. It's too bad that the movie trots out all the old standards without adding anything new.
This is another one of those cliché white savior teacher genre. I don't have any complaints about Pfeiffer or any of the kids' acting. I really like Renoly Santiago and Bruklin Harris. The main problem is the simplistic ideas being presented. The story isn't the most compelling. I am glad that LouAnne doesn't fall in love with another teacher. Her friendship with Hal is quite refreshing. It's too bad that the movie trots out all the old standards without adding anything new.