Mr. Woodcock (2007) User Reviews (94)

More mediocre comedy from Thornton-on-autopilot

[Tamphex · 4/10 · 1 November 2007]

Like last year's School for Scoundrels, Woodcock is yet another movie in which Billy Bob Thornton plays a violent dick (no pun intended) and fails to be anywhere near as funny as he should be, thanks to a sloppy, almost laugh-less script. To make matters worse, he's not the only comedian whose considerable talents are wasted on this predictable mess; Ethan Suplee and Seann William Scott, two of the funniest men alive, have nearly nothing to do with their characters. Speaking of predictability, here's a cliché for you: Seen the trailer? Then you've seen the movie. Just about every truly funny part was crammed into the commercials.

I love Bad Santa and all, but it has really done more harm than good seeing as another Thornton-acts-like-a-sociopath-and-gets-away-with-it "comedy" gets released every year. He is an amazing actor and totally wasted on these forgettable carbon copies. I'm not denying that I laughed a couple of times ('cause let's face it, Thornton abusing kids is funny by default) but in the end Woodcock is just a half-baked comedy-drama which is neither hilarious nor touching.

Not a total failure, but I think the trailer made promises it failed to keep.

[jigsawsXapprentice · 6/10 · 17 September 2007]

I was pretty excited to see this movie because from what I saw it seemed really funny and I like Seann William Scott but I have to say I was sort of disappointed. Granted I went in expecting a funny stupid comedy but, it really wasn't all that funny. It seemed to me like they put all the funny scenes into the trailers and the rest of the movie was just filler. It's like they tried to be a really hilarious comedy but then towards the end they tried to take an emotional turn and by then I was pretty disappointed by the lack of hilarity that I didn't care anymore. And don't get me wrong, I did laugh, but I laughed at all the parts I had already seen in the trailers.

All in all, this movie wasn't a total failure, but I wouldn't bother watching it again.

Some laughs in a one dimensional tale thats been done before

[dbborroughs · 4/10 · 14 October 2007]

Self-help guru who hated his gym teacher goes home to find his mom engaged to said teacher, stilted merriment tries to ensue. The idea is sound the execution isn't. Woodcock, Billy Bob Thorton's gym teacher character is much too one dimensional to really work since he has one expression the whole time. Sean William Scott as the self help guru tries too hard to be wacky and falls on his face. Actually the script just doesn't work since its so obvious where its going. There are laughs and smiles despite of the lack of it all hanging together, and one "Whoa" nervous "oh crap he really got hurt" laugh towards the end. Worth a look on a slow night on cable where you'll be more forgiving of the dull bits on the way to the good ones.

Pointless comedy with few laughs

[editor-299 · 2/10 · 12 September 2007]

I tried to think of funnier Billy Bob Thornton films than his latest tepid comedy, "Mr. Woodcock," and came up with the following: "Bad News Bears," "Ice Harvest," "Pushing Tin," "Friday Night Lights," "Bad Santa," "Monster's Ball" and "Sling Blade." Heck, even "Goodfellas and "Passion of the Christ" had more laughs than this pointless piece of dredge which takes the worst elements of "Meet the Parents" and "The Girl Most Likely To," although with none of the charm, intelligence or humor of these pictures.

After viewing this movie, however, I have a new-found respect for such comedic works as "R.V.," "Are We There/Done Yet?," "License To Wed," "Guess Who?," "Soul Plane," "King's Ranson," "My Baby's Daddy," "Little Man" and any of the "Scary Movie" versions.

So, I suppose the experience wasn't all terrible ...

Ah, but this film was. With two Academy Award-nominated lead actors (Thornton, nominated for "Sling Blade" in 1996, and Susan Sarandon, winner in 1995 for "Dead Man Walking") joining up with Seann William Scott ("American Pie," "Old School") one would think some snickers would result, but few come about.

The plot has Williams as John Farley (where's CHRIS Farley when we need him?), a successful self-help author, whose latest book, "Getting Past Your Past," is climbing the bestseller charts. This notoriety allows him to be honored by his small hometown in Nebraska.

Going back to receive the Corn County Key honor, his trip home only results in the depressing reality that his mother (Sarandon) will marry his old gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Thornton). Woodcock was not only an intense physical education instructor, but a sadist.

He humiliates, insults and verbally berates his students, throws balls at them, forces them to run laps and do push-ups as punishment, even those with asthma. But he saves his special vindictiveness for Farley, whom he delights in abusing - mentally and physically. He throws him to the ground repeatedly while teaching wrestling moves; and even forces him to undress and do pull-ups in front of the other students.

