Top 10 Movie of the Year Contender.
No, I am not joking.
It is still just February, so we'll see...
The Story:
A Biology teacher (Kevin James) who really doesn't care anymore suddenly decides to help the music teacher (Henry Winkler) save his job due to school budget cuts. If he can raise $38,000 by the end of the school year, the principal agrees that the teacher can stay. It's an uphill battle to make the money until he comes across Mixed Martial Arts and realizes he can make money, even if he loses. So about 30 fights of getting his butt whipped, and it should be a done deal.
What could possibly go wrong?
Okay, so back to the opening, yes, we all quite enjoyed this film last night. It was well written, the actors did a great job, and along the way, as in many Happy Madison Productions, there is an underlying heart and message in the film that is hidden from the marketing.
This is Mr. Holland's Opus...in a cage match!
And if you've never seen Mr. Holland's Opus, shame on you!
So you have a music teacher, the first to always get cuts when budgets go out the window, who works hard to inspire his students. The biology teacher used to be that way, but lost his mojo over the years as the system just grinds the teachers down.
They recharge each other, and soon you have a teacher that cares for his friend, for his students, for his job, and for a whole lot of things that were passing him by.
Yes, you see the ending coming about 3 miles away, but it doesn't matter. That's the way the movie had to end.
And it works, perfectly.
Kevin James should be commended for the training he accomplished for the film. He worked his butt off (literally and figuratively) and looked great. The way the film looks, it appears he is getting pounded all film long. Impressive.
We had a great time, and would be happy to revisit this film in the future.
Final Grade: A-
Worth Adding to the "We Own It" Vault: Yes Indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment