FlashCallahan When a school has less-than-average basic skills test scores, it faces being taken over by the state. So the mayor asks the school superintendent for help, and he suggests that they appoint Joe Clark as the school principal.When he arrives, he shakes things up by reassigning teachers and calling out their flaws.But it isn't long before a lot of people want him out, but at the same time, he gains the respect of some of the teachers and the students....Lean on me is one of a slew of high school gone bad films that graced cinemas in the late eighties and nineties. Films like Dangerous Minds and Stand and Deliver spring to mind, and although this is a tour de force for Freeman, it carries the usual tropes that this sub genre gets weighed down by.We have all the atypical bad students expelled, and there is always one promising that they will get their revenge, and then you have the other one who begs to come back, and makes good.Then you have the teachers who are against him, and so they get their just desserts when the narrative calls for it.And then finally, we have the student who's known Freeman for years, he say's see if you ever have a problem, and guess what? Half way through the second act, something happens where only Freeman can help.Although the film spoon feeds you all these tropes, it's worth seeing just for Freeman's wonderful performance. This is why he's in every other film that is released.It's one of the better high school films, is ably directed, and the script is gritty enough to keep you hooked.

The_Film_Cricket There is an awful lot of yelling in 'Lean On Me' and maybe the filmmakers think that it is justified because it is based on a true story. The problem is that the main character, 'Crazy Joe' Clark is so loud, abrasive and obnoxious that it is hard to get an emotional foothold on what he is trying to accomplish. That's a problem when the movie is trying to siphon that hateful character into an inspirational teacher movie.The movie stars Morgan Freeman as Clark a loud-mouthed, bull horn-toting educator who is brought back to the once proud Eastside High School to clean it up and get the students through the state exam. The opening scenes show the school hallways as a place where drug-dealing, violence and vandalism are a way of life. Showing that the school is out of control is one thing but the corridors of this school look two bricks shy of a prison riot.Clark is brought out of a comfortable job as an elementary school teacher to whip Eastside into shape but for every action that he tries to accomplish there is another action that leaves us shaking our heads. It's one thing to expel 300 trouble-makers and demand that the graffiti be brought down but it's quite another to force students to sing the school song on demand and fire the English teacher because he moved during it's singing.I have no objection to a hard driving educator but I take issue with Clark who refuses to hear anyone's opinion and berates anyone who makes an opposing suggestion. The movie never makes any attempts to allow him to learn from his mistake, he is simply seen as a very trouble, bullying man who gets results but refuses to acknowledge those that he steps on to get his way.The ending of the movie isn't really dealt with in a serious way. Clark chains the emergency doors to keep drug dealers out which of course is illegal. One parent with a grudge insists that Clark be arrested and when he goes to jail, we get one of those tired old scenes where every single student marches up to the courthouse to demand his release.From the sides, the movie throws in a lot of one-dimensional characters. There is a portly teacher who functions as a whipping post for Clark's tirades. There is an arrogant music teacher who only figures into the story so that Clark can fire her for insubordination. Then there is an angry parent who wants Clark fired and whose only scenes involve her making demands.'Lean On Me' is a movie torn between two ideas. Director John G. Avildson wants to create a biography of what Clark did to Eastside but he also wants to make an inspirational teacher movie. The mechanics of both don't quite fit together because the script refuses to allow Clark to learn anything himself.

timelord1999 This movie was so inspiring. Morgan, like all the reviews state, was cast PERFECTLY as Joe Clark. I cant think of an actor better suited to the role. I almost cried, and I don't cry for ANYTHING. This was a very deep movie and I recommend this to anyone whom likes Morgan Freeman, movies about finding yourself, kids improving themselves out of their own free will, and things like that. If you think movies like this are ghetto, your an idiot because thats the incorrect use of the word ghetto, Morgan RULES, and movies like this were meant to inspire. Which I believe, is exactly what it did for me. If you watch it. You will feel, invigorated, happy, sad, more happy, and inspired to do good things.Movies sort of like this but not as good are: remember the titans, The color purple, dangerous minds, and stand and deliver.PS, Lets go Morgan Freeman! YAY!

Ashley Holmes I loved this movie it was great. And i think its an very inspiring movie for teens.My favorite part in the movie was when the boys got caught in the bathroom,because i thought they were going to mess up but they didn't they sung perfectly.I think this movie can teach many people how to improve with their selves.Many problems in this movie are going on today in school.And just like they were fixed in this movie they can be fixed i schools today.Like they kids falling asleep in class, and listening to music, not studying, fighting. Im not saying the same way they fixed them in the movie is the same way they can be fixed, but i know there is an way for them to get fixed . I love this movie no matter how old it gets i will always love it.