Now, if something like this REALLY took place, one of the pupils would have surely mentioned it to SOMEONE, and disciplinary action would have been taken against Woodcock. But, evidently, for over 20 years, no one has ever said anything bout this abuse, so the town decides to honor him as educator of the year - to be given at the same time as Farley's.

Also, everyone in the berg seems to love the old guy, while Farley's significant other, Tracy (Melissa Sagemiller, "The Guardian") admits to having a crush on him.

Meanwhile, dredging up all of those bad memories and combining them with the fact that the evil man is having sex with his mother, causes Farley to abandon his nice, passive, positive philosophy and do everything he can to bring Woodcock down. In this endeavor, he utilizes the aid of his extremely stupid friend, Nederman (Ethan Suplee, "My Name Is Earl"). In fact, the only likable character is Maggie (Amy Poehler, "SNL"), Farley's bitchy agent.

He challenges him to a workout contest, as well as a series of carnival midway games and even a corn-eating contest. None of these situations is even remotely funny in any way, shape or form. During its mercifully-short 90-minute run, I laughed just twice - once at the very beginning, and once at the very end.

That last guffaw was no doubt brought on by the delirium of the closeness of the closing credits, however. And longtime commercial director Craig Gillespie (in his film debut) doses out the "comedy" with large slices of schmaltz, as well as a muddled conclusion, leaving patrons wondering off to movies like "Death Sentence" and "The Brave One" to satisfy their urge to laugh.

Who hasn't had a Woodcock in their life? OK, that sounded gross

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 7/10 · 14 September 2007]

I was so excited to see Mr. Woodcock today, saw the matinée this morning and I have to say that Mr. Woodcock lived up to my expectations. It was a great comedy to watch and had a lot of fun laughs. I think the reason why I love this film so much is because I could totally relate to it, in junior high I was the fat kid and had the teacher who must have been the partner of Satan, he was evil. I've changed quite a bit since then, but I still think of that teacher every once in a while. So this was just such a good comedy for everyone who has had to deal with a gym teacher like Mr. Woodcock. The actors seemed to really enjoy themselves, it was cool seeing Sean William Scott out of his normal idiotic roles and into something where he just was a normal guy, he did good. Billy Bob Thorton couldn't have been a more perfect choice, he was terrific. Together they really made the story work and was actually believable.

John Farley is a very successful author of the book "Letting Go", a book on how to let go of a rough past and rebuild your life. He comes back home to surprise his mom and get a special award for his work, but he finds out his mom is dating someone he knows. Mr. Woodcock, the evil junior high gym teacher that made John's life a living hell; and it looks like Mr. Woodcock has not changed his ways when he starts to treat "Farley" the same way he did when he was a kid. But it looks like they have to get comfortable with each other since Mr. Woodcock is marrying John's mom.

The cast looked like they just had a great time. I know this story was extremely predictable, but it was all in good fun. I loved seeing John's character just loose it as the story continued. There were some really great laughs in the film, the scene that got me was definitely the pot hole scene, I'm not going to spoil it, but I guarantee you for sure that you'll get a huge laugh once you see it. Mr. Woodcock is a fun comedy that I recommend, Billy Bob is just an awesome Mr. Woodcock, he really made the movie into a blast.

7/10

Diving to Miss the Dodgeballs of Life.

[tfrizzell · 27 December 2007]

Successful novelist Seann William Scott returns to his hometown to be honored for his career. His mother (Susan Sarandon) now dates the titled character (Billy Bob Thornton), Scott's former gym teacher who forever tormented and belittled him as a husky youth. Thus Scott must now break the two up and forever exorcise Thorton from his life and his past. Nickel and dime production of the simplest sort with admittedly bigger names than usual. Thornton's dead-pan, dead-eye approach is funny and effective to an extent. However, he lacks the material he had in similar ventures ("Bad Santa"). Sarandon seems like she is in the wrong movie all together and Scott still has that "American Pie" tendency to annoy rather than entertain the masses. Not bad for a chuckle and short enough to be painless, but it hardly makes a cinematic impression at all. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

One of the WORST comedies in recent years!

