Mr. Woodcock (2007)

Taken aback by his mother's wedding announcement, a young man returns home in an effort to stop her from marrying his old high school gym teacher, a man who made middle school hell for generations of students.

Director:

Craig Gillespie

Writers:

Michael Carnes, Josh Gilbert

Stars:

Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Jasper Woodcock
Seann William Scott	...	John Farley
Susan Sarandon	...	Beverly Farley
Amy Poehler	...	Maggie
Melissa Sagemiller	...	Tracy
Ethan Suplee	...	Nedderman
Jacob Davich	...	Nedderman's Brother
Kyley Baldridge	...	Young Farley
Alec George	...	Young Nedderman
Joseph Michael Sargent	...	Young Watson
M.C. Gainey	...	Hal - Barber #1
Brent Briscoe	...	Barber #2
Dave Kuhr	...	Bookish Guy
Lisa K. Wyatt	...	Housewife
Kurt Fuller	...	Councilman Luke

Storyline

Fatherless John Farley's youth frustration, even trauma, like many his school kids' in his Nebraska small town home, was the constant abuse and humiliation in sadistic Jasper Woodcock's gym class. After college, doting son John became a motivational bestseller author and returns during a book signing tour to receive the backwater's highest honor. To John's horror, his devoted mother Beverly announces her plans to marry the hated coach and he's to be celebrated on the same event as John. Only ridiculous fatso Nedderman and his strange brother try to help Farley stop Woodcock, but that keeps backfiring.

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Plot Keywords:

neo screwball comedy | character name as title | surname in title | man wears underwear | gym class | 

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Taglines:

Letting Go Of Your Past Is Hard... Especially When It's Dating Your Mom.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, thematic material, language and a mild drug reference

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Dobkin directed three weeks of re-shoots, according to Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times 10 August 2007

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Goofs

In the pizza shop after John is jogging he is talking to Nedderman his shirt is covered in sweat, but in the next shot it is not, and then in the next shot the sweat is back, then the sweat is bigger and then it gets smaller.

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Quotes

Mr. Woodcock: To survive outside these walls, you need more than just math and science. The world does not stop for people who can spell fancy words or tell you the capital of Montana. The capital of Montana, Watson?
Young Watson: Helena?
Mr. Woodcock: Who cares? Take a lap!

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 2000s Stars That Flopped in the 2010s (2019)

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Soundtracks

Who Do You Love
Written by Bo Diddley (as Ellas McDaniel)
Performed by George Thorogood & The Destroyers (as George Thorogood and The Destroyers)
Courtesy of Rounder Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

Diving to Miss the Dodgeballs of Life.

Successful novelist Seann William Scott returns to his hometown to be honored for his career. His mother (Susan Sarandon) now dates the titled character (Billy Bob Thornton), Scott's former gym teacher who forever tormented and belittled him as a husky youth. Thus Scott must now break the two up and forever exorcise Thorton from his life and his past. Nickel and dime production of the simplest sort with admittedly bigger names than usual. Thornton's dead-pan, dead-eye approach is funny and effective to an extent. However, he lacks the material he had in similar ventures ("Bad Santa"). Sarandon seems like she is in the wrong movie all together and Scott still has that "American Pie" tendency to annoy rather than entertain the masses. Not bad for a chuckle and short enough to be painless, but it hardly makes a cinematic impression at all. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mr. Woodcock

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,100,000, 16 September 2007

Gross USA:

$25,799,486

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,683,200

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Landscape Entertainment, Avery Pix

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1