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The Principal

Play trailer Poster for The Principal R 1987 1h 49m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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44% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 51% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The new principal (James Belushi) of a drug-infested high school joins with a security guard (Louis Gossett Jr.) to clean it up.
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The Principal

Critics Reviews

View All (9) Critics Reviews
Michael A. Smith Nolan's Pop Culture Review I'd like to see Morgan Freeman take over THIS school. Rated: 3/5 Mar 15, 2008 Full Review Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS) Rated: 1/5 Mar 9, 2006 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily An arresting drama starring likable Jim Belushi as an antihero principal trying to clean up a violent, drug-infested high school. Won't be a favorite of ACLU members. Rated: 3/5 Oct 9, 2005 Full Review Robin Clifford Reeling Reviews Rated: 2/5 Nov 19, 2004 Full Review Matt Kelemen Las Vegas CityLife Rated: 3/5 Apr 1, 2004 Full Review Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Rated: 2/5 Aug 22, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (160) audience reviews
Jelisije J A new principle comes to a ghetto school and fights for the soul of the school and its students. not necessary a bad film but its a film I never want to rewatch for a genre that I never cared for. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 11/23/24 Full Review Jeffrey P There were a lot of these types of movies in the mid to late 1980's and early 1990's that dealt with inner city blight and urban decay and getting the rest of America to sympathize and work with it. As far as movies go, it’s an average movie of average quality, that’s amusing enough to loosely keep viewer attention. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/25/24 Full Review Michael W This dramedy was great. James Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr., Michael Wright, Rae Dawn Chong, Jacob Vargas, and the rest of the cast did a great job in this movie. The plot of the movie was intense, dramatic, and humorous. It's about fighting to save a school that is suffering from drugs and crime. If you haven't seen this movie yet, check it out sometime. Don't listen to the bad reviews this movie has gotten. Those people have terrible tastes in movies. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/24 Full Review Mon B I'd forgotten the violent high school movies of the 80's- they seem very cliched and stereotype now. But it's still a fun look back. You love the buddy cop friendship of Lou Gossett and Jim Belushi, you love the bad kid that turns it all around in the end, and the music was the worst of the 80's. We ate these up for some reason. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/06/23 Full Review Sean M Pretty good 80s movie. Very cheesy at times. The ending seemed rushed though. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/08/23 Full Review Josh G Education and violence go hand in hand, drive your motorcycle through your work place and stop crime, wear a suit a ditch the cape. It's silly over the top and almost kindergarden cop, but not quite it's so 80's, so very 80's. I had fun. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Principal

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Movie Info

Synopsis The new principal (James Belushi) of a drug-infested high school joins with a security guard (Louis Gossett Jr.) to clean it up.
Director
Christopher Cain
Screenwriter
Frank Deese
Production Co
TriStar Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$18.8M
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Surround
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