[guyfromjerzee · 2/10 · 21 September 2007]

This so-called comedy is horrendous on all levels, and worst of all--it's boring! It's forgettable! This doesn't even fall into the so-bad-it's good category. About the only positive thing I can say about "Mr. Woodcock" is that it's only a little under 80 minutes long. I was looking forward to seeing the flick, since I am a pretty big Billy Bob Thornton fan. Unfortunately, with this movie, he has officially completed the trifecta of duds. First there was "School for Scoundrels," which was mediocre. Then there was "The Astronaut Farmer," which was also mediocre. Now we have "Mr. Woodcock," which is downright awful. There are many actors who I admire and even adore, who have done a fair share of bad movies, but for some reason (before these three movies) I can't think of any less-than-satisfying ones that Billy Bob has done, except for maybe "Waking Up in Reno." It seems like he has reached the I'm-just-here-to-pick-up-my-paycheck phase of his career.

The movie has an interesting premise. We all have had crappy gym teachers in the past. Unfortunately, the plot goes nowhere and flings us into one implausible, sitcom-level situation after another. My main problem with the plot is that we're supposed to believe that Mr. Woodcock is a gem to everyone, except Seann William Scott's character. Susan Sarandon's character supposedly finds this man charming, when in all actuality he doesn't show even an ounce of charm throughout the flick. Maybe it would've been funny if he were really mean towards Scott, yet he acts like the nicest guy towards everybody else. We're even supposed to believe that all the townsfolk in this sleepy Midwestern town think he's a great person.

My second problem with the plot? Seann William Scott transforms from a calm, mild-mannered motivational speaker to an insane wreck...within a matter of 10 minutes! What kind of character arc is that? First of all, Scott is sadly miscast in his role. Personally, I don't think he possesses much range as an actor. He's Stiffler...that's that! Any role that doesn't require him to be a rude, foul-mouthed weasel takes him out of his element. I was never convinced that Scott was a well-meaning motivational speaker with worldwide acclaim. Amy Poehler, of "SNL" infamy, tries to steal the show with her snappy one-liners. Unfortunately, she's just as talentless as the rest of "SNL's" current cast, and does nothing to breathe life into this comatose flick.

The gags are absolutely predictable and brainless. As if this would surprise anyone, this is another one of those comedies where all the good jokes are given away in the trailer. There's one gag involving a video camera accidentally being left running while Ethan Suplee's character gabs on and on about how hot Scott's mother is. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to discover that there's going to be a later scene, where Susan Sarandon walks in as the video is playing on a TV screen. Not to mention each gag is delivered with all the gusto of a student filmmaker.

This movie is such a waste of two brilliant actors. Billy Bob sleeps through his role, keeping the same sneering expression every minute he's on screen. I can't blame him. Like I said before, he probably just did the film to collect a paycheck. Susan Sarandon is forced to play an utterly brainless character, who falls for Woodcock's charm, despite the fact that he has none! I can't recall a worse film she's ever done. I hope her paycheck was pretty huge as well.

Plain and simple, this is another lamebrain comedy you should skip. I wouldn't even recommend this on DVD. If you happen to catch it on cable, please change the channel. I can think of a lot of bad comedies that have come out in recent years, but few as merit-less as this one.

"I had a lot of fat kids over the years".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 September 2011]

I have to admit, one of my guilty pleasures is seeing Billy Bob Thornton as a character like Willie in "Bad Santa". He strikes just the right attitude when he's playing your basic low life, delivering caustic barbs with precision timing. That's why I thought "Mr. Woodcock" would hold more promise in the witty one liner department where he gets to play a sadistic high school gym teacher, a role that virtually ensures a parody of similar minded gym teachers and coaches everywhere. Instead, the picture overdoses on the many variations you can come up with using the word 'corn', a veritable cornucopia of corny jokes as it were. See what I mean, there was a lot of that.

Too bad, because the flick held a lot more promise than what it actually delivered, even though I found myself laughing out loud a few times, even once un-corn-trollably. That was when Woodcock took the gurney dive head first into the asphalt, a move that topped even a well placed basketball to the groin, which anyone who ever had a coach like Woodcock would have seen coming a mile away.

You know, as I think back to my own high school days, I had a gym teacher who was a bit like Mr. Woodcock when you come right down to it. He weighed two thirty and was built like a brick wall, crew cut hair and a menacing deadpan look just like Thornton's character. His name was Mr. Green and one of his favorite activities was the rope climb to the ceiling of the gym. If this sounds vaguely familiar to anyone reading this, we might have been in the same gym class together. Drop me a line. And Mr. Green - if you're reading this, I'll deny every word of it.

a wheel-spinning comedy

[Buddy-51 · 5/10 · 25 January 2008]

"Mr. Woodcock" is one of those movies that sounds great on paper, but which loses something on its way to the big screen.

