SnoopyStyle It's 1998. Ron Clark (Matthew Perry) gets results as an elementary teacher but he leaves his job in the small town of Aurora, North Carolina for NYC. He wants to find a teaching job in Harlem. He starts as a waiter where he befriends Marissa Vega. Inner Harlem Elementary School Principal Turner (Ernie Hudson) dismisses him as being too nice but Clark pushes to teach the worst class in the school. The kids are disruptive. Tayshawn is a troubled kid from a bad foster home. Shameika Wallace is busy taking care of her 3 siblings. Julio is taking bets on how long the teacher lasts. Badriyah is quietly hiding her brains.This is a functional white savior teacher movie. There are some hokey stuff that is traditional to the genre. Matthew Perry does a good job with some slightly more serious acting. I love the kids most of all. Both Brandon Mychal Smith and Hannah Hodson show some promising skills. The story stays traditional and on the expected path.

dkepes I thought Matthew Perry was very good in his role and I loved the story and the portrayal of it but unlike my wife I had not seen Ron Clark on Oprah. So when she started to insist that we watch the special features on the CD, I was ready to go off and do some other chores. 30 seconds into the first interview with Ron on the special features I was suddenly aware of the true depth of this story.The incredible passion that Ron exudes about teaching and just about life, is an inspiration to anyone. I have begun to make his story and his interviews part of the training which I provide to new employees in my business and also recommend it to young adults beginning their working life. The message Ron delivers is about living life with a deep passion. If we are go into each day with anything that approaches this man's dedication and enthusiasm, the odds for success are huge.Ron Clark is a wonderful example to us all, no matter what we do each day, as to how we could live if we chose to.

magutosh Great story, great acting and what a shame it was only made for TV, maybe and just maybe because it's for TV, it was given the opportunity to tell a story with excellence, emotion and great merit, with none of those Hollywood type of rubbish.Matthew Perry has been a great actor, not just a comedy actor. His portrait of Ron Clark has brought the character down to earth, told as it is.I did not know anything about Ron Clark before watching this film, yet after watching it, I felt as if I were there, in Mr Clark's very own classroom, that's what a good film should be. Not just for our eyes and brains but for our hearts.Now I only wish Mr Clark had been my teacher.

fact81 Nothing against Matthew Perry, I believe he acted just fine in the movie. However, when movies are "based" on true stories, they are usually stretched as this has to be the most embellished of them all! It wasn't the acting that bothered me, the youngsters actually did very well in that respect.When Ron Clark(Matthew Perry) first comes into the classroom and states there are 3 rules which he demands to be followed, thats fine. its when the movie continues & through out, Mr. Clark had as many as 25-30 rules all over the room. Thats the first No No! When your teacher, you establish your rules 1st and foremost to the students get accustomed to following them. "Procedure, procedure, procedure" once you start adding things or CHANGING things, the children(whether they are from the ghetto, or not) will become insanely confused and unfamiliar with the environment of the classroom.When the class is on their way to lunch and the main character student cuts in line, Mr. Clark proceeds to ask her if she cut in line and then replies with "Until you tell the truth, the whole class will suffer" Lol, this may have been allowed or perhaps encourages in the older days of teaching, but I can tell you if a teacher did that now and a Principal saw it, you would get a warning or be out the door. It promotes negativity amongst the students and its not helping an already negative situation. There are other ways to go about dealing with 1 student while NOT affecting the rest of the class.When Mr. Clark informs the students they are going to "Phantom of the Opera" all of the students get excited, especially Te-Shaun(however you spell it). That was where I laughed, I have been into rough area schools etc etc, these kids wouldn't know or give a rats ass about "Phantom of the Opera" this part was almost to the point where I turned the film off completely.My last issue with the movie is this. Who is the token drunk white guy who beats up TeShaun lol, where did that come from in the movie? Don't get me wrong here, nothing wrong with the acting in the movie, but very unrealistic and if you think you can get kids in these types of areas to appreciate "Phantom of the Opera" and things like that, keep on dreaming. I'm not saying you cannot touch 1 or even 2 students and help them succeed, but this was ridiculous