Dangerous Minds

This "To Ma'am with Love" is much more an escapist popcorn movie than the inner-city document its marketing suggested. Michelle Pfeiffer plays real-life former Marine Louanne Johnson, a high school English teacher who meets resistance from kids and administration alike at a tough urban school in Northern California. Pfeiffer is good, and her character's overall development even survives various post-production story cuts. (A romance with Andy Garcia's character was completely eliminated before release; Garcia is nowhere in sight.) The actors who play Johnson's students are also fine, and the whole film becomes the latest in a long tradition of sentimental movies about teachers who change the lives of kids. --Tom Keogh

Movie Details

Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett, Beatrice Winde, John Neville, Renoly Santiago, Wade Dominguez
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 99 min
DVD Aspect Ratios: 1.85:1

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DVD Features:

• Color
• Closed-captioned
• Widescreen
• Dolby

International rating:

Europe: 15
Australia: M

DVD International release dates:
North America: Aug 5, 03

VHS International release dates:
North America: Aug 13, 02