Jasper Woodcock is a sadistic high school PE teacher who, through the course of his career, has made life a veritable hell for most of the boys enrolled in his class. One of his students, an overweight kid by the name of John Farley, grows up to write a best-selling self-help book about letting go of one's past as a means of embracing one's future. When John returns to his small town Nebraska home for a visit, he's mortified to discover that this very same Mr. Woodcock has become his widowed mother's new boyfriend. Farley spends the rest of the movie doing everything he can think of to sabotage the romance, systematically violating all the precepts in the book that has made him so famous.

With few exceptions, "Mr. Woodcock" fails to exploit the black comedy potential of its material, settling for homogenized, crowd-pleasing pablum instead. That's not to say that there aren't some occasionally amusing moments in the film, only that they are too few and far between to turn the film into anything more than, at best, an average Hollywood comedy. Billy Bob Thornton, Susan Sarandon and Seann William Scott (Stifler in the "American Pie" movies) have all proved their talent and likability many times in the past, but they aren't allowed to go much beyond one-note performances in this film. However, it's nice to see veteran character actor Bill Macy ("Maude") again, very funny in his one scene as Woodcock's obnoxiously overbearing father.

Pretty solid comedy

[eternalsea · 6/10 · 10 September 2007]

Mr. Woodcock is the sort of film that I usually dread going to see, a sort of Meet The Parents rip off in the same vein as recent pictures like Relative Strangers and Guess Who. To be fair this movie betters both of those considerably, mainly due to the talented cast at the directors reach. Seann William Scott is great for the first time since American Pie, in a much more subtle role. I expected many things after seeing this young man back in 1999 and The Dukes of Hazzard and American Wedding weren't among them, so to see him hit the comic notes perfectly again is quite refreshing. Thornton ever since heavy success with Bad Santa back in 2003 has been making a career of playing weirdos (usually mean ones) and as Woodcock he's a solid choice who digs up several strong laughs. Sarandon is a lot more cardboard and ultimately unmemorable in her role, you forget her character at times but I guess thats all the script wanted and shes a pretty good actress to snare for the part. The story is pretty strong and a really good idea for the most part, the whole idea should have nerds everywhere rejoicing and cringing in equal amounts. The comedy does feel slight when taken against the premise but at the same time it's never overly offensive or dumb. The script has ups and downs in terms of gags, but the overall feeling is pleasantly entertaining. I enjoyed this movie and probably would happily suggest you pick it up on DVD when it hits the Summer sales next year or indeed give it a rental on initial release.

Painful To Watch.

[Matt_Layden · 4/10 · 20 July 2009]

All throughout high school Mr Woodcock gave kids a really hard time in gym class. So hard that one student wrote a book on how to live your life and overcome such obstacles. This young man is all grown up and returns home to hear that his mother is engaged to...Mr. Woodcock. Thus providing more hard times for our lead character and apparently some unfunny situations that we are suppose to laugh at.

Ever since the very funny Bad Santa, there have been a slew of Billy Bob Thorton plays an asshole type comedy. The one prior to this entry was School For Scoundrels. Now, if you play this two movies one after another I guarantee you that you would not be able to tell which character was from which movie, since they are almost the exact same. This film and Scoundrels, both feature Thorton an autopilot. While he still gets the laughs, it's the rest of the film that fails horribly around him, It makes me wonder how many more of these films we are going to get.

Sean William Scott gets no laughs here. He is not playing the perverted jerk (Road Trip, American Pie) nor is this an action comedy (The Rundown, Bullet Proof Monk). So we are treated to a boring character, played by a wooden Scott. I can't help but say that the lead role was horrible miscast here.

The script is nothing new, nor funny. Mr. Woodcock unfortunately falls into the category that hurt so many comedies. The old, "If You've Seen The Trailer, You've Seen All The Funny Parts". It is completely true in this case. I did chuckle here and there, but that's only because Thorton is abusive to little kids.

I Was Actually Laughing!

[g-bodyl · 9/10 · 13 July 2009]

Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed this film. This is not the best comedy ever, but it succeeds at what it does best: make the audience laugh(me). I see why people hated this, but I found the movie to be clever especially with the talented duo of Seann William Scott and Billy Bob Thornton.

This film is about an evil gym teacher who makes his students lives miserable especially John Farley. Many years later Farley and Mr. Woodcock meet again because Woodcock is dating Farley's mother. It's up to Farley to stop this from happening.

The actors did a credible job. Billy Bob Thornton is probably the best. He was the one who cracked me up the most. Scott is pretty funny, not as funny as his American Pie films.

People compare this movie to Meet the Parents. That movie is much better because it's in another category of its own. This movie is just for guilty pleasure. I rate this film 9/10.

