Mr. Woodcock Review

Taking his duties more seriously than he has in other recent comedies (such as Bad News Bears and School for Scoundrels), Billy Bob Thornton essays the title role in Mr. Woodcock with the intention of creating an icon. We meet him in the cold opening flashback scene as he runs through his paces, teaching gym class to a collection of high school non-athletes like a stoic, sadistic robot drill sergeant. Offhandedly delivering pain and humiliation to his hapless victims, he focuses in on chubby young John Farley (Kyley Baldridge) for some special attention.

Years later, Farley has somehow grown up to be handsome, athletic Seann William Scott (Bulletproof Monk), the world famous author of a best-selling self-help book. In the midst of a promotional tour, John receives an invitation to return to his home town of Forest Meadows, Nebraska, to receive the locally prestigious Corn Cob Key. To the annoyance of his tour manager (Amy Poehler), he can't resist accepting, anticipating a chance to show off in front of his old gang. But on arrival at his mother's house, he is stunned to learn that Mom (Susan Sarandon) has been dating his nemesis Jasper Woodcock, the man who made high school a hellish experience for him.

Woodcock doesn't seem to have aged a day, and is still teaching gym at the same school, using the same old grinding patter and torture techniques, as if he's been preserved in amber. The implication is that Woodcock is all gym teachers, and always has been – he was probably bullying Greek athletes too weak to enter the first Olympic games, and decades from now he'll be finding ways to make calisthenics harder for the weaker inhabitants of Martian colonies.

Farley finds the situation unbearable, but discovers that his mother – and everyone else in town who was never in Woodcock's class – thinks that the man is wonderful. Things become especially grating for Farley because his whole book is based on the theory of building a positive outlook through letting go of past misery. Farley, unable to accept his own advice, is soon plotting ways to break up his mom's romance, no matter what. Of course, Woodcock is on the lookout for any such interference, and has no intention of letting junior get between him and the woman he intends to marry.

If you can't guess how the whole situation works out, then take ten laps. This isn't one of those comedies that scores laughs by being unpredictable, so it won't strain your imagination to figure out the direction this clash of wills is headed. Instead of comic twists, Mr. Woodcock concentrates on generating comedy and a bit of pathos with its characters. Thornton makes gristle hilarious, and in time is able to unveil Woodcock's gruff appeal. Sarandon is incredibly cute, and she too manages to add some dimension to her role in the late running. Scott is the weak link in the triangle. His charisma eludes most viewers familiar with his work, and he's usually at his best playing jerks. But his failure to capture the sympathy of the audience may actually work for him here, giving the story an unexpectedly dark spin. Sometimes it's a good thing when you don't like the protagonist too much.

That's because Mr. Woodcock is not about forgetting your past or embracing it or even ignoring it. It's more about seeing that past more clearly, gaining insight through some open-minded reflection. In between its formula plot mechanics and jokes about people getting hit in the crotch, Mr. Woodcock actually makes a stab at making you think. So be careful out there, and don't forget to hit the showers afterward.