Product Description

Written and directed by Kevin Williamson (SCREAM, SCREAM 2, TV's DAWSON'S CREEK), TEACHING MRS. TINGLE is a cool, cutting-edge comedy starring Hollywood's hottest young talent! Leigh Ann Watson (Katie Holmes -- TV's DAWSON'S CREEK, GO, DISTURBING BEHAVIOR) is the brightest girl at Grandsboro High ... but her dreams of a much-needed college scholarship are sabotaged when her history teacher, the dreaded Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren -- CALENDAR GIRLS), falsely accuses her of cheating! Desperate to prove her innocence, Leigh Ann conspires with her friends Luke (Barry Watson -- SORORITY BOYS) and Jo Lynn on a scheme that will teach Mrs. Tingle a lesson of her own! Before they know it, however, their plan spins hilariously out of control ... and becomes an endless comedy of errors! Also featuring Vivica A. Fox (KILL BILL VOLUME 1) and Molly Ringwald (SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE) -- you're sure to delight in all the fun and thrills of this hip movie treat!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38729 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-12-21
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
The poster for Teaching Mrs. Tingle may feature young TV cuties Katie Holmes (Dawson's Creek), Marisa Coughlin (Wasteland), and Barry Watson (Seventh Heaven), but the real star is the actress playing the title character: Helen Mirren. Mirren plays a bitter, tyrannical teacher who, due to circumstantial evidence, believes goody two-shoes Holmes is guilty of cheating on her history final. Holmes, Coughlin, and Watson go to Mirren's home to convince her that there's been a misunderstanding, but Mirren refuses to listen. Terrified that this will ruin her chances to go to college, Holmes and her compatriots knock Mirren out and tie her to her bed. Unfortunately, they haven't any idea what to do next; when Mirren awakes, the situation becomes a battle of wits in which the teenagers are hopelessly outmatched. Coughlin and Watson are pretty to look at and Holmes has some genuine talent and a lot of charm, but Mirren--who's played Shakespeare on the stage and been in movies ranging from lurid and trashy (Caligula) to eerie and arty (The Comfort of Strangers) to lurid, trashy, eerie, and arty (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover)--combines the cutting intelligence of Vanessa Redgrave, the steely will of Judi Dench, and a sensual energy that any young starlet would kill for. For fans of the British TV series Prime Suspect, in which Mirren plays the tough yet vulnerable Inspector Tennyson, this teen comedy-thriller is just an amusing footnote in Mirren's career; but if you've never been transfixed by this actress's mischievous sidelong glances, Teaching Mrs. Tingle might provide a good start. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

A Most Wonderful & "Ironic" Surprise With Loads Of Cameos!
I admit that I purchased this movie for the plain and simple fact that Dame Helen Mirren appears in it. I can also say with all honesty that I have never watched a single episode of Dawson's Creek or 7th Heaven. I am a huge fan of Mirren's versatile acting abilities. She is amazing in this film, but I won't gush on about her...

However, I was pleasantly pleased and surprised with this film and all of it's actors. It is a well written script by Scream's Kevin Williamson who also shows his ability to direct in his debut.

I also enjoyed several cameo appearances by faces that I haven't seen in a while. The principal is played by Michael McKean. You knew him as Lenny Koznowski, the nasal, nerdish pal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squigman on the hit TV series Laverne and Shirley. Molly Ringwald is Miss Banks, the administrative assistant in the school's office, Vivica A. Fox plays guidance counsellor, Miss Gold and Jeffrey Tambor as Coach "Spanky" Wenchell.

The movie moves at a quick pace and has many twists, turns and thrills! Highly recommended for a family fun movie night!

Happy Watching!

Decent Movie, Bad Conclusion
I wasn't sure what to expect when I first saw this movie awhile ago. Would it be a crazy teen romp complete with insane pranks on teachers and classmates alike? Or would it be a dramatic piece with lessons and morals to spare? The answer? A little bit of both.

While I won't say I loved this movie, I did love Katie Holmes'character transformation here. From serious, studious bookworm to adventurous and optimistic. Cool job with the acting and writing there. Others may praise Helen Mirren's portrayal of Mrs. Tingle as being the highlight but for me it was Katie who stole the show.

My only real problem with this movie is the ending. Too many issues are glossed over for a happy, neatly packaged conclusion. The kids may have hated Mrs. Tingle for she was no doubt a bitter old lady, but the kids did indeed have a stolen test paper. What was Mrs. Tingle to do? Ignore that completely? And the issue is basically forgotten by the end of the film as the three students walk away scot free. Let's not forget that they kidnapped Mrs. Tingle and shot her with an arrow before she ever took a shot at them. The movie seems to abandon all of this. This movie would've been much better with a more realistic ending.

Teaching Mr. Williamson a few things
Well, it seems the all mighty Kevin has stumbled. I loved the Scream films, and The Faculty, but this time something's gone wrong. It's not Helen Mirren's fault, because she holds this film up on her own - it's just that what should be a dark and twisted story about pupils' hate for their teachers is in fact a rather dull farce. The characters are unbelievably one dimensional, especially for such a gifted writer as Williamson. The kids are holding their techer hostage, yet minutes later they're having sex in her house - forgetting that they're most likely going to go to jail. I really wanted to like this film, but having got used to the best from Kevin, this just won't do. There's only a trailer on the disc, probably because the people involved were a little embarassed at being in it and so don't want to be reminded of that fact, but the sound is good - at times it seems like it really is raining outside your own house during a pivotal scene between Mirren and Holmes. It's not an awful film by a long shot, but it could have been so much better.