Gym Teacher: The Movie

Gym Teacher: The Movie

This ain’t Law and Order

Christopher Meloni is an interesting fellow.  Not only has he been in Law and Order: SVU, but were you aware of his presence in both (I said both) Harold and Kumar films? I know, shocker!  So, when I heard he’s going to be in a Nick sponsored movie, I wasn’t too surprised.  This guy has some strange range to his acting game.  I’m not completely sure where it comes from, but I have to tell you honestly… I really enjoyed him in this role.  

Dave Stewie is a failed gymnast, who finds himself as the local high school’s gym teacher.  The kids love him to death, as does the creepy principal, and he loves his job very much. When he gets the opportunity to become Gym Teacher of the Year, he reluctantly springs at the chance. Cautious of becoming a joke again, he is convinced that with the help of his current gym students he’ll be fine.  Regretfully, in the middle of prepping the students, he gets a new student named Roland who is a bit of a klutz.  Feeling doomed, he does his best to get Roland expelled.  Feeling guilty, he drops that idea and tries to train poor Roland the best way he can.  Ultimately, it will come down to Roland’s ability (or the lack thereof). 

Again, Christopher Meloni’s acting range is impressive.  Not only is he entertaining in a comedic role, but he interacts with the young actors (and old ones) around him perfectly. Nathan Kress’ performance as Roland was equally as fun to watch.  The kid has talent, let’s hope he moves past iCarly (oye). Now, who would I be if I didn’t mention David Alan Grier as the evil Shelly Bragg, who is out to get our heroes.  

Had Meloni not already been in a solid contract with Law and Order he would make a perfect gym teacher in an ongoing comedy on Nick.  This would probably rank up there with Pete and Pete or a Salute Your Shorts as a very strong comedy that kids and adults could enjoy.  Over the last few weeks I’ve seen quite a few movies and I didn’t get quite as much enjoyment as I did with this one.  

Is there a downer?  Well, it’s a very predictable plot. If you’re going into the film looking for something epic or something your kids haven’t seen before, well it’s going to be disappointing.  This has been done over and over again. The difference between this and the others are the performances by the cast.  They make this different, though in reality it’s the same.  

Fun movie, though. 

Drop and give me six features

Here’s what to expect on this disc:

– Behind the Scenes

– Gym Class With the Cast

– Bloopers

– Deleted Scenes

– Bruce Jenner’s Failed Summer Games

– Music Video

So, it’s a good set of features.  Not great, not fantastic, but good.  The bloopers are decent, the deleted scenes are okay, the featurette for behind the scenes is really good.  The feature with Bruce Jenner is creepy.  The music video is… well… a music video.