High concept comedies like “The Hangover” and “Horrible Bosses” work because they maintain a level of implausibility and ridiculousness throughout. In the end, no one is going to get so drunk that they forget marrying a stripper or pulling out a tooth, just like no one is going to get so worked up at work that they execute a plan to murder their boss. Because their humor borders on fantasy, we can laugh despite the incorrectness of it all.
“Bad Teacher,” on the other hand, walks on some dangerous ground by presenting its central character with an unflinching realism. Cameron Diaz’s teacher is a pot-smoking, whiskey-gulping, foul-mouthed, shallow mess that could care less about the kids that she’s getting paid to educate. Instead, she would rather focus on getting a nice new pair of breasts and a rich man to fondle them. When she needs money, rather than work hard like a respectable person, she embezzles, cheats, steals, and bribes.
Sadly, this actually happens in the real world; it’s not some cock-and-bull story concocted by some bored screenwriters. In just the past five years going through private secondary school, I have seen two teachers lose their jobs from accusations of sexual impropriety with a minor and possession of child pornography. These people are very much real. Same goes for negligent teachers, which are very prevalent in poorer school districts. My cousin works in junior high public education (not unlike Diaz’s character) in one of the most at-risk neighborhoods in the country, and I’ve heard too many horror stories from her about the people who work there that don’t even deserve to be called an educator.
Marshall and the Movies 
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