School of Life (stupidly renamed on Russian into The Teacher of The Year) is a very likable and enjoyable film. It's funny and heartfelt film but at the same time it's much more than typical high-school set movie, much more intelligent than everyone could expect. Despite the film couldn't avoid some clichés and at parts it become a bit predictable that's a case when we simply don't care about such possible minor flaws in the film and just enjoy it.

The center of the story is an ordinary school in a small town when its legendary teacher Stormin' Norman Warner, who won the teacher of the year forty three years in a row, dies and new teacher, an incredibly cool and attractive person Michael D'Angelo (excellent performance by Ryan Reynolds),comes to the school. But what's the most important he share and deliver his coolness with everybody and ordinary boring life in this school takes some changes. The only man who is not delighted with Michael's appearance is Matt Warner (another one very good performance by David Paymer),the son of the legendary teacher, whose dearest ambition is to keep on a family tradition of winning best teacher award. The way of characters behavior as well as their transformation is very believable to me. Ryan Reynolds and David Paymer are very good in the lead while all the kids actors are awesome. Also the film is well shot, has a remarkable soundtrack with very suitable songs and contains lots of very impressive scenes: some of them are really funny while the others are heartfelt and inspiring. It is just the film that such kind of film's supposed to be: very enjoyable film that at the same time manages to carry strong and intelligent messages in a very good way. As some people here before I can only add that I wish to had such a teachers during my school days (I know it's kinda stupid but that's all I can say). Very good film indeed.

9 out of 10

Norman Warner (John Astin) is a long time winner of Teacher of the Year award from the students. When he dies on the podium, he tells his son and fellow teacher Matt (David Paymer) to take his shot. A new teacher Mr D (Ryan Reynolds) comes in and quickly is the most popular. Matt has to battle the newbie for Teacher of the Year.

David Paymer is too small for the lead role. He doesn't have the energy or the fun to drive this movie. Andrew Robb who plays the kid is little better. Ryan Reynolds is certainly his charismatic self.

It's more serious than funny. I can't imagine anybody rooting for Matt. He is frustratingly small. The style is low budget weak and without excitement. The good thing is there's a lesson here that hits you over the head.

The movie boils down to the new teaching methods exemplified by the hip teacher as portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. We see the traditional methods played by David Paymer. While Paymer hopes to continue in the tradition of his recently deceased great teacher father, his desire to be teacher of the year is impeded when he finds himself competing with Reynolds.

The film is flawed by the easy going way the classrooms are run in the school. If they had major disciplinary problems, they couldn't be this casual or lax. I don't want to hear from people that when you adopt the new hip ways by experimentation, your problems in the room shall disappear. That's only in Hollywood fairy tale stories.

The film is a good one in that it wants people to be themselves and to strive for excellence.

Many of the people in the film are cliché ridden. My favorite was the typical spinster math teacher who knew how to get curse words out.