The Principal (1987)

Absolutely the worst movie.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The basic story was told (and much more effectively, I might add - perhaps because it was based on real people and events) a couple of years later in "Lean On Me." This movie is a fictional account of roughly the same chain of events - a teacher gets assigned as principal to an inner city school that's become a haven for gangs and drug-dealing and he sets himself to the task of cleaning it up. Perhaps because it's not based in reality, at times "The Principal" comes across as a bit too extreme, and at times it even seems a bit silly, to be honest. Some of the characters - especially Miss Orozco (Rae Dawn Chong) also seem to be a bit of a puzzle. I'll explain my confusion over her later.I will say that James Belushi did well with this part. He played Rick Latimer - the down and out teacher who gets assigned to Brandel High School because there's no one else to go there and basically the Board of Education is throwing him away. That's the reality of Branden. Neither the students nor the teachers have anywhere to go. That, by the way, is my confusion over Miss Orozco. Why was she there? She seemed to be a pretty good, young teacher who clearly (as the movie finally points out) does have options. Her character seemed out of place because she didn't belong in that school; the attack on her seemed out of place because it really didn't serve to push forward the main story; her budding friendship (romance - it wasn't really clear) with Latimer seemed out of place. That's an aside, mind you. Again - Belushi did well as Latimer. For a down and out teacher, it seemed a bit strange that he would set himself to the hard work of trying to clean up the school, but the characters in this admittedly aren't that believable.The story works, though. It's a good story. It inevitably draws you in and gets you rooting for Latimer. It's all pretty clear-cut in terms of good guys and bad guys. There are no real moral dilemmas to confront you because everything is so clear-cut. You just watch, and you stay interested. You know there has to be a final confrontation coming between Latimer and Victor (the drug-dealing student who "ruled" the school until Latimer arrived) and you basically wait for the final confrontation between the two. That final confrontation is for part of the time suspenseful, but in the end it also turns rather silly. Latimer's "my turn" after Victor gives him a pretty good beating made me chuckle a bit.It's not a bad movie. It's too simple and straightforward and it has some extraneous material and some extraneous characters, but it's not bad. Even enjoyable, for the most part. (7/10)

I first saw The Principal as a young boy. It made quite an impression on me, and now as an adult, I can't help but revisit it every now and then. Despite having lost some of its shock value over time, the movie has retained its suspense. The style is unmistakably Eighties (I think in an endearing way) and James Belushi's charisma and drama chops carry the story- which occasionally gets silly (also endearingly). The plot is delivered in a compelling way, and evenly divides it focus between character development and the central conflict. By today's standards, the exaggeration and melodrama would probably lead most to dismiss The Principal as stupid. Although I partially appreciate it in the way it was intended, a lot of what makes the movie entertaining is how easily it can be laughed at.

