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Teaching Mrs Tingle
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Although the teen horror genre has, for the most part, worn itself thin (or maybe, worn itself out completely), screenwriter Kevin Williamson("I Know What You Did Last Summer") was allowed to direct one of his own scripts in this dark comedy that's even less interesting than the last horror film he wrote( "The Faculty"). It's unfortunate here that his dialogue also wastes the talents of two particularly excellent actors; one young(Katie Holmes) and one well, not so young but magnificently talented one(Helen Mirren). How Helen Mirren became involved with this I'll never know, but either way, one doesn't wonder why this film was delayed till the end of this past Summer.
Mirren plays the title character, a teacher completely hateful toward her students. In reality, she wouldn't be working there for too long if she acted like she does, but in a story like this that's besides the point. She is able to use her acting ability to take the character fairly far and manages to create an intense performance out of some poorly written dialogue.
Holmes plays Leigh Ann Watson, a student who needs a good grade in Mrs. Tingle's history class to become the valedictorian and hopefully, escape life in her small town. The other two main characters are Leigh Ann's friends Jo Lynn(an enjoyable performance by Marisa Coughlan) and Luke Churner(Barry Watson). Sitting around the gym, Luke presents the other two with a gift - a copy of Tingle's final exam, which he puts in Leigh Ann's bag. And, of course, Mrs. Tingle appears out of thin air to catch them in the act.
When they approach Mrs. Tingle to apologize, they end up taking her hostage, tying her to her bed. And we wait for something to happen...and wait...and wait. Williamson expects us to believe that the kids covering up what they've done to be thrilling, when it's just the opposite. He's lucky that he's brought good actors with onto this film because otherwise, this would have been a complete failure. As is, it's just a failure with interesting moments such as when Coughlan does an "Exorcist" parody - out of nowhere. Holmes also has a sweetness and charm to her that she showed in "Go", as well. The majority of the story though involves the three taking turns watching over Tingle while the dull script plays out.
In a movie like this, after a while, the only thing you're waiting for is the ending.
The DVD
VIDEO:
Miramax has tried anamorphic a couple of times in the past, sometimes successfully ("Shakespeare In Love", "eXistenZ") and sometimes not so successfully ("Rogue Trader"), but with "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" they've done an a very good job; the picture is remarkably clear and sharp, with good detail and rich, stong colors. Flesh tones are natural and accurate as well.
The only real flaw that I saw in the image were a few slight marks on the print that was used; otherwise, there's nothing in the way of shimmering or similar problems. Miramax at least seems to be trying to present their movies in anamorphic, while parent company Disney still seems to be fighting its use. If all of their movies could look as good as most of this film does, I simply don't understand why they would even think twice.
SOUND The only thing I found remarkable about the audio for this movie was really how basic it is. The movie is almost completely dialogue, with the exception of a handful of slight rock/pop songs that don't leave much of an impression and although they do sound clear, they're not put to much use on this soundtrack, nor do they have much impact. Dialogue, the most important (and in this case, uninteresting) element of the movie, sounds clear and without problems. A DTS version is also included on this DVD.
MENUS:: Nicely stylish main menus, although they're not animated.
EXTRAS: The trailer(full frame/2.0).
Final Thoughts: I do appreciate that Miramax is trying to improve in terms of their DVD efforts, but I didn't find the movie enjoyable at all.
Although the teen horror genre has, for the most part, worn itself thin (or maybe, worn itself out completely), screenwriter Kevin Williamson("I Know What You Did Last Summer") was allowed to direct one of his own scripts in this dark comedy that's even less interesting than the last horror film he wrote( "The Faculty"). It's unfortunate here that his dialogue also wastes the talents of two particularly excellent actors; one young(Katie Holmes) and one well, not so young but magnificently talented one(Helen Mirren). How Helen Mirren became involved with this I'll never know, but either way, one doesn't wonder why this film was delayed till the end of this past Summer.
Mirren plays the title character, a teacher completely hateful toward her students. In reality, she wouldn't be working there for too long if she acted like she does, but in a story like this that's besides the point. She is able to use her acting ability to take the character fairly far and manages to create an intense performance out of some poorly written dialogue.
Holmes plays Leigh Ann Watson, a student who needs a good grade in Mrs. Tingle's history class to become the valedictorian and hopefully, escape life in her small town. The other two main characters are Leigh Ann's friends Jo Lynn(an enjoyable performance by Marisa Coughlan) and Luke Churner(Barry Watson). Sitting around the gym, Luke presents the other two with a gift - a copy of Tingle's final exam, which he puts in Leigh Ann's bag. And, of course, Mrs. Tingle appears out of thin air to catch them in the act.
When they approach Mrs. Tingle to apologize, they end up taking her hostage, tying her to her bed. And we wait for something to happen...and wait...and wait. Williamson expects us to believe that the kids covering up what they've done to be thrilling, when it's just the opposite. He's lucky that he's brought good actors with onto this film because otherwise, this would have been a complete failure. As is, it's just a failure with interesting moments such as when Coughlan does an "Exorcist" parody - out of nowhere. Holmes also has a sweetness and charm to her that she showed in "Go", as well. The majority of the story though involves the three taking turns watching over Tingle while the dull script plays out.
In a movie like this, after a while, the only thing you're waiting for is the ending.
The DVD
VIDEO:
Miramax has tried anamorphic a couple of times in the past, sometimes successfully ("Shakespeare In Love", "eXistenZ") and sometimes not so successfully ("Rogue Trader"), but with "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" they've done an a very good job; the picture is remarkably clear and sharp, with good detail and rich, stong colors. Flesh tones are natural and accurate as well.
The only real flaw that I saw in the image were a few slight marks on the print that was used; otherwise, there's nothing in the way of shimmering or similar problems. Miramax at least seems to be trying to present their movies in anamorphic, while parent company Disney still seems to be fighting its use. If all of their movies could look as good as most of this film does, I simply don't understand why they would even think twice.
SOUND The only thing I found remarkable about the audio for this movie was really how basic it is. The movie is almost completely dialogue, with the exception of a handful of slight rock/pop songs that don't leave much of an impression and although they do sound clear, they're not put to much use on this soundtrack, nor do they have much impact. Dialogue, the most important (and in this case, uninteresting) element of the movie, sounds clear and without problems. A DTS version is also included on this DVD.
MENUS:: Nicely stylish main menus, although they're not animated.
EXTRAS: The trailer(full frame/2.0).
Final Thoughts: I do appreciate that Miramax is trying to improve in terms of their DVD efforts, but I didn't find the movie enjoyable at all.
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