Jake Kasdan’s Bad Teacher is a breath of fresh, cynical air. And that’s not because it’s outrageously hilarious – the jokes miss just as often as they hit – but because it’s a film that, for once, actually lives up to its title. From start to finish, the teacher in Bad Teacher is bad. She’s not somewhat bad, she’s not repentantly bad and she’s certainly not sympathetically bad.  Nope, she’s just plain ol’ bad. And that, dear reader, is a thing of rare beauty.

Take, for example, any recent comedy featuring a reprehensible caricature whose sole purpose in the film is to dish up hell for the likeable, level-headed protagonist. Think Rose Byrne in Bridesmaids, Steve Carell in Dinner for Schmucks and Zach Galifianakis is Due Date. For the first hour, we’re permitted to laugh at the mounting levels of mayhem these buffoons inflict on the hapless hero. But that all changes during the final reel, where these cartoonish caricatures are suddenly made out to be actual characters with actual feelings. Didn’t you realise that his utter social ineptitude was caused by  his absent, alcoholic father? Were you not aware that her bitchy attitude was merely a front for her deep-seated depression? How dare you laugh at these unfortunate people you horrible, horrible person!

Thankfully, Bad Teacher isn’t guilty of such hypocrisy. Not since 2003′s Bad Santa has a Hollywood comedy truly allowed audiences to revel in a debauched caricature – in this case Cameron Diaz as the boozy, narcissistic and contemptuous primary school teacher Elizabeth Hallsy — without any remorse. Of course, if the characters surrounding Elizabeth were all grounded in reality, we’d simply loathe her instead. So it’s a good thing that they’re just as absurdly drawn as she is, making for an enjoyably perverse comedy that slyly parodies the norm by demonstrating that good things do indeed happen to bad people.

For my full review of Bad Teacher, check out my suitably uncouth video review below:

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