Good Thinking, Bad Teacher

There seemed to be a moderate amount of hype in the ed policy blogosphere about Bad Teacher, the latest Cameron Diaz flick about a blonde, bubble gum chewing English teacher in hooker heels who tries everything, from corporal punishment to sexing her way into a pre-printed copy of the upcoming state test, to win the merit pay bonus given to the teacher with the highest end-of-year test scores. Why? So she can buy a boob job and get the guy:

Alas, in spite of many predictions to the contrary, Bad Teacher was completely devoid of a political subtext. There were absolutely no subtle insinuations about the madness of the high takes testing movement, its perverse incentives, its innocent four-foot-tall victims. It was just a Cameron Diaz movie.

And this is a good thing. I like crude jokes, and laughed at all of them, but it's clear that this is a movie destined for the fast track to Netflix instant viewing. It is not a classic. It would be sad, very sad, if this were trying to be a movie with a message. Grown-ups don't need a Happy Feet.