Lower Learning

Barry Goldwater Elementary is on the brink of collapse: the lowest test scores in the state, teachers who are either drunk or having sex on school grounds, and a principal who extorts money from parents. It's up to Tom, the down-on-his-luck vice-principal, to rally the lazy teachers, expose the principal's corruption, and turn the school around before an end of the day board decision.

Horrible watch, will not watch again, and actively recommend you avoid this movie. This is the first movie where I felt the need to call child protective services and put all the adult actors involved on a watch list. I'm just saying that some of the things these kids say, see, and in which they participate are potentially traumatizing, especially in the atmosphere they're performed. I'm sorry if this movie is supposed to be funny, but it's an awful story about awful subject matter, and none of the jokes land. Even Jason Biggs calls out the inspector's use habits throughout the movie, and these are the people we're supposed to get behind. There is a difference between characters being silly and detrimental, and this movie is a great example of what crossing that line looks like. Maybe it's just too real, maybe the idea of the circumstances of this movie being real is terrifying and I can't see the humor. Regardless, there is nothing I found funny about this movie, and the only redeemable acting came from a young Zachary Gordon ("Diary of a Wimpy Kid").