Themes: Inner City Blues, Teachers and Students, High School Life
Main Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney Vance, Robin Bartlett, Bruklin Harris
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
In this drama, a school teacher discovers that it takes more than the ABCs to get through to a class of "uneducatable" kids. When Lou Anne Johnson (Michelle Pfeiffer), a nine-year veteran of the Marine Corps with a degree in education, begins a new job at an inner-city school in California, the principal (George Dzundza) warns her that her class will be the "rejects from Hell" -- kids with severe social problems and no interest in education. While at first her African-American and Latino students scoff at Lou Anne, she ultimately gets them to open up to learning and literature, through a combination of bribery (candy bars) and intimidation (her karate training from the Marines comes in handy), and she's able to reach out to the students who need her the most: Callie (Bruklin Harris), a bright girl who believes she's thrown away her future when she becomes pregnant; Emilio (Wade Dominquez), a macho bully whose violence is stifling his academic potential; and Raul (Renoly Santiago), the brightest kid in the class, who is afraid to show his intelligence. Dangerous Minds was adapted from a memoir by Lou Anne Johnson entitled My Posse Don't Do Homework. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Renoly Santiago - Raul Sanchero; Skye Bassett - Jody; Paula Garcés - Alvina; Richard Grant - Durrell Benton; Al Israel - Mr Santiego; Ebony Jerido - Deanne; Irene Olga Lopez - Woman #1/School Office; Sarah Marshall - Librarian #2; John Neville - Waiter; Bernie Pock - Stunt Student; Lorraine Toussaint - Irene Roberts; Beatrice Winde - Mary Benton; Karina Arroyave - Josy; Roman Cisneros - Mr Sanchero; Ivan Sergei - Huero; Wade Dominguez - Emilio
Credit
Nancy Patton - Art Director, Bonnie Timmermann - Casting, Bobbie Read - Costume Designer, John N. Smith - Director, Tom Rolf - Editor, Lisa Coleman - Composer (Music Score), Wendy Melvoin - Composer (Music Score), Chris Squires - Camera Operator, Kim Marks - Cinematographer, Pierre Letarte - Cinematographer, Jerry Bruckheimer - Producer, Don Simpson - Producer, Catherine Mann - Set Designer, Philip Toolin - Set Designer, David Ronne - Sound/Sound Designer, Kathy Nelson - Supervisor/Manager, Ronald Bass - Screenwriter
