Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999)

The story of a girl who is willing to do anything to become Valedictorian, even if it means murdering the teacher that stands in her way.

Director:

Kevin Williamson

Writer:

Kevin Williamson

Stars:

Helen Mirren, Marisa Coughlan, Katie Holmes

4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Helen Mirren	...	Mrs. Tingle
Katie Holmes	...	Leigh Ann Watson
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Coach Wenchell
Barry Watson	...	Luke Churner
Marisa Coughlan	...	Jo Lynn Jordan
Liz Stauber	...	Trudie Tucker
Michael McKean	...	Principal Potter
Molly Ringwald	...	Miss Banks
Vivica A. Fox	...	Miss Gold
John Patrick White	...	Brian Berry
Robert Gant	...	Professor
Harvey Silver	...	Roger

Storyline

Leigh Ann is salutatorian when she needs to be valedictorian to get her scholarship to Harvard. The only class she is worse than the leader in is history, taught by Mrs. Tingle, and the teacher hates her. When an attempt to get ahead in Mrs. Tingle's class goes awry, mayhem ensues and friendships, loyalties and trust are tested by the teacher's intricate mind-games.

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Plot Keywords:

evil woman | arrow | three word title | written by director | f rated | 

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Taglines:

Teachers pet gets it first.

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic content, violence, sexuality, language and some teen drinking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killing Mrs. Tingle

Filming Locations:

El Segundo High School - 640 Main Street, El Segundo, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,326,870, 22 August 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$8,946,237, 3 October 1999

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Konrad Pictures, Interscope Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was originally shot with an R-rating in mind. However, it was decided by Dimension Films after filming that it would be cut down to a PG-13 rating to appeal to a wider audience. As a result, several scenes had to be edited or cut out completely. Most noticeably, the scene where Jo Lynn (Marisa Coughlan) reenacts a scene from The Exorcist (1973) had to be re-dubbed to excise expletive language. Instead of saying "Fuck me", she says "Take me".

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Goofs

When Luke is feeding Mrs. Tingle the burger and fries and she asks for some wine, the second time he brings the cup up to her lips for a drink, she leans down to take a sip but you can clearly see she doesn't take a drink at all.

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Quotes

[after accidentally firing a crossbow and nearly killing the teachers pet]
Mrs. Tingle: Don't tease us, Mr. Berry. When you shoot, make it count.
Brian Berry: It wasn't... I-I mean-I didn't think that...
Mrs. Tingle: No, because that would require a cerebrum, and a few other missing parts.

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Alternate Versions

The credits list Robert Gant as "Professor" but those scenes where deleted. Robert Gant never appears in the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Naked Movie (2002)

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Soundtracks

Like a Virgin
Written by Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly
Performed by Jeffrey Tambor (uncredited)

User Reviews

A good laugh

In England, Teaching Mrs. Tingle has gone directly to rental video - it did not get a cinema release over here, and I doubt it will come out on DVD either. This is a shame, as I for one think it is an enjoyably silly movie which was unfairly received by both critics and the general public.

True, it is not as skilfully plotted as Kevin Williamson's Scream movies, but the concept of the 1980 comedy classic 9 to 5, starring Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin, is so brilliant that it deserved to be used again in a movie.

Helen Mirren is excellent as the cold, sneering, malevolent and ruthless Mrs. Eve Tingle - every single person who went to school has had a teacher like her! In my case, it was the terrifying Mrs. Woolhouse at my infant's school in London years ago - I know she and Mrs. Tingle would have been confidantes!

A lot of people criticised Helen Mirren for taking a role in a teen horror movie, due to her acclaim in the Prime Suspect TV drama, and her Oscar-nominated turn in The Madness of King George. Well, perhaps Mirren was desperate to do something a little less dramatic - what better than a film like Teaching Mrs. Tingle?! And to her credit, she did a great job.

Katie Holmes, who I have just seen in a brief but significant role in The Gift, is fairly likeable as the hapless Leigh Ann Watson, but it is the actress who plays Jo Lynn who steals the show. I forget her name, but she is hysterical - the scene where she acts out moments from The Exorcist to "entertain" a tied & gagged Mrs. Tingle is absolutely side-splitting stuff!

Rather like Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick, playing a dedicated teacher in Election, it's amusing to see Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink/Sixteen Candles star Molly Ringwald play a substitute teacher in this film - a good casting decision by Kevin Williamson. But why did Vivica A. Fox have such a small part?

As well as humorous scenes, there are also moments of tenderness, particularly where Leigh Ann goes home to find her mother has fallen asleep in her bed, while the classic TV series Little House on the Prairie plays on Leigh Ann's television, featuring a sweet moment between Pa (Michael Landon) and Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert).

Teaching Mrs. Tingle is not a classic by any means, but I have watched it three times now and enjoyed it every single time. Give it a try!