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The true story of 'crazy' Joe Clark, the fiery principal of Eastside High School in Patterson, New Jersey, is transformed by the director of 'The Karate Kid' and the original 'Rocky' into a (no surprise here) strictly artificial, assembly line crowd pleaser. The film is notable mostly for Morgan Freeman's typically dynamic portrayal of a compelling lead character: the George S. Patton of academics, who made his reputation by stalking school halls with a bullhorn, a baseball bat, and a series of tough, inspirational sermons, speeches and lectures to students and faculty alike about responsibility and pride.
The deterioration of Eastside High from a model institution in 1967 to a mid-1980s netherworld of graffiti, drugs and indifference is introduced in a stunning visual dissolve, but the transition pales next to Clark's ascent from dedicated administrator to scholastic Messiah. Did the entire student body actually storm City Hall in protest of his arrest, and was he rescued by the 11th-hour arrival of the latest, improved test scores? It's unlikely, but let's face it: Hollywood never was much inclined to let the facts get in the way of a good story.
score 4/10
mjneu59 30 November 2010
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2346624/ |
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6-5-2020 22:06:18
