Alex Jurel (Nick Nolte) is wearied of his teaching job despite being the teacher of the year a decade ago. His friend Roger Rubell (Judd Hirsch) tries to hold the chaotic system together. Lawyer Lisa Hammond (JoBeth Williams) is deposing the teachers for graduating a student without teaching him to read. Mental patient Herbert Gower is wrongly given a substitute teaching job. Danny (Crispin Glover) bites a teacher. Alex takes an interest in Eddie Pilikian (Ralph Macchio) who is a troubled student from a broken home. A teacher dies without anyone noticing. Diane (Laura Dern) gets pregnant by the gym teacher and Alex drives her to get an abortion.
This is compelling chaos. Some compare it to Paddy Chayefsky's satires while others compare it unfavorably. One may be second to Usain Bolt but that's still damn good. Some others argue about its realism. Certainly, this is hyper realism but that's part of the bargain in a movie. The main drawback I totally agree with is Ralph Macchio. He's never been a good actor but he lucked into a couple of iconic 80s movies. There are some great memorable chaos in this one.
This is compelling chaos. Some compare it to Paddy Chayefsky's satires while others compare it unfavorably. One may be second to Usain Bolt but that's still damn good. Some others argue about its realism. Certainly, this is hyper realism but that's part of the bargain in a movie. The main drawback I totally agree with is Ralph Macchio. He's never been a good actor but he lucked into a couple of iconic 80s movies. There are some great memorable chaos in this one.