Dangerous Minds

Dangerous Minds doesn't drop the sentimental conventions of the good-teacher Hollywood drama but reconstitutes them with strong performances, sensitive direction by Canadian film maker John N. Smith ("The Boys of St. Vincent") and a firm belief that teachers can and will make a difference in a person's life.

But the cut-to-the-enlightenment dramaturgy of Ronald Bass's screenplay feels desperate and false.

While films are admired for making fantasy real, some manage a reverse, unwanted kind of alchemy, turning involving reality into meaningless piffle.

In the case of Dangerous Minds, we get an idealized version of inner city life, where, though problems may require more than the wave of a magic wand to remove, the solutions still seem too facile.

The film fleetingly touches on the underfunding of schools and other administrative problems as well as the more compelling personal issues of teen pregnancy and violence. But the characters are so poorly drawn and underdeveloped that they seem to be little more than personifications of these societal ills.

Michelle Pfeiffer has made a lot of memorable movies, including many that undeservedly failed to connect with the public. Never, until Dangerous Minds, has she had to flail her way through a movie beyond all redemption, including even the prehistoric "Grease 2". [11 Aug 1995, Pg.04.D]

Movie stars have tamed sassy kids in movies from "The Blackboard Jungle" to "Stand and Deliver," but it's hard to remember an example more patronizing or sentimentalized than this one.

Dangerous Minds portrays racially segregated neighborhoods and the harsh reality of the lives shaped within them, where education and future goals often don't align with what they should be, these students live in constant tension, where even small conflicts can carry serious consequences, and higher education rarely feels like a real possibility, it's a tough truth, but it's a reality the film doesn't shy away from. What the film does so well is present this world through a lens that feels almost like Dead Poets Society, with Michelle Pfeiffer stepping into a role reminiscent of Robin Williams, surprisingly, that approach works, the story isn't just about troubled kids finally get their attitude together, it goes deeper than that, from the poet teaching style, and the inspiration from Dylan's poetic symbolic words from his lyrics, to each student's personal struggle that still remains tied to the environment they come from, and the film never lets you forget it. You don't just root for Pfeiffer's character, you start to genuinely care about the students themselves, you understand them, you see how their interests slowly grow, even with all their flaws, it's a fascinating perspective. There's even a moment, that wasn't meant to hit emotionally, but it did, it caught me off guard, and suddenly i felt it, that's where the film truly connects, Dangerous Minds is great.

This movie has a ridiculous title for what the content of it actually is, it's a stereotypical teacher/class movie. The most unbelievable part is that her breakthrough with them is through Bob Dylan lyrics.

Ortalama bir filmdi. Duygu dolu dakikalar vardı. İzlenebilir, beklentiniz fazla yüksek olmasın.

very annoying movie, nothing interesting happens, and the moments that are ment to hit you feel so dumb, the end doesnt even give you anything at all, i dont know why it got to top 12 best seller in 1995, do not recommend.

One of the most superficial and racial stereotype provoking films of all time. Good luck trying to learn something from this ****