Movie review: The English Teacher (NC16)

When you have the name "Julianne Moore" attached to any movie, you tend to expect a certain standard. However, don't get your hopes up too high for this one.

The English Teacher is nowhere near your typical Oscar-calibre Moore fare. That said, the movie doesn't go to the other end of the spectrum either.

This is one little comedy that has its funny moments interspersed with predictable scenes.

Moore is the titular teacher Linda, a singleton who lives with her cats. Life is, as you can expect, ordinary (read: boring) until she meets her former student Jason (Michael Angarano).

After reading the manuscript of her star pupil, who is now a disillusioned playwright, Linda is determined to mount the production for her school's annual play.

You can foresee what's going to happen.

There's your May-December romance, love triangles, emotional meltdowns... the list goes on.

But what gives The English Teacher a pass is its cast, with Greg Kinnear and Nathan Lane offering great support.

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