Ebert is said to have been on a good streak on the show before giving Dangerous Minds one and a half stars.
The quoted review says the basic story was seen before in Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, Teachers and Dead Poets Society, calls this version less than compelling, and says Pfeiffer, a good actress, does what she can with the material.
The review is received as a painful one: words hurt.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Raul's restaurant dinner with Ms. Johnson

In the discussion (13)

Approx. transcript time · 00:37:46Read transcript

The opening credits, which play the whole song in black and white, belong in the mix.
LouAnne's stereotypical first day nearly breaks her; she returns the next day in a leather jacket with her feet on the desk.
Emilio squashing the poetry reading ("since when did the board of education done anything for us") shows his force in the class, and Callie advises that to get the class you have to get Emilio.
Emilio sticking up for Ms. Johnson ("Read it again") is praised, including how she avoids visibly reacting when he finally participates.
A half scene: her visit to Raul's parents and the look on Raul's face.
Emilio at LouAnne's house, with the 'how are you going to save me from my life' payoff, is called the Oscar clip for Pfeiffer.
Learning of Emilio's death and telling the class is defended as emotional and her best scene, with strong acting in the principal's office.
Her telling the class she is not coming back is paired with the death scene as Pfeiffer's best two, likened to needing a Tom Brady-level quarterback.
The dinner scene with Raul is picked as most rewatchable: he borrowed money for the coat, risked his life, and knows she will come to his house if he misses school. — Shea Serrano
Second choice is Emilio standing up for Ms. Johnson, linked to a classroom story in which a student leader named Elias made a new student put his chair back, described as his Tim Duncan. — Shea Serrano
The restaurant scene is also picked because Raul grows up during it, going from not talking to the waiter to telling him "we're talking"; bringing who he is to where he is going is framed as a life lesson.
The restaurant scene is called everybody's favorite, including a daughter's.
Another pick is the ending, with the kids fighting for her to stay; the shot of the older teacher walking away chain smoking could be cut.

What’s Aged the Best?

Emilio and Luann's chemistry; leather-jacket outfit; Wendy and Lisa score; Dylan-Dylan contest; Gangsta's Paradise video; Raul and Emilio performances; the 'what about us' moment

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 00:47:22Read transcript

Emilio and Luann have little screen time together but a lot of chemistry and a real connection.
Luann's second-day leather-jacket outfit is good Pfeiffer.
The opening credits list the score by Wendy and Lisa of the Revolution, which sounds a little Purple Rain-ish.
The Dylan-Dylan contest, though it never happened in real life, is good teaching.
The host reads that the Gangsta's Paradise video was directed by Antoine Fuqua, and quotes Coolio recalling that Pfeiffer seemed nervous around his crew but killed it in two takes.
Emilio's actor, Wade Dominguez, is praised alongside Raul; the host reads that Dominguez died in 1998 of respiratory failure, quotes the actor who played Raul recalling him as nice, vulnerable and insecure, and says he would have become a household name.
After Emilio's death she decides to leave, and Raul's 'what about us' reflects a real teaching experience: focusing on one kid until another student points it out.
The same dynamic occurs in youth sports when a coach centers everything on the best kid; one participant recalls a teammate named Will whom everything was designed around, and Bill is teased as the kind of coach who would do that.
A former student named Emilio, once barred from his other classes and kept in one teacher's room all day, still keeps in touch and is having a baby girl.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Title; parents depicted as not wanting their kids in school

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 00:54:22Read transcript

The title is disliked: "Dangerous Minds" is imagined as a Simpson-Bruckheimer whiteboard mash-up, with a joke that it should have been spelled with a Z.
The low-talking principal played by Courtney B. Vance is disliked; another participant counters that administrators really do talk like that.
One participant says it aged terribly and was offensive that the Black parents are shown not caring whether their kids stay in school, as in Lean on Me; he says he has never seen a mother or grandmother who did not want her sons in school.
The same participant objects to the pregnant girl's mother scene, saying families try to keep pregnant girls in school.
The host reports that LouAnne Johnson liked the film but was upset by the twins' grandmother insulting the teacher; she said she had a good relationship with that woman, both twins graduated, and the filmmakers told her they assumed parents resented her for being white.
The host says Johnson semi-disowned the film and bought back her life rights to tell her own version.

Casting What-Ifs

Andy Garcia's cut love-interest role

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 00:58:32Read transcript

Andy Garcia is quoted from a 2020 radio appearance: he said the script did not need a love interest, played the arc anyway, it was cut as unnecessary, and he still cashed the check.
Garcia's cut role appears on lists of famous actors cut from movies, notable because he was famous then.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Bruklin Harris as Callie

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 00:59:14Read transcript

The actor who played Raul is ruled ineligible because he is a pivotal part of this movie despite also being in Con Air. — Shea Serrano
Callie's actress is chosen because she is recognizable as Callie while her real name is unknown.
A later interjection names the guidance counselor who gives her the job, recognized from Baby Boom, Moonstruck and Lean on Me, where she plays the teacher fired on the spot.
She has been in a million things and was all over the 90s; the eligibility line is garbled ("So it's not a that guy for this"), followed by "We have females eligible for that guy. There you go."

