This is a pretty good '80s vehicle for James Belushi, who gets to show off both comedic and dramatic chops as Rick Latimer, a teacher who, in a drunken state one night, flies into a rage upon seeing his ex-wife with another man (her attorney, no less). After beating the hell out of the mans' car with a baseball bat, his superiors decide to "reward" him with a principal gig. The catch is that the gig is at the city's most crime ridden inner city high school. Now, Latimer may have his faults, but being a more or less good guy he's incensed at what he sees and decides that he's going to clean up the school, no matter what. Offering some assistance is the schools' head of security, Jake Phillips (Louis Gossett Jr.). Rick takes special interest in students such as young mother Treena (Kelly Jo Minter) and the sincere Arturo (Jacob Vargas), who's only now learning to read. Meanwhile, the biggest piece of criminal scum at the place, Victor Duncan (Michael Wright) tries to scare off Rick, but Rick won't have any of it, and the stage will be set for a final showdown at some point. "The Principal" does score high marks for good intentions, even as it recalls earlier films such as "The Blackboard Jungle" and "Class of 1984" (other films in this genre, of course, include "Stand and Deliver", "Lean On Me", and "Dangerous Minds"). It's reasonably absorbing and tells a decent story, which was written by Frank Deese, a real life teacher who also plays a small role in the movie. What makes it work as well as it does are the variety of entertaining characters, both likable and unlikable. Belushi is in fine form and does seem to be improvising at some points. Gossett Jr. is solid as a rock and the sexy Rae Dawn Chong has the role of impassioned teacher Hilary Orozco. Wright is completely convincing as the antagonist, largely because he mostly underplays the part. Playing other students are Esai Morales as the poetic Raymi Rojas, J.J. Cohen as scuzzy white creep White Zac, and the engaging Troy Winbush as "Baby" Emile, the gang member who has a change of heart. Director Christopher Cain also creates some very effective suspense in the ultimate confrontation between principal and criminal. Best of all, while there is some serious subject matter in the material, Cain and company never get heavy handed in the attempt to create some sort of "message movie", and mix the exploitative ingredients with the serious ones to make an entertaining package in general. By the end, you can't help but cheer the principal on. Seven out of 10.
Review of The Principal
