Mr. Woodcock (2007)

Mr. Woodcock: Directed by Craig Gillespie. With Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, Susan Sarandon, Amy Poehler. Taken aback by his mother’s wedding announcement, a young man returns home in an effort to stop her from marrying his old high school gym teacher, a man who made middle school hell for generations of students.

“Self-help guru who hated his gym teacher goes home to find his mom engaged to said teacher, stilted merriment tries to ensue. The idea is sound the execution isnu0026#39;t. Woodcock, Billy Bob Thortonu0026#39;s gym teacher character is much too one dimensional to really work since he has one expression the whole time. Sean William Scott as the self help guru tries too hard to be wacky and falls on his face. Actually the script just doesnu0026#39;t work since its so obvious where its going. There are laughs and smiles despite of the lack of it all hanging together, and one u0026quot;Whoau0026quot; nervous u0026quot;oh crap he really got hurtu0026quot; laugh towards the end. Worth a look on a slow night on cable where youu0026#39;ll be more forgiving of the dull bits on the way to the good ones.”