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Dangerous Minds
Buena Vista Pictures


5.5

based on 18 reviews
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based on 2 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for language

Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett, Beatrice Winde, John Neville, Lorraine Toussaint, and Renoly Santiago

Based on an incredible true-life story – Michelle Pfeiffer stars as former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, a first-time high school teacher assigned to a class of tough but smart inner city students. When conventional methods fail to reach them, the feisty Ms. Johnson tries the unconventional -- defying the rules and creating her own curriculum. In the process, she instills a new self-confidence in her students -- motivating them toward their greatest potential. (BV Entertainment)

GENRE(S):	Crime \| Drama \| Mystery \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Ronald Bass LouAnne Johnson (book)
DIRECTED BY:	John N. Smith
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 13, 1999 Video: March 18, 1997 Theatrical: August 11, 1995
RUNNING TIME:	99 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

And Pfeiffer gives a funny, scrappy performance that makes you feel a committed teacher's fire to make a difference.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

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.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Though it lacks the sensational pizzazz of "Blackboard Jungle", the politics here are arguably somewhat better, and the supporting cast -- George Dzundza, Courtney P. Vance, Robin Bartlett, Beatrice Winde -- isn't bad either.

The New Yorker Terrence Rafferty

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

TV Guide Staff(not credited)

Director John N. Smith, who helmed last year's masterly "The Boys of St. Vincent", is reduced to carrying Michelle Pfeiffer's baggage in this assembly-line star vehicle.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

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

San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser

It's all quite inspiring, but despite the fact that this is based on someone's actual experiences, the whole thing has an unfortunate Hollywood ring to it.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

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.

Washington Post Kevin McManus

The sweet story turns stickygooey, however, as writer Ronald Bass sprinkles the script with saccharine lines that sound plain dumb coming from high schoolers.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Pfeiffer tackles the part with obvious dedication, but she's thwarted from the get-go by the heavily proscribed nature of the role as written.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Yet despite its promising pedigree, Dangerous Minds has a slick, syrupy fraudulence -- it's like an Afterschool Special made for MTV.

Empire Caroline Westbrook

Pfeiffer's performance supersedes any of the material, but the rest of the film is a seething mass of clich's despite the "true story" origins.

The New York Times Elvis Mitchell

False and condescending films in this genre are nothing new, but Dangerous Minds steamrollers its way over some real talent.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie pretends to show poor black kids being bribed into literacy by Dylan and candy bars, but actually it is the crossover white audience that is being bribed with mind-candy in the form of safe words by the two Dylans.

USA Today Mike Clark

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]

Austin Chronicle Joey O'Bryan

As far as Pfeiffer's performance goes, she's got charm and pep to spare, but next to zero substance when it comes to exploring her character's particular hypocrisies and pretensions.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

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.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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Dangerous Minds Buena Vista Pictures

Dangerous Minds
Buena Vista Pictures