Lower Learning

source: Lower Learning

If you're looking for a fun, no pressure movie that you can just sit back and relax with, this one's for you. Not the most complicated of plots, but certainly has its funny parts and charm. Rob Corddry is a comedic genius in my opinion, and I always enjoy his performances. This movie was no exception. Overall a good time, if you're aware of what you're watching, which is a simple comedic picture. Jason Biggs is his usual charming and good guy self. Many heart warming moments in the movie with him as the vice principal. Eva Longoria makes one of her first film debuts and fairs well. This movie blends a time tested element of comedy, which is juxtaposing small children and adult themes, so it goes without saying this one may not be for the kids. Just watch and try not to think about it too much, and you'll have a good time. The world needs more lighthearted comedies like this

"Lower Learning" is one of those annoying movies that thinks it's so much more clever than it actually is. The kind of movie that thinks every single line of dialogue is supposed to be a Tarantino-like one-liner that people will be repeating for the next couple of decades, we'll figure out less important stuff like plot and characters later on. Well, guess what: Mark Lafferty isn't quite Tarantino, and everything about this movie is so laughably forced that it almost becomes unwatchable. How long did it take these people to even find actors willing to utter lines like "we have to be as quiet as a fairy fart"? Honestly, just let that line sink in for a while. If that made the final script, I don't even want to think about what lines might have been cut (if any). If you can't write a decent line of dialogue to save your life, you probably shouldn't transform more than half of the scenes into long conversations that barely have anything to do with the actual story. Through the power of trial and error the movie does occasionally stumble into a territory where it's almost good (the "they get detention!" scene has a peculiar charm to it), but these moments are way too few and far apart to make me stop hating this movie. Garbage.

Lower Learning is pretty funny, pretty cute and the kids in the film are awesome and adorable. If you like low-brow, feel good, quirky, maybe dumb-at-times movies then you will like Lower Learning. It is an easy watch that will make you laugh out loud a few times. All the characters, especially the kids and Rob Corddry are great. They are strong and each have a funny tid bit about them. While I don't care for Jason Briggs he didn't annoy or bother me in this film. Eva Longoria plays the inspector who has a weakness for any 'light' drug. You get to see Eva doing whip-its, which, let's face it, is funny. What else is always funny? Kids doing and saying adult things. Lower Learning is kind of like an extremely crude, not for kids version of Little Rascals and the Kindergarten Cop. It ends up being just as sweet and endearing, with an important message even if presented in a silly, maybe disturbing, way.

Lower Learning is funny and a wild ride. From the teachers drinking to the principal having lobsters delivered to his office, you are in for a roaring good time. Within Lower Learning there is tons and tons of tongue and cheek humor, with is not only at times witty but also smart. With a cast like this I wish they would have let them do what they do best. Eva Longoria plays a role that many have never seen her in before and it is sort of refreshing. Jason Biggs is raunchy and full of laughs but the role seemed a bit stretched and unnatural. I also wish that it focused on the problem at hand and the whole film seemed a but rushed. If you are looking for a film that will make you laugh this one is it!

