Dangerous Minds | Full Movie | Movies Anywhere

Name: Dangerous Minds
Released: 1995-8-11
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza

Dangerous Minds

R
1h 39m
1995

31%

age 15+

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Former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, a first-time high school teacher assigned to a class of tough but smart inner city students. When conventional methods fail to reach them, the feisty Ms. Johnson tries the unconventional -- defying the rules and creating her own curriculum! In the process, she instills a new self-confidence in her students -- motivating them toward their greatest potential.

Director:

John N. Smith

Producer:

Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer

Writer:

Ronald Bass

Cast:

Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza

Rotten Tomatoes® Score

TOMATOMETER®

31%

Critics Consensus: Rife with stereotypes that undermine its good intentions, Dangerous Minds is too blind to see that the ones it hurts are the audience.

Reviews

Cincinnati Enquirer

Margaret A. McGurk

[Dangerous Minds] tells a story that, frankly, we've heard before. Yet it tells that story with such piercing emotion that it seems brand new.

The film is able to overcome its faults through an uplifting finale; it may be formulaic, but the inspirational model is entirely effective.

Cliches, stereotypes, mixed messages in '90s school drama.

July 29, 2020

FULL REVIEW

Christian Science Monitor

David Sterritt

Movie stars have tamed sassy kids in movies from The Blackboard Jungle to Stand and Deliver, but it's hard to remember an example more patronizing or sentimentalized than this one.

Common Sense Media

age 15+

Common Sense Says

Cliches, stereotypes, mixed messages in '90s school drama.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Dangerous Minds is a 1995 drama in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays a new teacher who finds ways to inspire her classroom of students of color from impoverished neighborhoods. There's frequent profanity, including the "N" word, "f--k," and "motherf---er." One of the students is killed (off-screen), and the teacher and students are obviously emotionally distraught upon learning of his death. Movie addresses teen pregnancy, abortion, drug dealing, fighting in order to keep one's respect on the streets. One of the characters (teacher) smokes cigarettes. Some product placement. Before the teacher has earned the respect of her students, one of her students leers at her and says, "I'll eat you," which is greeted by hoots and hollers from his classmates. This movie is an example of the "white savior narrative," and while it could be argued that the movie does at least try to address this, families can use this movie to discuss the prevalence of movies in which white characters come in and "rescue" people of color from their circumstances.