Rick Latimer (James Belushi) is a high-school teacher with some social issues. Hard drinking and soon to be divorced, Latimer flies of the handle when he spies his ex out having a drink in a bar with another man. Up before the school board, who have tired of his combustible attitude, Latimer is informed that he has finally got the Principal position he has long since courted. Trouble is is that it is at Brandel High, a notoriously troubled school where violence and crime are part of the curriculum. Taking up an attitude of fighting fire with fire and working from his motto of "No More," Latimer hopes to bring order and respect to the school. But with only Security guard Jake Phillips (Louis Gossett Jr) as an ally and the thuggish school kingpin Victor Duncan (Michael Wright) after his blood, Latimer will do well to just survive the first week.The formula of such movies like The Principal is now seen as old hat, post the release of Christopher Cain's movie you can trace a line from Lean On Me in 1989, to The Substitute 1996 and on to One Eight Seven the following year. Prior to The Principal the topic is a bit more thin on the ground, we can probably laud the excellent Blackboard Jungle from 1955, while 1984 saw Mark L. Lester tap into the video nasty zeitgeist of the early 80s with his trashy Classs Of 1984. So plenty of film's, and similar types like Stand And Deliver, from which to choose should you require a night in with a teacher intent on straightening out those ruffians; whilst ensuring the good kids get the education they deserve. So why choose The Principal then?Well James Belushi's fans don't need much convincing here, an always likable star who knows the limits of his talents, the film gives him the chance to mix serious drama with his comedy bent. This played out with immeasurable cool too. Latimer is one bad ass teacher, he drinks hard, plays hard, whirls his baseball bat and rides a motorcycle. He's no Dolph Lungdren (Detention) or a Tom Berrenger (The Substitute), but Belushi can carry off the tough side of Latimer, whilst showing his fallibility's via little comedy moments as he wonders just what the hell he is doing here. Belushi is admirably supported by Gossett Jr, a believable tough security guard if ever there was one, while a lot of the film's strength is drawn from the developing relationship between the two men. Of the rest of the cast it's Michael Wright who stands out as head thug Victor. Already at the time of release a cult actor thanks to his turn in The Wanderers, Wright is supremely cool and terrifying into the bargain. When he shouts "I expel you," you start to pack your bags, that is unless you are Principal Latimer of course.As ever with a film of this type there are complaints that it's full of stereotypes, but were they in 1987? Director Cain is for sure not addressing the then fledgling problems of education and crime amongst African-American and Latino school kids. But he is not shying away from the issue either. That the most unsavoury point in the film sees a white youth perpetrate crime on a black teacher tends to get over looked by snarky PC critics. Make no bones about it tho, this is more macho than the rest, again this is something that has upset many a critic who prefers the "reach out to the kids" approach in something like Morgan Freeman's excellent, but tonally different, Lean On Me. Oh yes sir, this is taking a different tack, but I for one appreciate having a different angle from which to view such subject matter. Some hooligans can be saved by reaching out to them, but lets not kid ourselves that some of them don't need more than just a telling off from The Principal. Yes the film is also very 80s, none more so than with the soundtrack where we get a mix of the bad; some American Heartbeat sounding fluffer, and the great; Strafe's pulse rocking "Set It Off". Not setting out to win awards or moralise about an ongoing problem, The Principal goes for a tough and gritty approach for this semester. Amen to that sir. 8/10

"The Principal" was released in 1987. During the 1980's, public schools of many inner-city communities were at a low ebb, with suburban flight and state/city cost-cutting contributing to the poor conditions. This led to many schools becoming especially vulnerable to gang activity and other crimes. New York educator Joe Clark became infamous around this time for his bat-wielding tactics, and was honored by president Ronald Reagan. Most teen-centric films of the 80's focused on upper-middle-class suburbia, and teens of color were barely seen, if at all. Hollywood soon resurrected the "well-meaning teacher confronts the urban dilemma" movie, and "The Principal" was one of them.Starring Saturday Night Live alumnus Jim Belushi, in this film he plays Rick Latimer. In an unnamed city (but filmed in Oakland, CA), Rick is a teacher at a suburban prep school; he's also recently divorced. One evening, while visiting a bar he sees his ex-wife with another man. Drunk and enraged, he harasses the man and vandalizes his car with a baseball bat.After being arrested (it's unclear what charges are filed, if any), Rick is called in by the school board for sanctioning. It is decided that he won't be fired, but instead he'll be promoted: only he'll also transferred to Brandel: An inner-city high school that has seen its better days.Now the principal of Brandel, Rick shows up on his motorcycle to see gang attacks, kids wandering graffiti-tagged hallways, drug commerce and other vices taking place out in the open. The teachers there are ambivalent and mostly resigned to the sub-standard conditions. Aghast, Rick calls an impromptu school assembly, and declares that things will start to change at the school immediately-- only, perpetual senior Victor, a gang leader and defacto "boss" of the school, will hear none of this, and declares war on Rick and his reform ideas.The Academy Award-winning but underrated Lou Gossett continues to slum it here, as Jake, the head of security. He soon becomes one of Rick's few allies in enforcing law and order at the school. Another ally is Rae Dawn Chong as Ms. Orozco, one of the few teachers who doesn't mind going out of her way to help the kids. There are hints of romance, but they are never followed-up on.An unusually labyrinthine locker room is the setting for the climax of the film, as Rick has a final showdown with Victor and his gang.The film is rife with several stock characters and situations, but as a B-action film, it delivers most of its points effectively.It's amusing to look back at some of Belushi's early vehicles, before his box office status petered out in the early 90's, before his comeback with "According to Jim".