Dangerous Minds (1995)

(In French, On TV, September 2019) Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson didn’t become top Hollywood producers by being subtle, and so Dangerous Minds applies to the kindly-teacher narrative the lack of grace and complications that they brought to such hits as Flashdance and Top Gun. The story isn’t new, what with a teacher taking charge of an unruly bunch of students and whipping them into shape through unorthodox methods. Even Sydney Poitier did it fifty years ago in To Sir, With Love. Michelle Pfeiffer is about as far from Poitier as actors come, but the effect remains the same: A story either seen as an inspirational tribute to knowledge and education … or a paean to conformity, really not helped by the optics of a white teacher coming in to rescue non-white students. But those implications may not be readily apparent to many white audiences, who may focus a bit more on the script’s well-constructed scenes, its willingness to uphold expectations, or the reinforcement of conventional values. Dangerous Minds does benefit enormously from Pfeiffer’s performance as well, as she elevates some rote material into something semi-engaging. Coolio’s music also helps. The film is adapted from a true story, adding additional complications in trying to fairly assess the film—even more so when you know that the “real” story had a white teacher using rap songs (rather than Dylan!) to teach to mostly white students. Hmmm. It does work despite the obviousness, though, even with a weaker ending and a lack of dialogue as ambitious as its literary references—Dangerous Minds is easy enough to watch, even as you suspect that it’s a piece of feel-good cinema that’s not quite as fully engaged with its students as it is with their teacher.