Teachers

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Teachers

R

Released Oct 5, 1984

1h 46m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

61%

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33 Reviews

45%

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1,000+ Ratings

High school teacher Alex Jurel (Nick Nolte) has gone from idealistic to pessimistic. His classroom methods come under scrutiny when a former pupil sues him for not ensuring student literacy, and the arrival of Lisa Hammond (JoBeth Williams), the lawyer assigned to the case, only makes things worse -- she's one of Alex's former star pupils. When Alex tries to help his other students, he just gets into more trouble with timid principal Horn (William Schallert) and the school board.

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Critics Consensus

With moments of stinging satire undermined by jarring tonal shifts, Teachers offers an education in the limits of a strong cast's ability to prop up uneven writing.

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Kathleen Carroll

New York Daily News

Fails to communicate its message of social concern and it winds up looking as frenzied and juvenile as every other teen exploitation flick.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 3, 2021

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Mike Ritchey

Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com

Nolte is always interesting to watch. Had they not been detained with an elementary-school script, both he and the picture would have fared better.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 3, 2021

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Catherine Rambeau

Detroit Free Press

Despite its faults, "Teachers" has moments that make it worth seeing. Just don't expect too much.

Rated: 5/10

Oct 3, 2021

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…aims for the black comedy of the The Hospital but ends up with sitcom parabolising…

Rated: 3/5

Nov 30, 2023

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Laurie Horn

Miami Herald

It's not the comedic touch that's the problem, it's that the touch doesn't sting.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 3, 2021

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Joe Baltake

Philadelphia Daily News

You can enjoy this film, but don't expect any revelations or answers. It asks us to laugh off a serious situation.

Oct 3, 2021

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Audience Member

My dad, he was in the movie for about 4-5 secs his time of fame

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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ashley h

Teachers is an okay film. It is about a well meaning but burned-out high school teacher tries to maintain order against the backdrop of a pending lawsuit. Nick Nolte and JoBeth Williams give decent performances. The script is a little slow in places. Arthur Hiller did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the humor and drama.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Yeah, this is no 80's classic, but it's still a pretty nice film. Interesting look at the day to day dilemmas in education.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

(**): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img]

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

When this first came out critics gave this film a lot of hate. Fast forward a couple decades later I wonder if they would feel the same way. This is exactly how most schools are these days. The last thing schools care about is education for our children. This film captures the politics of school perfectly!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

An extended after-school special

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Arthur Hiller

Director

Nick Nolte

Alex Jurel

JoBeth Williams

Lisa Hammond

Judd Hirsch

Roger Rubell

Ralph Macchio

Eddie Pilikian

Allen Garfield

Carl Rosenberg

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Synopsis

High school teacher Alex Jurel (Nick Nolte) has gone from idealistic to pessimistic. His classroom methods come under scrutiny when a former pupil sues him for not ensuring student literacy, and the arrival of Lisa Hammond (JoBeth Williams), the lawyer assigned to the case, only makes things worse -- she's one of Alex's former star pupils. When Alex tries to help his other students, he just gets into more trouble with timid principal Horn (William Schallert) and the school board.

Director: Arthur Hiller
Producer: Aaron Russo
Screenwriter: W.R. McKinney
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 5, 1984, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Surround

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