User Reviews

History teacher Mrs Tingle seems to have it in for student Leigh Ann Watson, who has her heart on achieving a writing school scholarship. She receives another low grade from Tingle, which doesn't help. When one of her classmates Luke steals the paper of the final history exams and pops it in her bag, Mrs. Tingle finds it sticking out. She threatens the three that she will go to the principal about it, but he's not available. So before she reports it the next morning. Leigh, her friend Jo Lynn and Scott head to her place that night and try to convince her not tell the principal. However due to Tingle's stubbornness, that find themselves reverting to drastic measures to stop this getting out.

Wasn't fan of it when I first saw it, and after another viewing, I'm still not one. Writer Kevin Williamson was on a roll after penning the successful contemporary teen horror films; 'Scream (1996)', 'I Know What You did Last Summer (1997)', 'Scream 2 (1997)' and 'The Faculty (1998)'. He was riding the success (also not to forget the TV show 'Dawson's Creek), but this project would be the final bump. The difference there, compared with this entry was other then writing the screenplay, he was also making his debut in directing. The strange thing though, was that I found his direction to be competently done, but material he stormed up to flavourless and tired. It seemed to get caught in playing both a black comedy and straight-out thriller, without making it gel. The script is cluttered with quick-wit, on-going gags, trivial stretches and gimmicky references towards other films, but the problem is that it's too watered-down with so many contrived developments and sappy moral currents disrupting the flow. The fractured script had to be more strong and potent, since it's a small-scale production that feels like you're watching a stage show because of its mostly confined sets. It tries to play mind games with the characters, but these moments are there to only serve the story's poor progression into a puddle of stupidity and senselessness. The film's ending takes the cake. Williamson's polished direction is sound, but more so in a pedestrian way and therefore it lacks suspense and the pacing even with its taut surroundings can really plod on. You eventually feel it after the halfway mark, and it shows up how minor the story is. The performances are tolerable enough, although if it weren't for Helen Mirren's classy, icy portrayal of manipulative prowess as Mrs. Tingle and a buoyant Marisa Coughlan, we would have been stuck watching a vapid goody-to-shoes Katie Holmes. Barry Watson is modest in his slacker part and Molly Ringwald has a lesser role. The soundtrack packs enough energy, but I found it terribly overwrought and shapeless in its choices.

Watchable, but mechanical all round.

TEACHING MRS. TINGLE (1999) **1/2

Starring: Katie Holmes, Helen Mirren, Marisa Coughlan, Barry Watson, Jeffrey Tambor, and Vivica A. Fox Written and directed by Kevin Williamson. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for violence, language, sexuality, and thematic elements)

By Blake French:

As rumor has it, Kevin Williamson, writer and director of the new comedy horror romp, "Teaching Mrs. Tingle," had probable cause to create such a movie. I hear Williamson once had a teacher who told him he couldn't write well, and now, due to his enormous success as such, he is putting that educator in his or her place. Is "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" an extreme telling of his feelings for that individual? Was Mrs. Tingle really the name of his teacher? Will this film be a bad influence towards today's high school students who have a hellish teacher? The answers I do not know. Although Kevin Williamson has written some efficient work in his time, "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" is not the movie to prove to his old teacher that he is indeed a wonderful author. The screenplay shows signs of knowledgeable structure. It contains particularly effective character traits. However, the overall presentation demonstrates just how correct Kevin Williamson's teacher was when criticizing his skills.

The film details the mishaps of three high school students, Luke, Jo Lynn, and the character in the spotlight here, Leigh Ann Watson. Luke is a slacker, caring little about his education or future. Jo Lynn is an average young woman with a crush on Luke. Leigh Ann, however, is almost a valedictorian on the verge of a college scholarship, hoping to dwell in a future of writing. The only thing standing in her way is her non-supportive, although loving, mother and the teacher known as the demon of her school by students and teachers, Mrs. Tingle. She is the person who is going to determine whether Leigh Ann receives the academic achievement award or not, because she is going to grade the history project that will be the final statement in her overall grade point average.

The opening scene develops our hero, Leigh Ann, a with little profundity. We learn of her successful history with her schooling experiences through dialogue rather than actions. Although to some extent this method of character development works here, in order for the audience to care for such an important character, we require more than what is granted. The dialogue is smart and audacious throughout the film, but even such clever words fail to replace the important visualization of Leigh Ann's past. This is very hard material to accomplish with proficiency; only a screenwriter with a firm foundation can exceed with this material. Williamson proves to be not such with the direction of his own script.

