Fantastic Movie

view_and_review

Lean on Me was a song and a movie I've loved since childhood. Watching it again after nearly 30 years I have two observations:

1.) I realize that I never watched the movie from beginning to end.
2.) I have a lot greater appreciation for the movie than I ever had.

In 1987 Eastside High in Paterson, New Jersey was a jungle (when the school was shown in '87 the background music was "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns n Roses). The test scores were in the toilet, drugs were rampant as well as violence, vagrancy, and vandalism. Joe Clark (Morgan Freeman) was brought in to clean the school up and get the test scores up before the state took over the school.

This was a fantastic movie with a fantastic story and fantastic performances. Morgan Freeman was stellar as the principal, Joe Clark. He was loud, abusive, arrogant, and effective. He didn't see pleasantries as a means of getting what he wanted he only saw force and intimidation as the most effective method. He made friends and he made enemies and he made a difference.

Joe Clark was a very polarizing figure. He wasn't out to make friends he was out to do the job he was tasked with and that was going to take a lot of hard work-- and he needed full and complete cooperation. He ran his school more like a boot camp than a high school but this was an extreme case that required extreme actions.

Lean on Me was heartwarming and thought-provoking. There were some stimulating arguments and dialogue between Joe Clark and other characters as they debated his methods. All of it was captivating as you watched Joe slowly transform the school with the help of the remaining teachers.

score 10/10

view_and_review 18 August 2018

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4291403/