Good film, nobody needs surgery

[mstew99-2 · 7/10 · 15 September 2007]

Susan Sarandon looked fine, in fact great for her character. I thought the movie was funny and just plain entertaining.

I liked the broad humor as well as the occasional slapstick bit. In addition, there was some social/philosophical commentary that went well with the light tone of the movie.

Although the 'Cornival' was a bit corny, that was the point. John, Mr. Woodcock's nemesis, was searching for a connection with his roots and eventually realized that he was more disconnected than he thought, having to change his general outlook and his relationships with the people he most cared about.

Bullies. Are they bad or do they define us?

[hacks-56635 · 5/10 · 29 December 2019]

It's interesting to watch this movie for the first time now, 12 years later...

In a lot of ways, this is a very predictable recipe that tries to make a feel-good comedy emerge from sociopath behavior.

And the punch line, bullies, are they bad, or do they help us?

Writing is meh but ok. Actors are well, great actors but only giving an ok performance. Gave a 5 as it sits right there in the middle between good and bad. Would not recommend nor ever watch again, but can't say I hated it and it mostly held my attention.

Most interesting to me as a middle aged white male who lived through the bullies and kind of enjoyed the conflict is the questions raised about the validity of trials and tribulations to allow us to discover and define ourselves.

In the majority of human history, survival itself was enough of a challenge to hold our full attention. In some periods of human history, war served this purpose. In my parents' time, their parents and other adults seemed to be enough of a challenge. And in the 80's and 90's, when I was coming of age, bullies were the thing.

Now that bullying has been come down on so hard, and this type of behavior would clearly get a teacher fired, I can't help but wonder what our delicate little flowers are faced with to challenge and define their sense of self-worth...

What is most funny to me is that this so called comedy is pretty much super offensive by today's PC culture.

A Penalty for the screen writers!

[ILostMyNameCanIHaveYours · 25 January 2009]

I was actually looking forward to seeing this movie because I have a step father who I often feud with. So naturally I was hopping this would cheer me up and get me to laugh. But boy did this movie depress me and boy did it make me angry.

First let me go over what I did like about this film before I trash it. It had what could have been a really good and funny plot. Our lead character discovers that the evil gym teacher that tormented him in middle school is now going to marry his mother. Basically think of that teacher from high school or middle school who hated your guts. You didn't do anything he/she just hated you and made it clear. Now imagine if that teacher going to be your new stepfather/stepmother. What do you do? This sounded hysterical and in the films defenses there were a few funny moments. Sadly however those funny moments were all given away in the trailer. This would be the first problem I had with this film. All the parts that come to mind as being the highlights were already spoiled and what's left is okay but not great.

However let's talk about the story a little more. As I said before our star use to be stuck with an evil gym teacher who was out to make his life a living hell. Now he's all grown up and has used his experiences with "Mr. Woodcock" to write a self help book. This book becomes a best seller and he now teaches people how to let go of there past. Things are going well until his past come back to hunt him! Now that also could of bin funny. Watching a mans message of letting go of the past get challenge by the bad things that happen to him long ago. Sadly it does not play out well and I will explain later.

This Woodcock fellow dose not seem to regret any of the mean things he has done to him. In fact he's very mean to everyone and everything. They made him such a jerk to the point you can't bring your self to like his character. The mom on the other hand seem really nice but one cant help but wonder what is she thinking, is she that desperate? The guy makes very rude and mean spirited comments to her son, even going far to make sex comments about his mother. He treats the people in the town like dirt and everything that comes out of his moth is negativity and insults. Some time his abuse gets physical.

So I was starting to think the story was about an evil step father who the son had to save his mother from marrying. After all for some reason he and us the viewer can only see what a bad guy Woodcock really is. But no. By the end of the movie the son must learn to Respect Woodcock and his very abusive ways. So according to the movie women are better off pretending there abusive spouse is a good guy in spite of the fact he treats the world like dirt. For all women can't be happy unless they have a man, even if he is a creep. What kind of message is that to send out! Okay, dose our hero at least manage to persevere his message he has become popular selling? No, by the end he turns back on all of that and decided to take after his mom. Give into stock home syndrome and convinces himself that Woodcock is a good guy. So he finds himself apologizing to an unapologetic abusive jerk. He even declares that all the abuses was good for him. What kind of message are they trying to send out? Well did Woodcock learn any lessons, become sorry for his actions and show off that there is a nice guy in there some ware? As I already said no. They make it very clear he is not sorry for any the things he dose. In the movies Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers, our lead faced a similar problem with his father in law to be. However that worked out on screen much better. Why? Because by the end the Character who was being a jerk learned his lesson and realizes he was in the wrong. Something that never happens here. The best we get is when Woodcock said "I'm "Basically" sorry" to the mom but after the entire movie one cant help but feel more mad then amused.

