Bad Teacher appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. The image was good but not better than that.
For the most part, sharpness looked positive. At times, wider shots tended to be a little soft, but those examples weren’t terribly intrusive. Much of the film appeared pretty accurate and concise. No concerns with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge enhancement remained absent. Source flaws also failed to create problems.
In terms of colors, Teacher tended to stay with a natural palette. Hues took on a light golden tone at times, but that stylistic choice didn’t overwhelm. Instead, the colors appeared pretty clear and concise. Blacks were deep and firm, while shadows showed good delineation. Overall, this was a pleasing presentation but not a great one, mostly due to the light softness.
I thought that the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Teacher seemed fine but it didn’t excel because of a lack of ambition. Like most comedies, the movie featured a limited soundfield that strongly favored the forward channels. It showed nice stereo spread to the music as well as some general ambience from the sides.
Panning was decent, and the surrounds usually kicked in basic reinforcement. A few scenes opened up better, though, such as those in a club. However, most of the movie stayed with limited imaging.
Audio quality appeared good. Speech was natural and distinct, with no issues related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects sounded clean and accurate, with good fidelity and no signs of distortion. Music was perfectly fine, as the score and songs showed positive dimensionality. This track was good enough for a “B-“ but didn’t particularly impress.
A few extras fill out the set. First of all, the disc includes both the film’s theatrical version (1:31:58) as well as an unrated extended cut (1:37:38). What does the added footage show? We get a lot of tiny extensions to existing scenes but only a few major changes. One long sequence shows Elizabeth’s attempts to pick up a rich guy at a bar, and another shows a chat about Scott between Elizabeth and Lynn as well as the state assessment pre-test.
Elizabeth’s roommate Kirk (Eric Stonestreet) receives more screentime here; he pops up in a couple of new scenes. We also learn one of the reasons Scott earns so much time as a substitute teacher. None of the added/extended scenes seem memorable, though I do like the expansion of the Kirk role. The film’s overall impact remains the same, though.
JAMS Yearbook – Hidden Moments allows you to “meet” four students and eight teachers. This allows us to read small blurbs about the characters and see “Memorable Moments” reels that mix movie footage and shots from the set. We don’t learn much, but this is a mildly fun compilation nonetheless.
A Gag Reel lasts four minutes, 58 seconds. It shows the standard run of silliness and mistakes. Nothing particularly interesting arises here.
Under Outtakes, we get a compilation of four clips with a total running time of three minutes, 53 seconds. Some of these fall into the “blooper” category, but many of them show unused/alternate lines. That helps make them more interesting, though I could live without all the giggles that come along for the ride.
Six Deleted Scenes fill a total of five minutes, 44 seconds. In these, we see Elizabeth chat about her potential implants with her doctor, and another lets her bond with Garrett. A third shows Amy’s attempts to counsel a student, and the next provides more of the time Scott subs for Elizabeth. Scene five adds more to the class field trip – and Elizabeth’s relationship with Garrett – while the final sequence expands the movie’s final sequence.
It’s a bad sign the filmmakers didn’t think any of these merited inclusion in the unrated cut, but the clips tend to be decent. Nothing especially funny pops up here, but the bits tend to be reasonably enjoyable.
Five featurettes follow. Way Behind the Scenes with Jason and Justin runs five minutes, 38 seconds and gives us a comedic chat between actors Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake. Mostly this means they rag on each other in a funny way and make this an amusing piece.
During the three-minute, 31-second Raising More than Funds, we hear from Segel, co-writer Lee Eisenberg, director Jake Kasdan, costume designer Debra McGuire, and actor Cameron Diaz. They discuss the movie’s sexy car wash sequence. A few decent notes emerge, but it’s too short to add up to much.
Next we get A Very Odd Blacksmith Story. It goes for two minutes, eight seconds and offers comments from Eisenberg. He gives us a tongue-in-cheek discussion of his cameo as a blacksmith. It’s mildly fun and that’s about it.
After that we move to Swimming with the Dolphins. This one lasts three minutes, 35 seconds and offers notes from Kasdan, Diaz, executive producer Georgia Kacandes and actors Lucy Punch and John Michael Higgins. They chat about Higgins’ character’s obsession with dolphins and the actor’s improv skills. This is another comedic piece that gives us some minor enjoyment.
Finally, Good Teacher fills four minutes, four seconds and delivers comments from Diaz, Kacandes, Segel, Timberlake, Punch, and actors Eric Stonestreet, Kaitlyn Dever, and Matthew J. Evans. They tell us what it takes to be a good instructor, though they usually opt for comedic thoughts. It’s another pleasant but insubstantial piece.
The disc opens with ads for Friends with Benefits, 30 Minutes or Less, Attack the Block and Beats, Rhymes and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest. These also pop up under Previews along with promos for A Good Old Fashioned Orgy and Colombiana. No trailer for Teacher appears here.
Despite the potential to become a biting black comedy, Bad Teacher never quite ignites. The movie has its moments and remains consistently watchable, but it feels like a mediocre missed opportunity. The Blu-ray delivers fairly good picture and audio along with some generally insubstantial supplements. This is a moderately entertaining flick at best.