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:00:14Read transcript

Emilio's girlfriend is nominated for ramping it up to 11 two or three times.
The nomination is disputed at once ("Disagree"); the claim that she is on tilt the whole time is met with "No. Absolutely not."

Recasting Couch

No affirmative selection

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:00:48Read transcript

Michelle Rodriguez, who was 16 in 1995, is floated for the girlfriend role.
The Rodriguez idea is rejected as too tough; the role needs big doe eyes and a softer voice, and Rodriguez is right for Girlfight but not here. — Shea Serrano
Asked for suggestions, another participant calls the film perfectly cast, especially the high schoolers; the principal's assistant could probably have been a more accomplished actress.
The opening credits that introduce the characters without really showing them give goosebumps on rewatch.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Courtney B. Vance

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:13Read transcript

Everyone is in the movie too much to qualify, leaving parents and waiters; the host suggests shifting to who stole the movie, as Chris Ryan proposed last time.
Under "who stole the movie", Raul wins, but he is in it too much to be eligible for the Dion Waiters.
The principal played by Courtney B. Vance is offered, accepted as fair since he is in only about four scenes.
The principal is called one of the most vile movie characters, the "whisper daddy" focused on procedure, whose apathy basically gets a kid killed.

Half-Assed Internet Research

TV spinoff with Annie Potts; Burbank and Burlingame filming; actress questioning the white-savior framing; real Emilio survived; Pfeiffer pregnant during filming

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:04:22Read transcript

The host reads that the film spun off a TV show with Annie Potts as Louan Johnson, 17 episodes in 1996, canceled in 1997.
The host reads that the movie was filmed mostly on a Burbank lot, with exteriors at Burlingame High School.
The host reports that the actress who played Callie asked the real Lou Anne why it always had to be a white person lifting up Black students, and Johnson answered that she wrote the book, so she had to be white.
After asking for guesses, the host reports that the real Emilio did not die; he spent four years in the Marines and became a dad.
The host reports that Pfeiffer was pregnant during filming, which was shot out of sequence and hidden with long skirts, bulky sweaters and a large purse.

Apex Mountain

Coolio; the high school kids; white-savior schoolteacher movies

In the discussion (5)

Approx. transcript time · 01:07:53Read transcript

Coolio is a yes, and so is every high school kid in the movie.
Pfeiffer is a no because her peak is The Fabulous Baker Boys.
White-savior movies overall are a no because The Blind Side, a phenomenon, is the peak; Green Book is raised as another winner.
For white-savior schoolteacher movies, this one is first place, the all-time Apex Mountain.
A 'candy bars... Butterfingers' remark follows, without a clear verdict.

Picking Nits

Pfeiffer as a Marine; no friends or dates; fancy French restaurant choice; Durrell left without leftovers

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:48Read transcript

One participant does not buy Pfeiffer as a Marine, contrasting Demi Moore in G.I. Jane and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor; another buys it because she does not back down.
Why she has no friends or dates is answered in-film: a recent divorce from an abusive husband, and a fellow teacher as her only friend.
Why she chose the fussiest French restaurant is questioned; one reading says it reflects treating whiteness as the center of everything, another that it pushes the kids out of their comfort zone, as in The Wire.
The third dinner invitee misses the dinner and gets no leftovers while Callie does; it is noted Callie told her ahead and Raul told her he could not make it.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

"Sometimes you start out wrong and you can't get going"

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:13:08Read transcript

Many quotes were covered already; the line about starting out wrong and not being able to get going is singled out as good.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Yes, as a Netflix reboot series

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 01:13:08Read transcript

One participant votes no: the story must be self-contained and a second semester raises too many questions about her other classes.
A version told from the kids' perspective, like 13 Reasons Why, is pitched and then abandoned.
Asked whether they would watch a Netflix reboot, participants say yes, they watch whatever Netflix recommends; "Remake this shit" and "I hope they do it" close the segment.
Project Power is cited as an example of watching whatever shows up on Netflix, and called pretty good.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Did she teach only one class?; Who are the unnamed white students?; Did Raul graduate?

In the discussion (6)

Approx. transcript time · 01:14:49Read transcript

Did she teach only one class, and what was she doing the other periods?
Teacher movies always show one class, teachers caught off guard by the bell, and kids already in class, none of which happens in reality.
A self-contained 'back class' from a teaching year is offered as a possible explanation, but the counselor's reference to a next class rules it out.
Joke sequel titles: 'Not Quite as Dangerous Minds' with a fourth-period class, and 'Dangerous Behinds'.
Why are there white students in the class who are never named? Compared to a white player in Above the Rim, explained as the coach's son per a friend named Ryan.
Did Raul graduate? Probably, and the chance to be first in his family to graduate resonates.

