Unoriginal

Rating: 5/10 (24 November 2012)

She's a teacher and she's bad? Genius! How'd you come up with that? Give that man, or rather those men, gold stars. Yes, it took two men to write this script. And the result? I almost feel stupid typing it.
Cameron Diaz is Elizabeth Halsey. An aspiring trophy wife whose hopes are dashed when her spineless fiancée calls off their wedding at the urging of his mother and financial advisors. So she returns tail between her legs, to teaching middle school. A job she took because she believed it required little effort and offered a summer vacation. And, almost immediately, she discovers a teacher from a wealthy family trying to find his classroom. She makes her intentions very clear, though Scott, the teacher (played by Justin Timberlake) doesn't catch on. And soon her efforts appear in vain when Scott (Timberlake) encounters the ridiculously named Amy Squirrel (played by Lucy Punch) whose hokey goodhearted nature ranges from annoying to nauseating. In addition, Diaz's character maintains a friendship with the gym teacher (Jason Segel) based in shared apathy and sarcasm.
Is it funny? It has its moments, but overall the comparisons made between this and Bad Santa are accurate. Bad Santa being the role Billy Bob Thornton liked so much that he played it several times in "different" movies as characters with different names. This facsimile, on the other hand, is tame by comparison in addition to being largely dependent on the looks of its 38 year-old star who really should've passed this sort of thing. Lowest common denominator drivel.