To make things a little worse thing are never resolved. Like there a little romance going on between our star and a girl he knew from his old school but it never went any ware. In fact in one moment our "hero" cames off as a bit of jerk to because it seems he did not care much for her at all. So now our lead character not that likable earthier. Then the movies stops. No really, it feels like it stop in mid-moment and then the credits start. Leaving the movie feeling unfinished and made to quickly.

Over all what could of bin a good movie falls apart because things are never resolved, characters are unlikable, and sends out the message that abuse; verbal or physical is cool as long as your mom love him.

That Why Mr. Woodcock gets a 3 out of 10.

the director should GROW a woodcock before he attempts to make anything longer than 30 seconds.

[between_the_fps · 2/10 · 16 September 2007]

another hack job from commercial director doldrums. the director should GROW a woodcock before he attempts to make anything longer than 30 seconds.

what else to say really? rehash; unoriginal; as cute as a (insert brand) commercial; a director who thinks funny is obvious; who thinks a quarter-beat = profundity; and the real shame here is that talented actors didn't have much to work with or anyone to guide them. at least they were paid.

watch out for those (insert dangerous freeway obstacle {basketBalls!}) losers.

A Nutshell Review: Mr. Woodcock

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 13 October 2007]

"Take a lap!" "Set of 10!"

With a name like W-o-o-d-c-o-c-k (roll it off your tongue slowly for maximum effect), you'd have expect the jokes to come fast and furious about the appendage. Well there are, however, the best parts of Mr Woodcock are not the sexual innuendos, but come from the various gymnasium scenes, where Jasper Woodcock (Billy Bob Thorton) the PE teacher runs his classes like a sadistic drill sergeant, and all the misfits tremble in fear and loathe as he puts them through the paces, with physical, mental and emotional abuse dished out in deadpan manner. The filmmakers know this, and set the bar high enough from the get go, but only for the movie to spiral in the general southwards direction.

Thirteen years after his unforgettable years of growing up under Mr Woodcock's insults, John Farley (Seann William Scott) becomes a renowned self help guru and published a bestseller called "Letting Go: How to Get Past Your Past", because it takes one successful loser to teach the rest how to move on. During a journey back home where you're hit with a barrage of literally corny jokes, John realizes to his horror that his mother Beverly (Susan Sarandon) is now dating Mr Woodcock, and he makes it his mission to dissuade her from giving him a new stepdad, one who has been the bane of his childhood.

That basically becomes the premise of the movie, and a highly predictable one at that. You'll see from a mile away every conceivable plot development coming toward you, and it doesn't help that the short run time of under 90 minutes probably meant some material were reserved for the DVD release. You can tell by some of the continuity errors, helped in no part by John's bad haircut episode.

Billy Bob Thorton owns the movie as Woodcock, delivery his deliciously acidic remarks with aplomb. Alpha-male type roles are nothing new to Thorton, and bullying or whipping losers to shape are part of the game, just like School for Scoundrels. And here he plays the unapologetic teacher with EQ problems, taking perverse delight in seeing his charges suffer. Sean William Scott is better known unfortunately for his loud and over the top Stifler from the American Pie movies, but given a rather muted character like John Farley, he fades away quicker than you can spell l-o-s-e-r. Susan Sarandon rounds up the lead cast as the woman caught between two men, and frankly I thought it was like an extension of her mother's role in Elizabethtown. Look out for more Sarandon in an upcoming movie called Enchanted, which takes the mickey out of a Disney movie. Most of the other supporting cast like Amy Poehler and Ethan Suplee got wasted, with the former being a self-professed alcoholic Barbie doll, while the other a fanatic who had read John's book 900 times and counting.

Mr Woodcock isn't laugh out loud or laugh a minute, but it has its moments. Sadly, most of the best bits made their way to the trailers, making the movie seem like an empty shell. And given the editing fiasco of late, Mr Woodcock suffers from censorship too, with what I thought was just verbal expressions of ecstasy being snipped off and left on the cutting room floor. Pity.