For the reviewers that said "those that reviewed this film low didn't like it because the graphic sex conversation offended them" Well not for me, but maybe some. But even if the graphic sex was done correctly and so far the only person I know that would be able to pull off a movie with kids while adults discuss sex, etc would be Kevin Smith. Also there is good "over-the-top" and bad "over-the-top" this was bad "under-the-bottom" The kids in the movie do a decent job for the prediciment they were put in by their agents, or parents and their acting tried to save this movie, but I think they knew they couldn't save the movie if they stuffed it full of Hannah Montana money. For the adults with the exception of Biggs, my CAT could act better than the rest of the adult cast. I actually for a moment thought that Biggs at one point was going to break out a pie and do nasty things to it, honestly. Yeah sure maybe its my not so subtle attempt at humor and making fun of this movie, but seriously my joke was AT LEAST ten times better than this film, that I can assure you of. The poor children were put in odd, awkward situations almost as if the Director said okay now, improvise, and the kids are like "seriously?" so the director saws : Say "c**k S**ck*ng Mofo. The kids are like "um, OK." The first ten minutes were funny. Scenes like Biggs and Fowler in the parking lot, when you first see Billing in his office, etc. I actually though the kid farting while raising the flag was a bit funny. For me was Potter's character is when this movie started heading south. I worked in a Family Health Club and at a teen center and heard more vlugar stuff than anything going on in this film and most of the kids were YOUNGER than those in this film. That was scary. What's scarier is that I actually had to watch a movie that seemed to be based on those things said. So no, it's not offensive, but it was certainly scary. I was expecting a comedy. Now I question those that wanted to make this film. This is just one man's opinion, but there seems to be consensus with the majority on this board as to why and how this film got made. Yeah we know "how" money, but why. Satires are supposed to be funny not create a lot of bad awkward silence with the actors. I could have sworn I saw a couple times the kids look off camera to the director looking "you want me to what?" This movie has replaced the Avengers as the worst movie I have ever seen.

Lower Learning is pure crap, plain and simple. I love Jason Biggs, but this movie has nothing hilarious about it. I was bored senseless through this movie actually, and don't recall laughing even once. Eva Longoria Parker may be famous due to her Desprate Houswives part, but I do not care for her at all. Surprisingly I enjoy trashy DTV stuff, i'm very open minded, but there is nothing what so ever, enjoyable about this. Rob Coddry's character as the principal is especially disgusting. Bottom line. Nothing much to view here. Spend your time on better comedies. 2/10

It opened up funny. It opened up with a unique look at school. Then it seemed to disappear somewhere into strange and stupid land. Then the humor came back for a while. Then it disappeared again.. It has moments of being really good, then all of a sudden loses everything again and becomes a wreck. Sometimes the scenes were downright stupid and senseless and the acting was horrible and the dialog was outright stupid and boring and useless. Other times the scenes were horribly insanely funny. I think you might enjoy it more if you're not sober.

Well, a waste of Cordry, at least. I really wish the writers and editors hadn't been lazy for this film, it coulda been funny. It was fimed well but thats not saying much when the material was lacking. It was a series of throwaway dark skits. Like, maybe, a bunch of deleted Upright Citizen Brigade scenes, not quite ready for the big show. A lot of the little story ideas were good but when they were put together for a full length film, they just didn't seem to work. Try again, writer/director guy, but this time, maybe write a better outline and make sure you know what you want the the audience to feel and, most of all, write BETTER jokes.

I worked in a 'troubled' school district for two years, and uh, a whole lot of this movie is a LOT more true than one might think; from experience, I mean, a teacher pouring booze in a coffee cup (yes), a PE teacher stashing porno in his locker-room office (yes), a pill-popping school inspector (yes). A lot of the small moments were, in fact, absolutely dead on. Things I've seen: an administrator strut into a parent's group in a $4,000 suit and tell them, "I'm not here for missionary work"; taking over a 2nd grade classroom while the recently-divorced teacher went to the break room and smashed furniture while screaming obscenities audible through the whole school, then coming back as if nothing had happened... However, the structure of this movie just didn't make it for me, and actually, while there are some awesome, laugh-out-loud (if black comedic and uncomfortable) moments in here, the whole just doesn't work. The overarching theme of corruption and etc. would have been, if the 'story' as such had been properly handled, unnecessary. Although I do question whether if, someone had actually done an accurate portrayal of just how demoralized and chaotic and just plain dirty schools can get, it's possible that 1) nobody would believe it and 2) nobody would find it funny except those who have lived it. So, 3 stars, mostly for the little pieces, and the brief moments with the kids ("No, I can't hug you; lawsuits, remember?" Yep, been there). At least SOMEONE made a movie about elementary school from the perspective of the staff. This isn't a good movie, but at least it's out there.