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 | gym class | humiliation | 

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Taglines:

Everyone takes P.E. Few survive.

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adivina con quién salgo

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,761,369, 16 September 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,628,629, 4 November 2007

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Ramona Dynasty Band from Riverside California was featured as the local high school marching band in 2 scenes.

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Goofs

When Farley and Mr. Woodcock are in the barber shop, the barber uses the clippers to make a huge, very noticeable bald spot in the back of Farley's hair. When he's getting out of the van at Mr. Woodcock's ex-wife's house, there's no bald spot. Then as he's walking to the door, the bald spot is back.

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Quotes

Mr. Woodcock: [after Farley flips Mr. Woodcock in hospital bed] One pothole in this entire town Farley... and you've managed to find it.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Brave One/The Hottest State/Mr. Woodcock/In the Valley of Elah/Across the Universe (2007)

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Soundtracks

Theme from A Summer Place
Written by Max Steiner and Mack Discant
Performed by The Lettermen
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

More mediocre comedy from Thornton-on-autopilot

Like last year's School for Scoundrels, Woodcock is yet another movie in which Billy Bob Thornton plays a violent dick (no pun intended) and fails to be anywhere near as funny as he should be, thanks to a sloppy, almost laugh-less script. To make matters worse, he's not the only comedian whose considerable talents are wasted on this predictable mess; Ethan Suplee and Seann William Scott, two of the funniest men alive, have nearly nothing to do with their characters. Speaking of predictability, here's a cliché for you: Seen the trailer? Then you've seen the movie. Just about every truly funny part was crammed into the commercials.

I love Bad Santa and all, but it has really done more harm than good seeing as another Thornton-acts-like-a-sociopath-and-gets-away-with-it "comedy" gets released every year. He is an amazing actor and totally wasted on these forgettable carbon copies. I'm not denying that I laughed a couple of times ('cause let's face it, Thornton abusing kids is funny by default) but in the end Woodcock is just a half-baked comedy-drama which is neither hilarious nor touching.