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Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

A good movie which takes tends to avoid the caricatures that Hollywood regularly likes to use to represent inner city youth. This is perhaps the films biggest strength. The process of change which students go through from being lethargic to being vested in their academic futures was not some that the director chose to belabour. The time jumps are relatively significant but well chosen.The film has inspiring moments without being to quixotic and well worth a watch.

Personally I had visions of Grandeur wanting to be an architect my chosen future profession. On the other hand the Math Department at Elmont Memorial High was only concerned with completing the curriculum on time before the state regent exams in June. Another words, rush or cram the material through and forget about getting the math right! My plans for my future were dashed and the dreams I had designing buildings were quashed. Geometry stood in my way like a brick wall. Barely made it through the year with a low passing grade. I wish my teacher was as enthusiastic as Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) but then I wondered if I could keep up with his students and pass the AP Calculus exam with the extra ganas, (desire) provided by the colorful persistent instructor. Mr. Escalante or as he's known in his inner circle "Kemo" by his Latin students works extra hours before and after school in preparation for that big day. The story isn't only about the exam, but how each student has certain obstacles in their lives and balancing Calculus prep,regular school, family issues. Here we focus on one of the students Angel Guzman (Lou Diamond Phillips) who in the beginning was a typical East L.A. gang member running around town and getting harassed by the police, found his way in Kemo's class, (late as usual throughout the movie), prospered despite missing a day of class in a medical clinic accompanying his sickly Abuelita. Another student tells Kemo that he can make huge money driving a fork lift but the experienced Math teacher explains that in life you only see the turns but you don't see the road ahead! Another instance, a soft spoken bespectacled female Latin student who takes to the material in Kemo's class. Kemo feels she has a future in mathematics and industry. Our four eye sweety tells Kemo that her Dad is apposed to her attending college. Kemo takes his wife to her parents Mexican restaurant. Kemo promotes his daughter telling the stubborn Father she should go to college and pursue a career and not end up as a waitress in his establishment for the rest of her years. These 18 Latin students follow Kemo's road to success with some bumps in the road. Grade scores and cheating are questioned. Andy Garcia as the State representative questioned the grade scores and the classic confrontation as a ballistic Kemo threatened to beat the S--t out of the stunned Garcia. This movie wasn't sugarcoated and really showed the long hours and study needed to pass this intricate calculus exam. Kemo was demanding as he reiterated doing everything step by step. The Great inventor Thomas Edison once said,"One percent inspiration, Ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) quits his computer job to become a teacher. He is brought in to teach at James A. Garfield High School in east L.A. except they don't have any computers. It's a lower class Hispanic neighborhood and the school is failing the kids. He teaches math to unresponsive kids and his car is broken into on the first day. He uses unconventional methods to push his kids to pass the AP Calculus exam. Then they are accused of cheating.This is one of those inspirational teacher movie. EJO is terrific. The kids are mostly unknown with a young Lou Diamond Phillips in the mix. The formula is simple and the movie follows it faithfully. There are probably some dispute about the facts of the real story but that is a minor consideration. It's a great inspirational movie.

The story of Jaime Escalante as depicted in "Stand and Deliver raises many questions about public education, the teaching profession and inner city schools. Is it an inspiring story? Yes. Is this story fully accurate shown in this movie? No. Could this movie serve as a model to encourage aspiring teachers to become better teachers? Perhaps not. Herein lies the problems not addressed in Stand and Deliver. I read several articles about the real Jaime escalante and his successful tenure at Garfield High School. After further review I conclude that this movie is loosely adapted from the true story.I read that it took Escalante 5 years to develop his Math program in progression to fully realize the positive results it had on his pupils. The movie shows these kids struggling with fractions and basic arithmetic in the beginning. By the end of the school year they are performing advanced algorithms in Calculus. This, along with a few other chronological anachronisms, are lightly covered with accuracy. I also read that he handpicked a group of students from a pool of 4000 students from various schools. So it wasn't like he was given a random set of students. How nice it would be for every teacher to select the students of their choice. So it's dubious that he was able to instill such advanced skills in these regular troubled teens as depicted in the movie. As result of this film, Escalante was elevated into celebrity status. He received several awards for his efforts as a teacher. In 1991 he left LAUSD due to jealousy from his peers and the backbiting from the bureacracy. He transferred to a high school in Sacramento unable to repeat the same magic he displayed in Los Angeles. He spent his last several years in Sacramento until his retirement, after which he moved back to obscurity to his native Bolivia.Teaching is a difficult profession with few rewards. In today's environment it's a matter of survival. Working long hours, dealing with behavioral issues, disorder and a fractured system with meager pay are enough to make any teacher leave the profession after a couple years. Is Jaime Escalante one of those rare exceptions? Can every teacher be like Jaime Escalante and achieve the same results in any academic situation? Is this movie realistic to any teacher's experience? Is being a teacher in a movie different from being a teacher in real life? Can every teenager, regardless of their aptitude and socioeconomic standing, rise to the occasion and excel given the right teacher?Unfortunately, in Stand and Deliver, all of the answers to these questions are silent.