osborne-mindy Every year I watch this movie 3-4 times to remind me of why I do what I do. It is relatable, unfortunately, and necessary for most teachers to watch. I cry every time but this movie is crucial to my educational career.

SnoopyStyle LouAnne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a marine getting a divorce from her abusive husband. Her friend Hal Griffith (George Dzundza) gets her a job at his high school. She's shocked to find her class full of problem kids bused in from the poor part of the city. Principal Grandey is uncaring and insists on people knock on his door. Emilio Ramírez is the most problematic student. Callie Roberts is the smart one. LouAnne tries to help Raúl Sanchero as well as her other students. She uses karate, Bob Dylan, rewards and poetry to get to her kids.This is another one of those cliché white savior teacher genre. I don't have any complaints about Pfeiffer or any of the kids' acting. I really like Renoly Santiago and Bruklin Harris. The main problem is the simplistic ideas being presented. The story isn't the most compelling. I am glad that LouAnne doesn't fall in love with another teacher. Her friendship with Hal is quite refreshing. It's too bad that the movie trots out all the old standards without adding anything new.

v_haritha_in An inexperienced teacher, Louanne Johnson (Michelle Pfieffer) is assigned to a class of kids who come from rough backgrounds. They seem hopelessly unmanageable and the school management isn't of much help either. But by the end of the movie, the teacher earns the respect of her students through unconventional teaching methods and by showing genuine concern for them. Of course there are few disappointments but it is a happy ending on the whole.The entire movie is a cliché done to death by Hollywood. We have seen this story in "To Sir, With Love", "Freedom Writers" and countless other movies. I understand that these are biographies of people whose tales are worth telling. But, none of these films are any different from the others. If you've seen one, you've seen them all. Michelle Pfieffer is good as the inspirational pedagogue, but she does not bring anything new to the table. The students are a bunch of clichés we come to expect in these movies; there is the big bully, the bullied, the bright one, the joker and girls in bright-red lipstick, all in need of guidance. Not a bad movie as such, but there is nothing new in it. Watch it if you haven't seen any movie using this formula. Give it a skip otherwise.

charliemanson999 Cheesy Cringe-worthy Punch-in-the-face-worthy soppy acting from Michelle Pfeiffer Stereotypes blown totally out of proportion Poor camera work Diabolical musical overlay Badly scripted Rushed feel No real closureI cannot criticise this movie enough. While I was expecting a typically dark gangster/student-type movie, addressing the inner-city problems of troubled kids in poverty-stricken areas, and the interesting, inspiring attempts of an admirable teacher to get to the bottom of their various dysfunctions, what I instead got was something so cheesy it would have been better suited to Broadway, if they threw in some hastily written musical numbers. For something (slightly) more realistic, see Coach Carter, but please, please, don't waste the 1 hr 30 mins I did on Dangerous Minds, the mis-titled waste of film roll that it is.