Reviews & Ratings for
Debating Robert Lee More at IMDbPro »

7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A solid cast and engaging plot makes for a great movie, 8 November 2007

Author:

Debating Robert Lee was recommended to me by a friend, and was definitely a movie worth watching. The characters were all well thought-out and well portrayed by the actors, while the plot moves swiftly along, never dragging on or losing focus.

The story itself (without spoilers) takes on topics such as tolerance, competition, and the search for acceptance. It deals easily with its subject matter and never becomes over-dramatic.

Other reviews here keep citing one particular scene as a time discrepancy; in my opinion, they're being overly critical. In no way does the scene exclude the possibility of the passage of time. Don't let a distasteful review and one measly scene ruin an otherwise good movie.

7 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A Movie on how a teacher can impact a childs life., 13 December 2006
Author: (a_Dale_Midkiff_fan) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I enjoyed the movie a lot.

This movie gives us a look at how a teacher can impact a childs life. We tend to forget that even though the child may be in high school and "we" think they have the thoughts of "Oh I know it all". That in reality we have lost perspective as adults.We think they think that, but we don't stop and think what is really going on inside their heads.

The students Mr.Lee has in his Debate class have many issues outside the classroom. How Mr.Lee pairs the students into teams and you see how they bond,and even use some of the skills Mr.Lee has taught them to debate with "facts not feelings" shows they were in need of a mentor.

Dale Midkiff protrays Robert Lees character with such charm. He brings across a firmness yet gentleness.

Billy Kay who protrays David, is beyond words. I have a feeling we'll see a lot of him in the future!

6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
good, 11 December 2006

Author: Kgoodson88 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

OK this was not the best movie that i have ever seen. but i thought that it was very good. it was one of those movies that you learn a lesson from, with the message of live your life to the fullest. it takes a bunch of high school kids and puts all of them in a class together, the teacher (which is gay) has a secret about himself, but he does not know how to tell anyone. but he wants the kids to all get together and not worry about everything. and to have some confidence in your life. even though some of the kids have problems they learn to work it out and all get along. (except one kid tries to jump off of a building cause he feels unwanted).

superb movie, 8 November 2012

Author: mattkratz (themattk@hotmail.com) from Richardson, TX

Don't expect to see a civil war movie when you get this. This movie is about a tough teacher who presides over a debate class and challenges them with tough topics and gets them to back up their feelings and put them aside with cold, hard facts. (i.e., he gets a black student to speak both for & against slavery during the civil war era.) He also has them discuss gays in the military and euthanasia in their debates, the latter of which he uses in competition.

This movie is more than just about a debate class. It is about real life and teamwork, as the students are "opposites" when they are teamed up. They apply what they learn in real life to back up their arguments in real life, and they are inspired by both their class and their teacher. (a la Dead Poets Society) The teacher does the same, especially with one of the topics. I loved the movie, and you will too.

*** out of ****

3 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
So So, 25 July 2006

Author: Biggles2 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This movie has some great actors, but it falls short of their abilities. There are the normal liberal Hollywood views such as all former or active duty military fathers are jerks and can't accept the fact that their son is gay. A lot of discrepancies in time-lines and locations. Basically you will sit through it, always one step ahead of the writer. Little things like a student runs out of the classroom to run away. The others go looking for him and now it's night time. Lee goes to visit his father in N.C. during Christmas and it's Southern CA, not the East coast. I felt as though it was a combination of most teen movies or t.v. shows. I don't think this film will ever make it on the big screen unless they add a lot of teen sex and nudity. That's about the only way you would get young kids to shell out $10 dollars to view it. If it went to small screen, it would die a fast death. I wouldn't sit through this film unless someone else rented it for me.

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