(Review originally written at 9 August 2006)

I remember when this movie first trailers came around. It looked like a fun movie but above all also a fast paced one with lots of action and thriller elements. However very little of this can be seen back into this movie. A really wasted opportunity, for it's premise was a good one and a rather interestingly original one as well.

Maybe I expected too much, since Kevin Williamson, the man behind the Scream movies was at the helm of this movie. The movie turned out to be not quite good or tense enough for a thriller and too serious and weak for a fun comedy. Therefor I can't help regarding "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" as a failed movie, that misses its target.

They could had done so much interesting with this movie its story but basically rarely anything tense or remarkable occurs. Mrs. Tingle spends about three quarters of the movie lying tied on bed. They could have let here character manipulate all of the students in a slick and bitchy way, to set them up against each other. The movie does this but it really doesn't go far enough in this. The movie remains pretty shallow because of this and it lacks some good tension and creativity. Not that it's boring but it isn't terrible interesting either.

It's also a waste of Helen Mirren's talent. This is not a role we see her often in. She does provide the movie with some really excellent moments but the script offers her little really interesting to do.

Nothing wrong with the rest of the cast either really. Katie Holmes really isn't bad in it and so isn't Barry Watson, who I think they tried to launch as the new Johnny Depp, who also started his career in a movie with a similar style as this one; "A Nightmare on Elm Street" but he never made it and he already is a forgotten actor. Jeffrey Tambor plays a fun role and so does Molly Ringwald, who's role is obviously referring to her image of queen of high-school movies.

The movie could had really used some more pace, action and tension. It now instead is a rather shallow movie in which too little (interesting) is happening. It still is a somewhat fun movie to watch and obviously not one to take very serious but it all isn't quite enough to make this movie stand out.

5/10

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(Review originally written at 3 April 2006)

First of all I can understand how someone could love this movie but I can also understand how someone could totally hate it. This movie and especially its humor is really a matter of taste more than anything else.

I wouldn't dare to call this movie a good one. In fact it's far from it. Most of the moments in the movie make absolutely no sense and there is almost absolutely no story present. Most of the humor is also very vulgar and just totally over-the-top gross and visual. But yet this movie also really made me laugh. So how could I, when being completely fair and unbiased, possible call this movie a bad one?

I think that this movie is so bad that it becomes good. The jokes in the movie really aren't that strong but because they are delivered so incredibly over-the-top and stupid, it becomes truly an hilarious movie at times. Yes, so basically the movie is so stupid that it becomes a good one.

The story is just totally weird and stupid and lacks some consistency. All of the events occurring in the movie don't really always feel connected. The comical situations are far from believable and they almost have nothing to do with the main story. In fact most of the time they are completely tasteless. Some, if not most people will probably not be able to handle this not so subtle sense of humor (also hence the low rating here). No it absolutely is not the most subtle and consistent comedy ever made.

Tom Green is totally over-the-top and crazy. He is not always funny but his character makes the crazy story somehow work. Rip Torn also shows his comical talent and he perhaps plays the best part of the movie. All of the other characters are somewhat muddled in to the crazy story.

A comedy that doesn't make any sense but because of that becomes quite hilarious to watch at times. Clearly not a movie for everyone's taste obviously though.

6/10

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