NIGHT SCHOOL (2018)

I'll give NIGHT SCHOOL credit where credit's due: Even though it's a movie about a high school dropout (TEDDY WALKER) who goes back to finally graduate in order to get a good job and make sure his fiancée (LISA) doesn't discover that he's not rich, and even though the teacher he gets (CARRIE) is a pretty woman who calls him out on all his flaws and who uses non-traditional methods, the plot (especially the last part) isn't as predictable as you might think. I won't spoil the surprising things that happen, but I'll tell you about the surprising thing that does not happen here and does happen in similar movies: LISA doesn't turn out to be a gold-digger or a bridezilla or anything like that, making it easier for TEDDY to dump her and go after CARRIE. That's about it for giving credit. I felt like I was getting dumber with each new scene! I liked Tiffany Haddish's performance in GIRLS TRIP a lot. It was over-the-top, but director Malcolm D. Lee knew when and how to restrain her. Here, I don't know if Malcolm wasn't paying attention, but Tiffany and most of the other actors are out of control! I could tell in advance that the humour was going to be targeted at adults who don't like jokes that make them think too much... but for the love of God! In the very first scene she and Kevin Hart are together, they make noises at each other after running out of insults! It's like his movie was targeted at babies! Speaking of, the target audience for comedies like these don't want them to be longer than 90 minutes, so why does this one go on for 110? Going back to GIRLS TRIP... Do you remember that the zip-lining scene felt out of place because the humour in the rest of the movie, while not exactly subtle, wasn't as cartoonish? The solution would've been to add more scenes for consistency. This movie seemed to be on that track, but it only has 2 or 3 of those moments, and it's not enough. TEDDY has classmates of different ages, personalities and even ethnicities (you know, like COMMUNITY, except that show was funny and showed real connections between the characters), including BOBBY, an inmate Skyping from prison. I can buy that he's allowed to do that (he's always surrounded by guards), but why is he connected during scenes out of class? The movie opens with a flashback in 2001. They play EYE OF THE TIGER by Survivor. It doesn't fit with the era nor the situation. TEDDY isn't working out; the scene is about an important test. No, the song doesn't play when he's studying (which would work as the parody of a training montage); it plays when he arrives to school and sits down.

No grade (best bad movie)
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