Mr. Woodcock (2007)

Overall rating from 1 to 100: 58

O Masterpiece (95-100)
O Excellent (75-94)
O Rental (60-74)
X OK (50-59)
O Mediocrity (30-49)
O Avoid (1-29)

Review by Jason Pyles / September 28, 2007

If you look on the wrappers of Hershey’s chocolate bars this fall, you’ll see a photo of country music star Brad Paisley. This is a strange sight for me. I grew up in West Virginia and attended John Marshall High School in Glen Dale, which is the same small town where Brad Paisley grew up and the high school he attended.

Though I never knew him, as he is a couple years older than I am, the locals say that he was introverted and quiet. Now he is rich and famous and married to Kimberly Williams, the bride from “Father of the Bride” (1991). Their connection is a remarkable story for another time and another review; faithful readers will encounter it someday.

In April of 2002, Paisley came back to our mutual stomping grounds and played “An Evening Back Home” concert (which was spectacular). I remember, while driving up to the concert, seeing a gigantic stretch limo headed for his parents’ home to pick them up. The capacity crowd in the Wheeling Civic Center roared, cheering for our hometown boy who made it big and become a hero. And he still is.

Similarly, John Farley (Seann William Scott) was a nobody from the small town of Forest Meadow, Nebraska, but he grew up and became the famous, inspirational, self-help book author of “Letting Go: How to Get Past Your Past.”

Apparently, Farley had a lot to let go of. He was traumatized as a middle school kid by an abusively demanding gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton), and Farley’s father died leaving him and his widowed mother alone.

Farley is invited to receive the honorable “Corn Cob Key to the City,” so the celebrity writer returns home to a hero’s welcome, much like Braid Paisley. But to his horror, his sweet, single mother (Susan Sarandon) has begun dating the dreaded Mr. Woodcock.

This strain between the positive-thinking, self-help guru and the aggressive, critical Phys. Ed. teacher is the main conflict and supposed source of humor. And, at times, it is somewhat funny. Those times are few.

But as the movie progresses, “Mr. Woodcock” becomes remarkably similar to “Meet the Parents” (2000), especially the Robert DeNiro--Ben Stiller battle. In fact, the big, revelatory blow-up scene from “Meet the Parents” is echoed with precision in “Mr. Woodcock.” That being noted, if you have seen neither movie, “Meet the Parents” is far superior. But in both cases, you have a basically good guy who has everything go wrong for him.

I expected “Mr. Woodcock” to be much worse, as far as lewd content, considering its title and Billy Bob Thornton’s presence (“Bad Santa,” 2003). But surprisingly, it isn’t quite as crude and crass as I had feared, though its PG-13 rating is deserved, every whit.

Overall, “Mr. Woodcock” gains momentum, providing a couple chuckles later in the film, but it’s nothing to write home about. In other words, this movie isn’t going to earn director Craig Gillespie the same kind of warm welcome-home celebration that Brad Paisley receives.

Directed by Craig Gillespie
Billy Bob Thornton / Seann William Scott / Susan Sarandon
87 min. Comedy
MPAA: PG-13 (for crude sexual content, thematic material, language and a mild drug reference)

Copyright 2007. 191