Those Who Can't
2016
Original language: English
- comedy
The story
There are teachers who inspire, enlighten, and challenge us. These are not those teachers.
What it’s like
Flat, fluorescent-lit Colorado classrooms, mostly shot in tight handheld-style comedy framing with the camera hovering close on awkward faces, cheap-looking but deliberate, the sort of low-budget web-series look that makes every beige hallway feel a little sad. The sound is loose and conversational: talk-over banter, sudden bursts of stupid confidence, little musical sting when someone embarrasses themselves. Its vibe is deadpan, sour and cheerfully unpleasant, the kind of show you put on for a late-night laugh or a lazy weekend when you want something mean-spirited but short. Pacing is brisk, with short scenes that cut before a joke overstays, and the tone stays dry and irreverent throughout, aimed at self-satisfied adults who treat their jobs as a joke. The central figures are three unqualified, mostly unlikable teachers, and the arc is less growth than a gradual, comic slide into deeper incompetence and small-scale scheming. Intensity is low on physical violence and gore, but the crude, profane humor, drug and alcohol antics, and cringe-heavy cruelty toward students and colleagues land hard. For people who enjoy sardonic, offensive workplace comedies and want their cynicism with a sharp, unrepentant edge.
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