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James Belushi plays an angry alcoholic teacher desperate for a career change after being dumped by his girlfriend. When he gets a cosmic offer the very next day for a principal position at a violent high school, he reluctantly accepts the offer.
We are expected to believe that mullet dominated Belushi is a real bad ass fella. He rides a motorcycle, frequently knocks over bar stools, and chases people around with a baseball bat if they piss him off. He seems to be the perfect fit to clean up a school of criminals.
Suspension of disbelief. I think suspension of disbelief requires one to use brain and gut muscles that are paramount to utilizing other functions of the human condition such as forgiveness and the benefit of the doubt. Second chances, though often ill advised, are granted based on using this area of non prejudice. The question is, how can anyone grow as an individual without this active function?
This is the case when watching The Principal. No other way will allow much inspection of the solid script, which really spends time with the students and forms a bond between a teacher ready to give up on his life reaching out to others ready to do the same.
We have tropes here, more so now because this was from a period when things happening in this film weren't as worn out. There are laughable scenarios and forehead slapping moments seasoning the mix. But what stood out to me was not just the gritty location or the rugged look of the actual film stock and camera work/lighting, but the seriousness behind the actors in their roles. Because the writing was solid and the characters each had enough screen time to be able to tell their story, we get something to invest in, using of course our suspension of disbelief.
The Principal got slammed when it was initially released, and I haven't found anything much positive about it since it came out, whether on line or in the trade archives. However, I will say that this is the kind of film that can be very easily dismissed because it has the odds stacked against it.
It is silly, and it is cliche, and it isn't politically correct. But on the other hand it stands within the ranks of other films of that period like Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me. What it does not do is ooze any kind of sentiment that begs for oscars or other achievement awards. It gets right to the core as soon as it can, and getting there still doesn't feel rushed or contrived. This is not a film you stand up and cheer for at the end. It's essentially a routine picture that does end in some violence, but I still feel as if this picture is responsible in the sense that it doesn't just "waste kids" because they're bad. It is fully aware of James being the white guy. It is aware that a lot of the problems here aren't with race division as much as inter-race relations. People of the same skin are hurting each other. But this is not a loud shout for ghetto/poverty injustice as much as it is an action picture with some comic relief that usually misses its mark.
I didn't sit there and think about this picture as being an undiscovered gem. I understand why it got low ratings and continues to gather low ratings to this day. But I will say that The Principal is a solid effort, and it was fun to watch.
+
The Principal
(1987)
(1987)
James Belushi plays an angry alcoholic teacher desperate for a career change after being dumped by his girlfriend. When he gets a cosmic offer the very next day for a principal position at a violent high school, he reluctantly accepts the offer.
We are expected to believe that mullet dominated Belushi is a real bad ass fella. He rides a motorcycle, frequently knocks over bar stools, and chases people around with a baseball bat if they piss him off. He seems to be the perfect fit to clean up a school of criminals.
Suspension of disbelief. I think suspension of disbelief requires one to use brain and gut muscles that are paramount to utilizing other functions of the human condition such as forgiveness and the benefit of the doubt. Second chances, though often ill advised, are granted based on using this area of non prejudice. The question is, how can anyone grow as an individual without this active function?
This is the case when watching The Principal. No other way will allow much inspection of the solid script, which really spends time with the students and forms a bond between a teacher ready to give up on his life reaching out to others ready to do the same.
We have tropes here, more so now because this was from a period when things happening in this film weren't as worn out. There are laughable scenarios and forehead slapping moments seasoning the mix. But what stood out to me was not just the gritty location or the rugged look of the actual film stock and camera work/lighting, but the seriousness behind the actors in their roles. Because the writing was solid and the characters each had enough screen time to be able to tell their story, we get something to invest in, using of course our suspension of disbelief.
The Principal got slammed when it was initially released, and I haven't found anything much positive about it since it came out, whether on line or in the trade archives. However, I will say that this is the kind of film that can be very easily dismissed because it has the odds stacked against it.
It is silly, and it is cliche, and it isn't politically correct. But on the other hand it stands within the ranks of other films of that period like Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me. What it does not do is ooze any kind of sentiment that begs for oscars or other achievement awards. It gets right to the core as soon as it can, and getting there still doesn't feel rushed or contrived. This is not a film you stand up and cheer for at the end. It's essentially a routine picture that does end in some violence, but I still feel as if this picture is responsible in the sense that it doesn't just "waste kids" because they're bad. It is fully aware of James being the white guy. It is aware that a lot of the problems here aren't with race division as much as inter-race relations. People of the same skin are hurting each other. But this is not a loud shout for ghetto/poverty injustice as much as it is an action picture with some comic relief that usually misses its mark.
I didn't sit there and think about this picture as being an undiscovered gem. I understand why it got low ratings and continues to gather low ratings to this day. But I will say that The Principal is a solid effort, and it was fun to watch.
+