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Wonderful Movie

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

One of the most gripping scenes in The Principal is when Jim Belushi's Principal saves a teacher from being raped by a student. Without hesitation he revs on his motorcycle up the steps and saves the day - the filming and editing of this scene was impressive, and props to the director Christopher Cain and editor Jack Hofstra.The Principal needs to be a TV series. Each week's episode could be self-contained, or there could be a season long story arch. The Principal can weed out the bad apples and ensure students really want to learn. The Principal can also be up against the bureaucracy and suits and superintendents, and fighting against The Man.

It was great to see Belushi in this. I have another confession. This is my favourite JB film. He has two assets, apart from some bad vices- a big motorcycle and a big baseball bat. His latest incident, that has him exploding when seeing his ex with another guy, who just happens to be a lawyer, I think, puts him on the bad end of the faculty, where he's demoted and made a principal, of one of the worst high schools, in L.A- Brandell. Don't expect this movie to be as violent as you think. One scene, where he's getting pounded on a rape scene, where Belushi to the rescue, on his big bike, in one of the best and coolest entrances, you'll ever see, is what earned the film it R certificate. To be frank, this film would have the same effect on an 18 year old, as it would a 15 year old. The film is more than a violence for violence sake of a movie. We see a man beaten by the odds, about to rebuild his life, and turn this wayward school around, if it means getting rid of the chief hood, Victor, permanently (a frightening and menacing performance by a fine black actor, Michael Wright, him and Belushi reteamed in 1994'S, Race The Sun). I can't imagine what this film would be like without Belushi, and I don't want to imagine. This is a great, popcorn, bubblegum, high school flick, with action, thrills, and a nice re paint job on Belushi's reconstructed bike, as it was dismantled, by Victor and his boys. The young latino kid, Arturo, who is beyond getting sucked into Victor's gang, lifestyle, was an impressive debut of naturalistic acting, I missed not recognizing him, as Benecio De Toro's partner in Traffic. I do admit The Principal did show room for improvement, may'be a little more ingredients, or structure, in the story, but nonetheless, we're given quite an entertaining ride with a tremendous lengthy showdown, and with Belushi at the helm, we can't go wrong.

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)

"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".