Stand and Deliver (1988)
At a tough school, someone had to take a stand...and someone did. Together, one teacher and one class proved to America they could...Stand and Deliver.
I love nothing apparently more than giving neck-snapping genre whiplash with the constant back and forth I do lately. I imagine it’s getting to the point where people wish i would perhaps tackle another lengthy franchise like Godzilla just so they could get their breath - but nay! On this day, we step to a genre that I’d wager I rarely actually step into - biography drama. Yep, tonight we get a “based on a true story” movie that doesn’t involve something totally made up and trying to be scary - today we get schools and the ultimate terror of humanity - math. Get your pencils and prep your inner nerd, it’s time to Stand and Deliver.
Tonight’s movie is the story of one man fighting the good education fight of making kids live up to their potential. He thought he was going to teach kids computers, but instead he ends up being the hero the kids need when it comes to math in the little school of trouble youths and no budget. Although the budget is pretty bleak and the school’s situation bad - it amounts to nothing in comparison to what these kids are look at in their future should things not change. Our teacher takes up the challenge though, laying down the rules and reaching deep to make sure everyone finds that desire to be more than any one else was, more than their family and their locale, and certainly more than what anyone else expects of them. It’s going to be hard to crack through, and it’s going to take some pretty hard effort, will the kid’s be able to stand up to the teachers dreams for them and deliver the goods?
The acting is good. Not just the teacher nails it - the kids, some more than others of course, also do a wonderful job. The entire situation is largely believable even if I can’t see how anyone would like math, but I know there’s folks out there that do and quite frankly the student actors do a good job of playing of some of the frustrations and difficulties when it comes to math, especially when you hit the calculus phase where there’s practically more letters than numbers. They deliver lines on point - at least as far as I can tell. My Spanish is pretty limited to rather worthless phrases, and the subtitles largely only told me what was being said verbally in Spanish, so I had the option of hearing what I didn’t understand or reading what I didn’t understand - except pants. I knew when they said pants. It’s a bit rambly I suppose, but what it helps to point at is that the language of the lines isn’t the only thing the actors are doing a great job with - even if you can’t understand some of it, everyone is throwing their bodies and expressions into it to give you a full feel for the situation, and it works great for viewer investment.
The characters themselves are believable - perhaps even relatable. I mean, sure, you might not live in a rough and tumble neighborhood, or had a largely lackluster experience with school where you had to bust your but to even show that the school should be around - but as a person some of the characters can be attached to by the viewer without much aversion to the choice. The one whose parents are busting butt to earn that money and has to deal with all the siblings, or the one taking care of their family, or perhaps the ones who need to choose between the future long term and the future immediate. You get to see them grow a bit - good or bad choices - and the extent of which the teacher puts his all into what he’s doing. It’s a lovely little bit of character to add to the story - helped of course by that “based on a real story” tag.
Someone needs to take out those garbage opinions.
Of course, where things get a bit less praiseworthy is the stuff where it’s not really bad, but exactly what it set out to be - mundane, modern (at the time) livable. Costumes don’t go crazy in standing out, unless you had no idea what fashion was like in different school areas. Characters do largely stand out from each other enough that you shouldn’t be confusing them, and part of that is thanks to the costume design (which is where I point out that even making it believable modern clothes is technically great costume work). That said, the most “out of place” costume you’ll get is the teacher in a chef smock when he’s chopping up some apples. Set wise, it’s the school most the time - one or two class rooms at that. It’s where the story takes place, can’t fault it for that - and having the room constantly change doesn’t make sense either. It fits perfectly for what it’s supposed to be, but it won’t leave you speechless or anything like that - but that’s never the point here. All the dressings and wardrobes are all just secondary to the story it’s trying to tell and firmly rooting it in the world of believable.
Likewise, audio is there and bops about a good bit. Honestly, at times it strangely sounds more like a kung fu movie than it does something you would expect to have more of a Latin infusion to reflect the population of the movie, but it also does exactly what music does for most movies - helps support the scenes or the emotion intended for said scenes. It works, it goes away when it’s not needed, and it’s nothing overpowering to interfere with the audio balance and line deliveries. The balance is good, and you’ll never be left wondering what someone said unless it’s because you don’t get the language. Background noises work well, and add to the film in that feeling of believable and real.
Of course, the thinking type can have a ton to find in this one. At it’s core, it’s all about dreams and expectations and being determined enough to stand up and deliver on them. A lot can be obtained if you just grind your legs in and put your back into it. There’s also plenty that someone who wants to could look into as far as the culture - both time period and area-wise. You know, a time when it’s “cool” to be in a gang or have twelve girlfriends or whatnot. There’s also something there to be gleaned from how someone may present themselves compared to what’s actually going on in the background of their life, and how you might never really know just by looking. Like i said, like a good drama there are a bunch of interactions and comments one could pick out to try and apply some brain power too - just like I also always say we can leave that to someone who likes to use their brain power more than me!
Hear me out, he’s got a point.
It’s a good movie, and it’s a good feel good movie. The last movie I watched over the weekend was a bit depressing, so this is a nice pick-me up that tries and instill that sense of how great people can be when they set their mind to it. Maybe it only takes one person to recognize the good and potential in others to really make a difference, you know? It has some humor, a lot of serious bits, and it really talks to a part of a person that wants nothing more than to see people succeed against all odds. Check it out if you don’t need a ton of action to keep you watching - it doesn’t feel all that long, probably shorter than it actually is (which is already around that hour and a half mark of most movies before Marvel started pumping up the numbers), and it’ll leave you feeling good by the end.