Mrs. Tingle's introduction is a completely different story. We experience through actions, motives, character reactions, and decisive dialogue how she is truly the teacher from hell. The audience loves to hate her cruel, devilish personality. This is delivered in an award worthy fashion by the great Helen Mirren, cast with perfect superiority and brings forth one of the most fun characters this year. Her character is played straight and, until the resolving but ridiculous conclusion, is never over the top. Mrs. Tingle is one of the most sought out characters seen in the movies in this year.

The story makes up a near flawless structure. The first act proceeds appropriately as we meet the first plot point, which concludes when Mrs. Tingle accuses Leigh Ann of cheating on an important test. This incident swiftly moves us into act two when the three concerned students hijack Tingle in her own home and accidentally allow things to get out of hand. She ends up being tied to a bed, blackmailed, deceived, and is even shot with a crossbow.

I think the audience needed more description of the side characters. In particular, the Jeffrey Tambor character, Coach Wenchell, or as Tingle calls him, "Spanky." He contributes an important part in the film, but is developed with such little significance, we really don't care that much about him. Obviously, the filmmakers intended to use him as a plot device; to fit the necessary requirements, once again proving that Kevin Williamson hit some major road bumps in his script.

"Teaching Mrs. Tingle" was first scheduled to be titled "Killing Mrs. Tingle," but Dimension obviously lost their nerve and tamed it down to something more appropriate. The film is not as bad as many are saying, and contains some very good material. But in the end, I feel Kevin Williamson needs to be taught a few lessons about screen writing. Whether it be by Mrs. Tingle, or his old teacher, as this film proves, he needs to go back to script school.

Brought to you by Dimension Films.

I will have to disagree with many comments on this movie saying that it was only a bomb. I thought this movie was quite interesting, surely not a great one, but good. The high point of this movie, in fact, is Helen Mirren. I was quite impressed with her inspiring performance - it kind of reminded me of Kathy Bates in "Misery". It is quite rare to see such a great performance like Helen Mirren's in an horror/suspense movie and this is the main reason why I have decided to comment on "Teaching Mrs. Tingle".

This isn't a dreadful film, merely insipid. The plot is deeply flawed and implausible. It tries to be a number of genres and fails at each. It fails as a comedy, as a suspense thriller and as a horror movie. It almost succeeds as science fiction. The direction is uninspired and Katie Holmes, cute cherub face that she is, should be modeling teen clothing, not acting. The only thing that keeps this movie from being a 1 out of 10 is Helen Mirren. Her performance is fabulously nefarious and is (almost) worth suffering through the rest of it. Her ability to transmute from imperious to faux sympathetic to deviously manipulate and control her prey shows masterful range. Other than Marissa Coughlin's delightful Exorcist rendition, Mirren is the only reason to see this movie. A solid 3.0.

First of all, Helen Mirren alone is worth watching in this. Don't take it too seriously and watch it for what it is - a late 90s teen romp, often pretty exceting, but also pretty funny, and you'll have a good time.

Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) is a very weird movie. It was actually worse than I thought, but there are two hot chicks in it (Katie Holmes, Marisa Couglan) that made it heaps better.

I have to say Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) went stupid at lots of points in the film and the actors (Holmes, Mirren, Watson) could of done lots better.

Anyway, I'll get to the point! This film is about an overachieving student named Lee-Anne Watson (Holmes) who is accused of cheating on her history test! Lee-Anne doesn't like it when things don't go her way, and she wants revenge, so her two buddys (Coughlan, Watson) take a trip to see Mrs. Tingle (the dragon teacher who accused Lee-Anne of cheating) and pay her a lesson!

This is not scary, its not that funny but it manages to get in the thriller combination.

My Rating : 7/10.

In the UK, we're lucky enough to see Helen Mirren regularly on tv, especially as the lead in a crime drama series called Prime Suspect. In Teaching Mrs Tingle, she offers us a splendidly embittered bitch, teetering on the edge of caricature but always just - only just - on the stylish side of the thin line. The supporting cast of young actors, Barry Watson, Katie Holmes and Marisa Coughlan, are sexy and sassy - as the film is itself - and are good enough to suggest that in a few years time we'll all be watching this wondering why we didn't realise how good it was when it came out. The narrative's carefully managed by the writer (with none of the dreaded Dawson Creek verbal diahrroea), the photography and lighting are cleanly and sometime imaginatively done, and the dramatic thrills generate emotional excitement in a way that many so-called thrillers would like to emulate. Someone making this film was absolutely first rate at getting the best out of their team: maybe not everyone involved is going to do better later, and maybe this will turn out to have been their finest hour - but if you want to see a really enjoyable comedy thriller, then try this excellent movie.

