Teaching_Mrs._Tingle
| Teaching Mrs. Tingle | |
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 |
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| Directed by | Kevin Williamson |
| Written by | Kevin Williamson |
| Starring | Katie Holmes Helen Mirren Barry Watson Marisa Coughlan |
| Distributed by | Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | August 20, 1999 |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb | |
Teaching Mrs. Tingle is a 1999 black comedy film and the directorial debut of screenwriter Kevin Williamson. The film stars Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Marisa Coughlan, Barry Watson and Jeffrey Tambor and was released on August 20, 1999. It was originally titled Killing Mrs. Tingle, but delayed and retitled due to the uproar over teen violence in films after the Columbine High School massacre.
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Plot
Leigh Ann (Katie Holmes) is a high school student who wants to achieve top grades to become valedictorian. However, her grade in History class is threatened by her sadistic teacher, Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren). Mrs. Tingle has an especial dislike for Leigh Ann and down-grades Leigh Ann's well-designed project. The teacher also stumbles upon Leigh Ann with the final exam, which had been stolen and planted in Leigh Ann's backpack without her consent, and threatens to have her expelled for it.
Leigh Ann and her two friends, Luke and Jo Lynn, head to Mrs. Tingle's house that night and try to convince the teacher that Leigh Ann is innocent. Mrs. Tingle, however, does not listen. A physical struggle ensues and Mrs. Tingle is accidentally knocked unconscious. The students panic and tie Mrs. Tingle to her bed. Pretending to be Mrs. Tingle, Jo Lynn calls the school the next morning and feigns illness in order to buy themselves some time, but all are unsure of what they should do next. Mrs. Tingle eventually reveals that she hates Leigh Ann because Leigh Ann has the potential to leave their small town and experience life - something Mrs. Tingle never got a chance to do - but her honesty only furthers her captors' dislike of her. She also reveals that Leigh Ann has not got the guts to do anything that will get her in trouble, angry and infuriated, Leigh kisses Luke and they have sex on Mrs Tingle's couch.
The next day at school, Jo Lynn ignores Leigh Ann because she had a crush on Luke and Leigh had known that, feeling regret Leigh tries to make amends with Jo Lynn. She asks Leigh if she did sleep with Luke and Leigh says yes, Jo Lynn walks off infuriated.
Leigh Ann, Luke and Jo Lynn decide to blackmail Mrs. Tingle by producing photographic evidence of her love affair with the school's gym teacher. Before they can enact their plot, however, Mrs. Tingle escapes her bonds. After a fight at the top of the staircase, she seemingly falls to her death but then quickly recovers, scrambles to her feet and picks up a crossbow. She fires it wildly, trying to hit Leigh Ann but Trudie Tucker walks through the door and gets hit in the chest by the bolt and appears to be dead just as the principal of her school appears to check up on Mrs. Tingle. Mrs. Tingle is quickly fired and arrested (although the crossbow did not hit its target and did not kill anyone, as Trudie was protected by a book), and the final scene of the film shows Leigh Ann being named valedictorian.
Reception
The film received some poor reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes measuring an 20% approval rating. [1] Roger Ebert compared the film to Election in its concept but said that Teaching Mrs. Tingle fell short of Election in wit, and in that Teaching Mrs. Tingle had no sympathethic characters. Ebert complimented Mirren's acting.[2]
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Helen Mirren | Mrs. Eve Tingle |
| Katie Holmes | Leigh Ann Watson |
| Jeffrey Tambor | Coach Richard 'Spanky' Wenchell |
| Barry Watson | Luke Churner |
| Marisa Coughlan | Jo Lynn Jordan |
| Liz Stauber | Trudie Tucker |
| Michael McKean | Principal Potter |
| Lesley Ann Warren | Mrs Faye Watson |
| Molly Ringwald | Miss Banks |
| Vivica A. Fox | Miss Gold |
| John Patrick White | Brian Berry |
| Robert Gant | Professor |
See also
References
- ^ Teaching Mrs. Tingle - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Roger Ebert, "Teaching Mrs. Tingle," Chicago Sun-Times, August 20, 1999.