Themes: Vigilantes, Teachers and Students, Righting the Wronged
Main Cast: Tom Berenger, Ernie Hudson, Diane Venora, Marc Anthony, Glenn Plummer
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 114 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
An ex-mercenary (Tom Berenger) becomes a take-no-prisoners teacher in a drug-ridden, gang-infested Miami high school in this campy morality tale about restoring lost American virtues to the inner city. Berenger's character, Shale, has no first name, a shadowy past as a patriotic gun-for-hire, and is temporarily unemployed and living with an idealistic teacher, Jane Hetzko (Diane Verona). Jane has angered a school gang leader, Juan Lucas (Marc Anthony), by asking the principal to get him transferred after he has threatened her in the schoolyard. After Jane is kneecapped by a gang member, Shale fakes a resume and becomes a substitute teacher, Mr. Smith. He lectures his class on the lessons of Vietnam ("We were fighting Communism") while looking for a way to get revenge on Juan. When he challenges the school's tolerance for student misbehavior, Smith is fired by the slimy principal, Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson), an ex-cop who is running for City Council and doesn't want to rock the boat. Shale stays because he cites a union rule requiring two weeks' notice. During that period, tensions escalate and eventually Shale intervenes in a gang war that degenerates into a school-destroying inferno of violence. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Review
Robert Mandel's ludicrously over-the-top action film is an instant camp classic. Tom Berenger stars as a former mercenary who takes over his girlfriend's (Diane Venora) class after she's kneecapped by one of her more unruly students. He wins over his class through the movie-teacher ploy of throwing out the curriculum to talk about real life, and about his experience in Vietnam, which he helpfully likens to a gang war. Berenger quickly runs afoul of the student thugs who work for drug-dealing principal (Ernie Hudson). As hostilities escalate, and the teacher calls in his mercenary buddies to take on Hudson's private army, the film degenerates into a hilariously surreal third act of open combat in the school corridors. When the shooting stops, the students get back their drug-free school, which now looks like a hotel in downtown Beirut. Unfortunately the screen time of Venora, who is the best thing in the movie, is severely limited. Berenger uses two expressions in the film: a sheepish one for his scenes with Venora, and a surly mask for the rest of the film. Marc Anthony is effectively nasty as Hudson's right arm, and the talented Cliff de Young scores as a noxious drug kingpin. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Cliff De Young - Wolfson; William Forsythe - Hollan; Raymond Cruz - Joey Six; Rodney Grant - Johnny Glades; Vincent Laresca - Rodriguez; Peggy Pope - Anna Dillon; Beau Weaver - Janus Showreel Narrator; Jodie Wilson - Mrs. Andrewson; Luis Guzman - Rem; Artie Malesci - Marvin; Noelle Beck - Deidre; Mercedes Enriquez - High School Nurse; Sharron Corley - Jerome; Maria Celedonio - Lisa Rodriguez; Richard Brooks - Wellman; Claudia Silva - Student; Maurice Compte - Tay; Steve DuMouchel - Buyer; Gustavo Laborie - Drug Carrier; Mike Benitez - Chemistry Teacher; David Spates - Michael; Nidia Alvarez - Student; Ana Azcuy - TV Announcer; Juan Cejas - Thug; Enrique Cruz - Student; David Diaz - Student; Lazaro Gomez - Student; David Hayes - Frank; Dwight Lauderdale - Himself; Ian Marioles - Kod Punk; Melissa Martinez - Student; Wilmer Padilla - Burgler; Travis Patterson - Student; Margo Peace - Mrs. Rollé; Ricky Simon - Student; Willis Sparks - John Janus; Marta Velasco - Rollé's Secretary; Jim Warne - Bull
Credit
Richard Fojo - Art Director, Mary Colquhoun - Casting, Carol Lewis - Casting, Patricia Field - Costume Designer, Tom Irvine - First Assistant Director, Robert Mandel - Director, Alex Mackie - Editor, Steven Bakalar - Executive Producer, Devorah Cutler - Executive Producer, Gary Chang - Composer (Music Score), Gary Chang - Songwriter, Jay Cannistraci - Makeup, Cheryl Voss - Makeup, Ron Foreman - Production Designer, Bruce Surtees - Cinematographer, Jim Steele - Producer, Morrie Eisenman - Producer, Barbara Peterson - Set Designer, Joe Foglia - Sound/Sound Designer, Glenn Randall - Stunts Coordinator, Roy Frumkes - Screenwriter, Alan Ormsby - Screenwriter, Rocco Simonelli - Screenwriter