I heard this movie was bad…They even warned me it was terrible, but for some reason (probably Katie Holmes) I still watched it when it came on national TV. Watching Kevin Williamson films means torturing! His scenarios aren't funny, definitely not scary and not the least bit creative. Teaching Mrs. Tingle breathes the same irritating atmosphere as his brainless series `Dawson's Creek' and it's probably meant for the same target group as well. Before the credits even started, 5 people already wanted a hug and they stated that eerie `I love you'-sentence. It doesn't get any better as the soundtrack is filled with annoying pop/rock and the storyline is ultra-thin. Three students on the verge of graduation get caught cheating by the wickedest teacher in school. Every high-school has a teacher like that, you know… To save their skin, they try to convince Mrs. Tingle that it wasn't their intention to cheat but this attempt goes horrible wrong. The typical high-school humor is completely lost on me, the overdose of sentiment is pathetic and the acting (with the exception of Helen Mirren) is abominable. I'm sure Katie Holmes can act – that's a fact proven by her role in `the Gift' – but she urgently needs to stop accepting frumpish girl roles. As said before, the only positive comments goes out to the brilliant casting of Helen Mirren as the shrew. It's like Kathleen Turner in `Serial Mom'! The role suits her perfectly and you can't imagine anyone else playing her. Other than that, this is avoidable teenage nonsense.

I was zapping until I saw Ms. Mirren's elegant face. Damn, this woman's hot! I think I missed about the first half hour but seeing the utter crap that this film is, I certainly haven't missed much. This is just another one of those trashy teen thrillers and the only good thing about it is (obviously) Helen Mirren. I loved the way she transforms from mean to vulnerable to manipulative. The character is not the best written character (then there's a whole lot wrong with the sloppy writing let alone inconsistency, plot holes and lack of characterization) but this woman pulls it off with brilliance. Katie Holmes is one of the most uninteresting actresses and she should just stick to that snoozefest soap 'Dawson's Creek' where she continues 'advising' her co-stars. Oh wait, that's been long cancelled, hasn't it? Barry Watson and Marisa Coughlan are equally pathetic. I'm sure the director and the writer hated their teachers which is why they want to teach the kids of today that it's alright to kidnap your teacher and beat her up, no matter how mean she is in class because that will surely get you an A.

Could have been a good story except for the incredulously stupid ending that left me not only disappointed but angry. The 'moral' of the story is that it is o.k. to be deceitful, to assault, verbally & physically, to hold hostage, to defame and to blackmail someone because you believe (rightly or wrongly) that you deserve an 'A' on a class project.

Excuse me, but to mature, rational people, aren't these things normally considered criminal?

The whole thing comes off as some sort of vendetta against a former teacher written by some inept student looking for someone on whom to blame their shortcomings. Childish at best.

Watch only if you believe you got 'D's in school because your teachers were out to get you personally. Then see a good shrink.

Ok, this is not Scream, but it a hell of a lot better than Scream 3 or I Know what you did last summer. In fact this is pretty good entertainment. There are a few good jokes and Helen Mirren really puts on a great performance. Not very gruesome though and too few drops of blood. Maybe the film should have remained Killing Mrs. Tingle and should have been more gruesome, but hey I didn't write this so who cares about my opinion? (You, actually if you are still reading!).

A major flaw of this film is, that it is sometimes predictable and cheesy (the end), but it can also be surprising (also the end).

7 out of 10.

Note: this review has been amended to remove some sexist comments I included at the time. Apologies for any offence caused. I was young and stupid at the time, thinking I was being 'cool'.

The sooner Hollywood realizes that Kevin Williamson used all of his writing talent to put out Scream, the sooner America can be rid of films such as Teaching Mrs. Tingle. I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Faculty, Halloween H2O, and the confusingly popular and very annoying Dawson's Creek all look like masterpiece's of cinema and television compared to this dreadful attempt of a movie. It is truly so bad that one cannot help oneself from laughing out loud at certain times, when laughs were the exact opposite reaction the director was going for. At other times watching the movie evokes actual physical pain.

