Reno Rangan A perfect role for Julianne Moore. All the other characters were nicely arranged around her's. It was a story based on the high school teacher and her ex-student, joining together for a school project. In the middle part, a wonderful development in the story turns the convincing second half. Some people are not a good listener, they try to finish the sentence before the speech givers. Such small instance, sometime may create a big trouble. Not right away, but it takes time of its own. At some point the truth will meet and all the hell will break out.A movie with a good narration, but very familiar and predictable. Pleased performances, individually, but casts did not blend well together. Overall, a better movie than what I've heard about it, especially compared to so many overrated recent films. Easily just an above average, should have been better in the many parts, but the quality is there and entertains. In the end, it gives satisfactory for what it is. If you expect something more beautiful or powerful, this isn't the right film for you.6.5/10

rbrb This is meant to be a comedy but very little I can find funny in it.How on earth can film makers(Hollywood) make a joke about a school teacher having sex on school premises with her former student?!In today's climate that is just not on. The story is about a failed albeit young writer getting his play performed at his old school.The play looks awful as is this movie.Poor acting and ham acting throughout the picture; a poor script, no sympathetic characters etc etc.Generous that I give it: 3/10

spelvini With any other actress in the lead role of a spinster English teacher in a small Pennsylvania town The English Teacher may have flopped entirely on its own misshapen face, but under the devices of Juliann Moore nerdy Linda Sinclair shows us a lot about how best intentions can cause the worst outcomes and teach us so much about life.Teaching high-school English in Kingston, PA Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) is a judgmental customer when it comes to dating. At 45, and unmarried she views every potential mate with a harsh grading system much like the one she uses in her class room where students are delighted by her firm but supportive guidance. When former star pupil Jason Sherwood (Michael Angarano) comes to town disheartened from his labors in New York to become a playwright, Linda attempts to show her students and surly Jason what it's like to see creative writing fleshed out. Linda pushes the young writers play into production at the high school much to the chagrin of his father Dr. Tom Sherwood (Greg Kinnear) who wants his son to become a lawyer. When Linda and Jason sleep together the event shakes the English teacher out of her well-constructed cocoon and when the student body gets wind of the affair, Linda discovers that she must come out of her shell completely to save her job, save the show, and rebuild her own self respect.They say that the best comedies are terrible things that happen to other people. When we see poor Julianne Moore's hopeless romantic Linda Sinclair's life tumble our initial reaction is thwarted by a cavalcade of events that progressively erode into a tragedy except for the fact that her character loves every aspect of what is happening to her because it fuels a deep-seated need for drama in her sheltered world.The filmmakers have a host of support actors led by the stalwart Nathan Lane as the wise and sensitive drama teacher Carl Kapinas (whose name all the students purposely mispronounce to make it sound dirty) and Lily Collins, Norbert Leo Butz, Jessica Hecht, Charlie Saxton and others. Watching Jason's play in rehearsal offers some of the most hilarious moments in the film, and anyone who has been in high school productions, or community theatre for that matter will see some of their friends here.The films overall subversive nature is off-putting for anyone really thinking about what the screenwriters Dan Chariton, and Stacy Chariton are putting out there. On the one hand they have their story narrated by an unseen Narrator presented by Fiona Shaw whose voice like the goddess of English Literature reminds us of the correct direction of the tale as it unfolds. This traditional and romantic viewpoint is undermined by the real-life events of a young playwright attempting to have his own writer's voice heard. The clashes of these two realities coalesce into an unusual parable about male and female relationships as unattainable in the post-modern world.The overall idea that our public literature classes are producing staid and packaged pseudo intellectuals is addressed by the suggestive Narrator of the story being essentially shut out as Linda finds the right man for her. This is high comedy, something we smile at as the screen fades and anyone who has been in high school will feel the effects of the banal questioning from teachers after we have read A Tale of Two Cities, begging us to understand the idea of self-sacrifice.

tigerfish50 Considering that 'The English Teacher' was clearly intended to be a light comedy, watching it while awake is an excruciating experience. The film's basic concept has some promise - a failed young playwright returns to his home town where he encounters the high school English teacher who had inspired him to write. Unfortunately the idea is treated as broad farce from the moment the disillusioned Jason runs into prim Ms Sinclair at an ATM, and she mistakes him for a mugger. After attacking her former student with a pepper spray, the apologetic teacher decides to recommend Jason's latest work to her school's drama department.The remainder of the film exudes a sense of desperation, as director and cast put on an over-acting showcase at the level of provincial theater. After several pratfalls, shameful revelations and last minute hitches in search of easy laughs and melodrama, the play opens to a predictable reception. Needless to say, Ms Sinclair's dedication earns her the formulaic romantic reward of a 'unexpected' suitor. As the curtain falls, she sheds her primness for a prosperous, contented future in American rom-com dreamland. It makes Jane Austen's work look like gritty urban drama.