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Movies / On DVD / Dangerous Minds
Dangerous Minds

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Dangerous Minds (1995)

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Reviews Counted:36

Fresh:11

Rotten:25

Average Rating:4.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: The true story of one teacher's struggle to have a positive effect on her students' lives. Ex-Marine LouAnne Johnson abandons her military career in order to pursue her dream of becoming an... The true story of one teacher's struggle to have a positive effect on her students' lives. Ex-Marine LouAnne Johnson abandons her military career in order to pursue her dream of becoming an English teacher. When she is assigned to Parkmont High, a rough "inner-city" school, she soon finds that teaching English is going to be tougher than she expected. Clearly, her bored, surly, unhappy students would rather be anywhere else than in class. However, LouAnne tackles this obstacle, employing unconventional tactics to get through to the kids: she uses Bob Dylan's lyrics to teach poetry, rewards the students with candy bars, and even takes them out for an expensive dinner. Soon, LouAnne notices a change in her pupils, who are beginning to see school -- and life -- in a new light. [More]

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett, Beatrice Winde, Bruklin Harris, Renoly Santiago, Lorraine Toussaint

Director: John N. Smith

Director: John N. Smith
Producer: Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer
Screenwriter: Ronald Bass
Producer: Sandra Rabins, Lucas Foster

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Dangerous Minds

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21 - 39 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Inspiring portrait of an inner city teacher who discovers that making students feel good about themselves brings learning alive in the classroom.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/28/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
08/22/02
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Platitudes, cliches, stereotypes, and ... oh yeah, a soundtrack!

comment Comment
07/27/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Pfeiffer gives a funny, scrappy performance that makes you feel a committed teacher's fire to make a difference.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

The tale screenwriter Ronald Bass came up with, and the way director John N. Smith tells it, is stereotypical, predictable and simplified to the point of meaninglessness.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/13/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hackneyed, obvious and Lite, complete with happy ending.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

Some of the one-on-one teacher-student interplay is tremendously compelling.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Thompson
Bob Thompson
Jam! Movies

Stay home and watch Welcome Back Kotter. It's more enlightening.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Bradley Steinbacher
Bradley Steinbacher
Film.com

Anchored by Michelle Pfeiffer's sterling central performance, Dangerous Minds is a strong addition to the genre.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

There's not enough backstory for or insight into any of the characters, which keeps them at an emotional distance.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christine James
Christine James
Boxoffice Magazine

What makes it work is the integrity of Pfeiffer's performance and Smith's direction, and the high spirits of the young, racially diverse supporting cast.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle

A no-frills, single-minded drama driven by Pfeiffer's totally committed performance.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joey O'Bryan
Joey O'Bryan
Austin Chronicle

If only the filmmakers had used some subtlety in telling the story, they could have done right by the real LouAnne Johnson.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin McManus
Kevin McManus
Washington Post

Never illuminates the true spirit of learning, instead the movie opts for bribing students to read pretentious Bob Dylan lyrics.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

Pfieffer is absurdly miscast: Sly Stallone would make a more plausible Mr. Chips than the frail, squeaky actress does a nine-year veteran of the Marine Corps.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post

The movie pretends to show poor black kids being bribed into literacy by Dylan and candy bars, but actually it is the crossover white audience that is being bribed with mind-candy in the form of safe words by the two Dylans.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie has real emotional and reportorial credibility, a prime source of its power.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Pfeiffer has a lot of good moments as Johnson.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Film.com
 
 
21 - 39 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
all

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