The story revolves around Leigh Ann (Katie Holmes), who is the perfect, innocent student whose life ambition is to be a writer. Standing in her way of getting the scholarship she needs to attend college and pursue her dreams to the fullest is Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren), a almost Hitler like history teacher who, for some reason that is never truly explained, will do anything she can to ruin Leigh Ann's life. When the school loser Luke (Barry Watson), who is the love interest of both Leigh Ann and best friend Jo Lynn (Marisa Coughlan), steals the Tingle final exam and tries to get Leigh Ann in on it, the cat-like Mrs. Tingle is right there to spoil the plot and blame Leigh Ann for the crime. Venturing to Tingle's house after school to try and explain things, Luke, Jo Lynn and Leigh Ann turn trying to persuade the evil teacher to not accuse Leigh Ann of cheating into a full fledged hostage situation. The rest of the movie drones along at a painstaking pace, going down every predictable road in the book, and ending with a sickeningly obvious conclusion.

Katie Holmes is the only saving grace in this film, and most of that is due to her painfully cute appearance. She plays the same character she has played in every role she has ever been given, the young, innocent, bright girl who has more morals than the Pope on Christmas. It would not have been a shock to see Dawson dash through the door of Tingle's house with an overly mature, long winded solution to the problem and then leave just as quickly. Helen Mirren makes the part of Mrs. Tingle very hard to relate to and is so over the top of her performance that you forget she is supposed to be just a history teacher and not some international terrorist being sought after in a Tom Clancy novel. Her ambivalance to the situation she is put in, the way she almost relishes being held captive by the three teens is so out of place that it borders on insulting.

While Helen may have made Mrs. Tingle the most unrealistic character in the movie, the award for worst actress goes to, hands down, Marisa Coughlan. Her portrayal of the horny actress Jo Lynn is so bad I was hoping someone had brought a hungry, wet baby who already hated life just to take my mind off of her. Her scene where she imitates the wonderful film The Exorcist is so embarrassing that I had to look away from the screen until it was over. Even her beauty is not enough to overpower her terrible performance, and the fact that she is so bad seems to take away from her appearance. It is truly extraordinary, so bad that it almost becomes another entity in the movie, and leaves one wondering how, in a profession so many try and fail, how someone like that can squeak through the cracks. Oh, and one more note, Luke (Barry Watson) is the most inconsequential character I have ever seen in a movie and the fact that he is supposed to be the school loser is not helped by the fact that he speaks as if he were a literary student at Oxford.

Overall, this movie is just terrible. It is so badly conceived, so badly acted, so badly directed, and so badly written that it offers no moments of levity at all. It is very rare to find a movie that possesses none of the qualities a good film has. Kevin Williamson proves, once again, that he is the most overrated writer on the planet and that his dialogue is the same for every character, for every situation. Note to Kevin; no high school students, and very few college students for that matter, talk as if they are Rhodes Scholars. Go watch American Pie to get a sense of the generation you always write about. Until then, leave the film making to people with a clue as to what they are doing.

The one actress I'm talking about is Marisa Coughlan, who played Jo Lynn. She is obviously a very talented actress and her whole exorcist scene (which had nothing to do with the movie at all, whatsoever) was awesome. Other than that, the plot was kind of weak, but the characters were very likeable and it kept me interested. It's a cute movie.

Going into Teaching Mrs Tingle, all I wanted was a fun, enjoyable teen comedy that would entertain me for it's running time. Despite a rather good first half hour, the film quickly subsides into a dull, clichéd mess that's about as entertaining as pulling out your eyelashes with pliers. Rusty pliers, at that. 'Scream' writer Kevin Williamson wrote and directed this movie, and proved that Scream may well have been a fluke. Most of the elements of this movie have been seen a million times already in other films; and while it was OK for him to steal elements from other movies in Scream, due to the fact that it's meant as a slasher tribute; here, it just looks like he's completely ran out of ideas. The plot follows the cleverest girl in school, played by Katie Holmes. After being caught cheating along with two of her friends; the three decide to take the teacher that caught them hostage in her own home. However, this isn't just any teacher; it's Mrs Tingle, the meanest bitch in school. She isn't taking being tied to the bed lying down either, as she begins to play mind games to turn her captors against each other.

The plot is very similar to the 1997 flick 'Suicide Kings', and a whole host of earlier films. It's actually not a bad idea for a movie, and if Williamson could have populated the film with interesting characters; it could have worked really well. The character of Mrs Tingle is the most interesting in the movie, but she's massively one dimensional, and like all the other characters in the film; is merely a caricature. The acting is largely diabolical, with the exception of Helen Mirren in the title role. She's suitably evil in the role, and while she doesn't have a lot to get her teeth into; she clearly enjoys herself playing the central figure. The teenage cast isn't worth mentioning, with only Katie Holmes standing out; and that's only really because of her star profile, not her acting talents. Williamson has draped nearly every scene in dull soft rock music, which would be really annoying if the film wasn't absolutely terrible anyway. Honestly, this movie does have a few moments that are rather good; but basically, if you want to see a good example of the teen comedy - this isn't the movie that you want to see.

