Teachers

“Aw hell, Algebra” - Nick Nolte, drunk disillusioned public school teacher. The school seems to be gung-ho about avoiding any bad publicity so they go all out in sweeping under a court case about a student not being able to read. While this is playing out Crispin Glover pulls a gun out of a locker and is shot dead by police and NOTHING HAPPENS there's school the next day, heck it's probably the same day next period. Hey did you know this is also a comedy?

I still love this movie.

Tries really, really hard to be Socially Significant and entertaining at the same time. Not bad, it's just too clumsy to fully work

Time is divided between broad satire, or outright farce, and earnest preachment of the type in made-for-TV "issue" movies. (At issue: a breach-of-promise lawsuit brought by an illiterate high-school grad against his alma mater.) Hiller, who once upon a time directed _Hospital_, seems to want to do something of the kind for high school, but with a script by McKinney instead of Paddy Chayefsky. The latter, however many his faults, was prone to write brighter dialogue

Thoroughly synthetic.