Mr. Woodcock

Mr. Woodcock (a name concocted with a juvenile snigger) is the nightmare gym teacher of countless high school comedies, a big bully who homes in on all the helpless physical misfits of his PE class to torment and humiliate them in front of their peers. A part made for Billy Bob Thornton, you might say, and sure enough he takes the title role in this tired comedy about a self-help guru (Seann William Scott, as wide-eyed and dazed as ever) who returns home to find his widowed mom (Susan Sarandon) dating the so-called teacher who made his life hell. This means war, of course, but director Craig Gillespie and his screenwriters can't seem to find anything interesting to do with these two. Thornton smirks and snidely slips dismissive insults into every utterance, Scott is reduced to childish rants and juvenile displays, and Sarandon is asked to appear clueless to the clashes throughout. Amy Poehler plays Scott's alcoholic publicist, and Melissa Sagemiller and Ethan Suplee co-star. Features deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, and "P.E. Trauma Tales." Also available in Blu-ray format.