Very uninspired and boring movie

Rating: 4/10 (9 October 2012)

You can see why Cameron Diaz would choose a film, and a role, like the one she plays in 'Bad Teacher'. You'd think she was expecting the kind of reception Billy Bob Thornton got from 'Bad Santa'; or Charlize Theron in 'Young Adult'. Crass and unlikeable character. One-liners aplenty. And general comedy goodness.
A shame, then, that 'Bad Teacher' isn't general comedy goodness. It's actually really boring. To sum up, money-hungry Elizabeth (Diaz) wants a boob job to impressive new substitute teacher Scott (a really funny Justin Timberlake). Cue attempts to blackmail, embezzle and other unoriginal things to get the money. Inevitably, the tart gets a heart.
And it's all very uninteresting, really. Diaz puts her all into the role. I think she's great in it. Similarly, there are good turns from Timberlake, Jason Segel and a really excellent Lucy Punch. But the problem is that they are good actors in an uninspired and bad film. The writing is mainly boring; the story is constantly boring; and you're left at the end feeling, well, bored. I did anyway.
It's a disappointing film, because a lot of talent is being sorely wasted. With a better script, this could have rivalled the near-perfect 'Bad Santa'. As it stands, this rivals the likes of 'Four Christmasses'. And that's a bad thing, for the record.