Painful

[bjagront · 1/10 · 5 February 2008]

I couldn't even watch the entire movie. It was horrible. It just wasn't funny at all. Sean William Scott is a funny guy, I think this was just the wrong role for him. And Billy Bob is a fantastic actor. I don't know where this one went wrong. The premise is great. This could have been outrageously funny given either a different mix of cast or better directing. But in it's current state, it sucked. Big time. I think Jason Biggs or someone who is more of a "straight man" funny-type would have been better in the lead role. But given it's current state, I would advise you to avoid this piece-of-crap. It's just out and out not funny.

Watch it if you have nothing else to do

[barrys82 · 6/10 · 16 January 2008]

Its an average movie, its not that great but it isn't bad also. It has some funny moments but I expected a non stop laughing comedy but it wasn't. The story about John Farley a man Who as a kid was a little overweight and received the abuse of his gym teacher, returns to his hometown just to notice that his mother is dating the same gym teacher , he will try everything to break up the relationship. The cast is very good. Billy Bob Thornton in a role that fits him like a glove but that has been repeating for the last three movies. Susan Sarandon is good, her performance is quite regular. Sean William Scott was OK, a performance that wasn't developed to the 100%. Amy Poehler role as a neurotic and alcoholic manager was really funny. In general this is a movie that you will enjoy but its not the best option to spend a good time. Watch it if you don't have a better thing to do

Mr. Woodcock's got (basket)balls...

[bullit_wolf · 3/10 · 3 January 2008]

I saw this because I had nothing else to do... And, really, it seems I should've just stared at the walls for a couple of hours instead of watching this flick.

Thornton plays a gym teacher from hell, that is just so mean to his students and almost anyone else, but his teaching techniques are very appreciated in the community... alright, STOP! Anyone that would stay around someone like him for more than 10 seconds would see how much of an a-hole he is. It's just so "in your face" that it hurts.

William Scott plays some guy that was abused by this teacher and, later on, writes a book about letting go of the past. Yes, he comes back to his home town and realizes he can't let go. I think this is supposed to make fun of all those people that believe this kind of books are of any help to anyone, let alone change one's life. Everyone that says the book changed their lives in the film is a loser.

Susan Sarandon is almost invisible in the action of the movie, even though her relationship with Woodcock (now that's a name!) is the trigger for the storm that follows. Note: I mean invisible as in not interesting, mediocre, just plain stupid role.

I expected more from the end, but then I just realized: this film looks like it's written by a crazy, emotional cripple gym teacher. Throughout the plot, all of Farley's fans are losers and all those that "succeeded" in life are grateful for the humiliation they were subjected to during gym classes. The film ends as John Farley agrees with his teacher's methods and thanks him for the bad way he was treated in school. Although giving up in such a pitiful way has nothing to do with having a backbone, John writes a new book called "Backbone". o.0 Conclusion? It's boring, not interesting, not good and certainly annoying. The only funny things about this film are the gags, and those are mediocre as well. So don't go see it in a theater and don't rent it. Just wait until it's shown on TV, as you might find yourself looking for the remote after 15-20 minutes.

Impeccable acting. Script needed work.

[Charliesafari333 · 6/10 · 17 December 2022]

Billy Bob Thornton gives the character its spirit. He portrays the ultimate man, impossibly sharp and educator of the year. The toughest gym teacher of all time. If you take all of the previous characters of Sean William Scott, specifically Stiffler, they relate very closely to Thortons character. It was fun to watch ole stiffler play a more wholesome reverse role with a few lines like "why do you have to be such a dick all the time." The director must be a genius. The actors' incredible talent combined with the director' magic saved the movie. The script was terrible. The jokes and many of the lines were really terrible. The overall story was decent but scene by scene was inconsistent quality and poorly written sometimes. The under the bed scene was horrid. That scene should have been cut. I was ready to turn off the whole movie, possibly vomit.

A returning nerd is the talk of the town.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 18 January 2008]

Craig Gillespie directs this comedy about Mr. Woodcock(Billy Bob Thornton), the junior-high gym teacher from hell. He runs his class like a drill instructor. John Farley(Seann William Scott)returns to town for an honorary award for writing a popular best selling self-help book. He grew up chubby with very low self-esteem. And he was one of Woodcock's favorite's to dole out his meanness on. Now he is healthy and has just enough self assurance. On his return, he discovers that his beautiful widowed mother(Susan Surandon)is getting married and her new fiancée is...Mr. Woodcock. John vows to do whatever it takes to stop the nuptials. Woodcock is very aware of John's intentions and he has plans of his own...by reputation, Woodcock never loses. Also in the cast: Ethan Suplee, Amy Poehler and Melissa Sagemiller. MR. WOODCOCK contains crude and sexual content and needs all the help it can get.

