Most of the time, television programs are turned into movies and not the other way around. Yet in recent years, we have seen several high profile movie franchises make the transition to the silver screen, including “The Avengers” (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) and “Terminator” (“The Sarah Connor Chronicles”). Even fewer single, non-franchise movies make the jump, and CBS’ “Bad Teacher” is one such show.
Based (extremely) loosely on the Cameron Diaz movie of the same name, “Bad Teacher” tells the story of a recently divorced woman, Meredith Davis (Ari Graynor, “Fringe”), who is left with no settlement from her wealthy husband due to a comprehensive prenup she did not read. As a result, she must move in with her friend and her family. Her friend’s step-daughter Lily, played by Hollywood newcomer Sara Rodier, suggests that Meredith pose as a teacher at her school to try and meet a rich single dad.
While the plot of the pilot seems like a carbon copy of the movie, there are several key differences. The most glaring difference from the Diaz movie is that Graynor’s character was never a teacher beforehand. While Diaz started as a teacher and returned to her old job when her rich boyfriend dumped her, in the show Davis receives her job at Richard Nixon Middle School on the back of a fake resume.
This subtle change creates a wealth of opportunities for plot points later on, as characters may find out about the fraud and threaten to expose her. It is also a genius move on the part of CBS, who can pull the plug on the series at any time, wrapping it all up with an episode where Davis’ resume is exposed as a fake and she is fired.
Most of the other differences in the pilot are small, such as changes in names and personalities, a required step when moving from film to television, especially given that a sequel to the movie is also currently in production. After getting hired by the clearly smitten Principal, Carl Gaines (David Alan Grier, “In Living Color”), Davis becomes reaquainted with high school classmate Joel Kotsky, played by Ryan Hansen (“2 Broke Girls”), who knows her personality from high school but is attracted to her nonetheless.
Once at the school, the second major difference from the movie becomes clear: Davis may be a golddigger on the surface, but her heart is gold underneath. Diaz’s character was entirely self-serving throughout the movie, as her only motivation for actually teaching her students was monetary. Graynor’s character, on the other hand, sets aside her monetary ambitions at many points in order to help out her students and fellow teachers. She is still a bad teacher, but she does help her students learn valuable life lessons, which can be just as important as book smarts.
Graynor’s acting provides for quality comedic moments, but it is not an overwhelming outstanding performance. Some of the best moments, however, come from Graynor’s co-stars, not from the lead, which could prove to be problematic later in the show.While the premise of the show is just as bad as that of the movie, the series does show promise that it could be better. The pilot’s plot is similar to the first part of the movie, which allows viewers to overlook the poor writing and clichéd scenes. The times where the show diverged were the best moments in the episode, so one can only hope that as the series gets further from the movie, the episodes will improve.
If you find some free time, you may want to watch an episode or two, but waiting and checking in towards the end of the season might be the best option. “Bad
