School of Life

View Date: 8/22/09

This film, featuring Ryan Reynolds, is the story about a middle school that is entranced by the arrival of a new teacher and his unusual but exciting teaching methods. But it turns out that this teacher, played by Reynolds, is hiding a secret that could change everyone’s outlook. Another teacher, whose son is also attending the school and is very excited by the new arrival, finds out the secret and eventually mellows to become a more likeable teacher and parent.

I found this movie by searching for Ryan Reynolds, and picked it pretty much solely for his presence. In the end, I really enjoyed it, and found it a nice change of pace from most of the school-based movies that take place in high schools. The father-son dynamic is explored between three generations, and other serious topics such as disease and death are discussed. Of course there is a lesson learned by at least one character in the end, but it didn’t have a truly happy ending in the traditional sense.

10 words or less: Nice chance of pace for a school-set movie.