I was expecting this to be a Scream/I Know What you did Last Summer/Urban Legend clone, but it was surprisingly different. Its not a masterpiece by any means, but it passes the time- probably mostly due to some very strong actors. I thought Helen Mirren was magnificent as Mrs Tingle - the cruel/sadistic/cold history teacher. There are some great one liners - but they are not as frequent or as amusing as the dialogue in Scream. The film does not take itself too seriously which is a good thing. Still Helen Mirren really carries the film with her strong performance, another actor in the role would just not have been as effective.

I remember when this movie first trailers came around. It looked like a fun movie but above all also a fast paced one with lots of action and thriller elements. However very little of this can be seen back into this movie. A really wasted opportunity, for it's premise was a good one and a rather interestingly original one as well.

Maybe I expected too much, since Kevin Williamson, the man behind the Scream movies was at the helm of this movie. The movie turned out to be not quite good or tense enough for a thriller and too serious and weak for a fun comedy. Therefor I can't help regarding "Teaching Mrs. Tingle" as a failed movie, that misses its target.

They could had done so much interesting with this movie its story but basically rarely anything tense or remarkable occurs. Mrs. Tingle spends about three quarters of the movie lying tied on bed. They could have let here character manipulate all of the students in a slick and bitchy way, to set them up against each other. The movie does this but it really doesn't go far enough in this. The movie remains pretty shallow because of this and it lacks some good tension and creativity. Not that it's boring but it isn't terrible interesting either.

It's also a waste of Helen Mirren's talent. This is not a role we see her often in. She does provide the movie with some really excellent moments but the script offers her little really interesting to do.

Nothing wrong with the rest of the cast either really. Katie Holmes really isn't bad in it and so isn't Barry Watson, who I think they tried to launch as the new Johnny Depp, who also started his career in a movie with a similar style as this one; "A Nightmare on Elm Street" but he never made it and he already is a forgotten actor. Jeffrey Tambor plays a fun role and so does Molly Ringwald, who's role is obviously referring to her image of queen of high-school movies.

The movie could had really used some more pace, action and tension. It now instead is a rather shallow movie in which too little (interesting) is happening. It still is a somewhat fun movie to watch and obviously not one to take very serious but it all isn't quite enough to make this movie stand out.

5/10

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Most people don't like this because of what happened at Columbine High. But Hello! This is just a movie! A Great Movie! Movies don't create psychos! This movie is Kevin Williamson's masterpiece, it's full of suspense and comedy. The dialogues are great written. And the actors are great as well, especially Helen Mirren and Katie Holmes. Kevin Williamson Rocks!

This film was actually quite enjoyable, well worth a rental. It is pretty much on the level of a good TV movie, with the exception of Helen Mirren, who is exceptional. The way she slowly gets into the minds of the kids, the way she knows exactly how to manipulate them and get them to mistrust one another is the creepy part of the film.

The fact that the film does not fit easily into a specified genre is not, in itself, a bad thing. Many of us love entertainments like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for that very reason. This film is pretty successful in much the same way.

I'm surprised by the many comments made here on how the Exorcist routine was "pointless" but well-done, as if the reference "comes out of nowhere." Right after the kids tie up Mrs. Tingle, they comment on how she looks "just like that girl in the Exorcist, you know, the one that vomits on everyone." This is a pretty funny insult to make. Funnier because Mrs. Tingle does resemble the possessed Regan (her face is all cut up; she's nice one second, evil the next; she has an uncanny ability to know each characters personal weakness). This is what causes the Jo Lynn character (a ham who is constantly trying to impress with her impersonations) to go into the Exorcist routine when she gets bored. I thought the setup and payoff was pretty obvious. It's pretty sad when Kevin Williamson jokes go over the audiences' head.

This adaptation of the Steve Balderson film is also very similar to "9 to 5," but lacks the warmth of that film and the stylish excitement of Pep Squad. They should have kept the title "Killing Mrs. Tingle" instead of changing it to "Teaching..." I think that was pretty weak. Overall, writing is fair, but the story is superficially shallow. Metaphors and real meaning needed to be here.