[The filmmakers'] best intentions are better realized than their filmmaking ambitions.
Comment
09/13/07
Chalk (2007)
80
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:40
Fresh:32
Rotten:8
Average Rating:7/10
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Reviews for Chalk
Chalk might have been both funnier and more penetrating as a real documentary.
09/14/07
Top CriticLoaded with life, energy, truth and respect.
12/30/06
This loosely scripted satire mostly steers clear of cheap shots and over-the-top gags, balancing its comic observations with a real measure of affection for teachers and students alike.
12/30/06
Top CriticSquirm-inducing but very funny mock documentary shows real empathy for its subjects.
05/11/07
Top CriticA special gem of a film that demands a giant audience... One of the finest valentines to the profession ever crafted.
09/24/07
Demeaningly patronizing to educators, cheaply dismissive of students, Chalk is a dunce. Erase it.
06/01/07
Can we all come to a consensus that the whole mockumentary concept is played out?
06/09/07
Chalk was actually shot in a loose, improvisational manner modeled after the films of Christopher Guest, and its best set-pieces are like devastatingly effective pin pricks at the Hollywood hot-air balloon of inspirational teacher/coach melodramas.
06/06/07
Top CriticTrouble paying attention in class, low self-esteem, hormonal confusion -- and those are just the teachers in director Mike Akel’s zippy debut feature about first-, second- and third-year instructors at an Anytown, USA, public high school.
05/10/07
Top CriticThere are still moments when the tone is uncertain and the actors visibly struggle, but for the most part there's a freshness about the performances that could probably not have been achieved in any other way.
09/14/07
So convincingly acted that if it didn’t include brief interludes in which the grown-ups suddenly break into musical-comedy mode or reflect out loud in video diary segments, you might not guess it is fiction.
06/08/07
Top CriticThe film is effective as situational workplace comedy but the air of futility is particularly thick for these working slobs.
05/22/07
If you're a high school teacher, you might find the funniest scenes painful to watch.
05/16/07
Unlike the litany of inspirational teacher movies, Chalk uses humor to make its truth approachable and palatable.
12/30/06
The movie offers some modest, amusing and true lessons about an honorable profession.
07/28/07
Top CriticIf you have the chance to see Chalk and want to make sure you'll enjoy it at its fullest, bring a teacher or two along with you.
01/24/07
...will convince anyone who almost went into teaching that they made the right decision. Even if they're currently on unemployment.
05/25/07
Though advertised as mockumentary, Chalk is actually a warm character piece with many poignant observations about the American school system, depicting the teachers work and lives at a Texas highschool with compassion and understanding.
05/07/07
What's most refreshing about the genial and well-observed Chalk is that it describes the high school experience from the of teachers' point of view.
12/30/06
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