Nothing fresh, but this is my kind of movie

[raisleygordon · 8/10 · 16 March 2010]

I know Billy Bob Thornton has played this type of role before, a la Bad Santa, but a lot of people won't care, because they go to the movies to be entertained, right? Although Woodcock's engagement to this poor kid's mom wasn't really necessary, it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the picture. I would of preferred something unexpected. Basically, Susan Sarandon isn't given anything to do other than get caught in the middle of this feud, or more specifically, war. She's just cashing in a paycheck. If you're looking for anything remotely realistic, this movie is not for you. When Mr. Woodcock pushes an old man (in a wheelchair), into the pool, you know this is one screwed-up gym teacher.

*** out of ****

A bit of a dull story with lack luster comedy but the cast turns it around

[Robert_duder · 7/10 · 16 September 2007]

Mr. Woodcock is a unique film. I don't mean that because of it's plot because this is nothing new in fact Billy Bob Thorton did something like this with School For Scoundrels, and I don't mean the comedy because honestly it just wasn't that funny and as per usual for most comedies the stuff that may have been funny is used up in the trailers, and the dialog and the story isn't that great and yet it's definitely worth seeing, how is that possible? Well there are two reasons and it's the main stars of the film who manage to take a weak and relatively shoddy script and actually really make it worth while and fun and their chemistry is just downright brilliant period. There is very little about this film that is worth getting excited over and I knew this as I was sitting there and yet I kept thinking...this is actually pretty good, kind of fun, I'd watch it again and the only reason is for them. The rest of the cast was good too, no one really tripped up in making the film but no one else is hardly in it. Once again Hollywood has fallen into the inexperience trap with director Craig Gillespie who is very new and this is only his second film. And then you have two virtually brand spanking new screen writers who have written nothing previously for the big screen. This film could have been three times better had they had experience behind the camera and not just in front of it.

Other than his obvious role on the American Pie films as the hopelessly dirty Stifler, Seann William Scott has not really impressed me in anything else. I just always assumed he would always doing nothing else but Stifler and yet this role of his really surprised me. He is almost the straight man as clean cut, celebrity author John Farley. Scott spends most of the film having this break down and talking to himself and plotting against Woodcock and it's just fun to watch. He also has some outrageous physical comedy which is a good additive too. Billy Bob Thornton has had some great roles, and some good films but I've still never been a huge fan but his performance as Jasper Woodcock is just awesome. Although, as I stated earlier, it's not a far cry from the role he played in School For Scoundrels when it was Jon Heder he was torturing but Woodcock is even worse. He is the ultimate provocateur, and together with Scott they are an awesome team against each other. It's just pure dumb luck on their part that the two of them literally save this film from obscurity. Also Susan Sarandon looking lovely as always plays Scott's Mom and Woodcock's fiancé much to Farley's dismay. Sarandon doesn't really pull out the stops for this performance, she is just kind of there but an actor of her caliber just being there...helps. Amy Poehler is actually the real laugh getter as John's egotistical, maniacal and alcoholic book agent. She doesn't have a big role either but she does it well. Ethan Suplee has definitely had better and more significant roles but he plays John's sidekick and former High School class mate. His role is toned down from the typical sidekick role to make way for both Scott and Thorton so he kind of gets lost as a pointless character.

I think the most important thing for a truly successful comedy is to have some really memorable moments and Mr. Woodcock tries, and tries hard but I don't know if it's successful although I'm thinking to myself that "it's a rhetorical question Farley" could become a new expression. The single only reason to see the film is the battle of both wits and physicality between Woodcock and Farley. I don't think there is very many laugh out loud moments in a comedy that you'd think would be of that type. It's definitely a much more subtle comedy styling and it comes across as cute and maybe a little dull around the edges but I've seen worse. 7/10

Corny Child Abuse Comedy

[krasny · 3/10 · 8 October 2007]

i rather enjoyed this movie, but thinking about it afterwards i thought it was a rather disjointed and hollow movie.

woodcock is a teacher, whose teaching style borders on child abuse you see him picking on the small kids, the fat kids and other less than athletic kids.

which is fine by me, child abuse is a good subject for a serious movie. bullshit author and victim returns home and learns things about him self and makes teacher see the error of his ways sounds like a good serious movie.

turn the child abuse into 'tough but fair teaching' and throw in a few gross out larf scenes and it would have made a good revenge comedy.

BUT this movie tries to be both a comedy AND a serious movie, and fails in both guises it fails to be a comedy because the subject is way to serious, and it fails to be a serious movie because woodcock is exonerated at the end of the movie.