Who Won the Movie?

Raul

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:18:45Read transcript

For about 20 years the answer would have been Pfeiffer sight unseen, but Raul won the movie.
Raul is the most important character, threaded through with most of the best moments, while Luann is not throwing a no-hitter and bails when it gets tough.
The kids experience deaths and pregnancies as a regular semester, while she finds it too much; "So Raul wins."

Podcast choices

Speaker not identified: Raul

More from the conversation

A trailer cold open for Dangerous Minds leads into introductions of Van Lathan (Higher Learning and a Wire rewatch podcast in season three) and Shea Serrano (The Connect with Jason Concepcion).

Approx. transcript time · 00:00:53Read transcript

The host says he and Shea both love the movie and have many Emilio thoughts, and jokes that Shea will fight Van through Zoom if he mocks it.

Approx. transcript time · 00:02:08Read transcript

The host frames the film as a classic white-savior movie in a line from The White Shadow and Diff'rent Strokes to The Blind Side, Freedom Writers, Hardball and Wildcats; The Last Samurai is added.

Approx. transcript time · 00:02:26Read transcript

Asked why Hollywood keeps making these films, one answer is that white people are still in charge of those decisions and that audiences find such stories feel-good, citing Kevin Costner in McFarland.

Approx. transcript time · 00:03:22Read transcript

The host notes minority-led examples (Coach Carter, Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me) and says the real teacher taught rap lyrics, which the film changed to Bob Dylan and Dylan Thomas.

Approx. transcript time · 00:04:11Read transcript

A participant says the change reflects an American belief that whiteness is a cure, contrasting the chaotic opening classroom with her pristine arrival and asking how rap could save students who were already rapping.

Approx. transcript time · 00:04:49Read transcript

The film 187 with Samuel Jackson is said to have killed the archetype because nobody gets saved, while Dangerous Minds is called the crowning achievement of this type of film.

Approx. transcript time · 00:05:48Read transcript

The host suggests the film may have the most Latino characters of any mainstream American movie in 25 years; the reply is uncertain but excited to see Emilio and Raul again.

Approx. transcript time · 00:06:56Read transcript

Reasons given for loving the flawed movie: Michelle Pfeiffer, the Coolio song used twice, and the kids.

Approx. transcript time · 00:07:16Read transcript

Team Raul: Raul's dilemma over the date (getting something good only by doing something bad) is called the one brilliant scene; Raul makes the film feel most alive, intently studying every situation, as in the restaurant.

Approx. transcript time · 00:07:56Read transcript

Asked as a former eighth-grade teacher, Shea names this as the school movie he identifies with most; it made teaching seem important.

Approx. transcript time · 00:09:42Read transcript

The host cites 20th-anniversary pieces: poorly reviewed, a surprise smash, and a legacy of inspiring people about teachers; he calls it a Bruckheimer-Simpson movie made to make money.

Approx. transcript time · 00:10:03Read transcript

Pfeiffer's Southern twang and ex-Marine role are read as an Oscar shot; formulaic teacher movies are said to get poor reviews, and the home visit to the pregnant girl's mother is compared to Lean on Me.

Approx. transcript time · 00:11:02Read transcript

The White Shadow is said to have laid breadcrumbs for these films, including the 'you better be for real' trust scene and the teacher's neighborhood visit.

Approx. transcript time · 00:13:05Read transcript

Required genre beats are listed: kids already in class, a student line that breaks the teacher's heart, a fight with administration, and a dancing scene.

Approx. transcript time · 00:14:11Read transcript

The Wire's fourth season is compared: Prez as a savior-type figure, and the restaurant scene echoed when Colvin takes students to a harbor restaurant; graduating high school is called a revolutionary act for some families.

Approx. transcript time · 00:14:51Read transcript

The host reviews Pfeiffer's career from Grease 2 and Scarface through a 1988-1992 run (Married to the Mob, Tequila Sunrise, Dangerous Liaisons, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Russia House, Frankie and Johnny, Batman Returns), saying she should have won the Oscar for The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Approx. transcript time · 00:17:01Read transcript

Only five or six actresses could sell a movie like this with a rap song and a leather jacket; Goldie Hawn in Wildcats and Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side are compared.

Approx. transcript time · 00:18:22Read transcript

Pfeiffer is described as having a Brad Pitt-level movie-star face; a teenage crush was instead on the actress who played Angela, Emilio's girlfriend.

Approx. transcript time · 00:19:25Read transcript

Batman Returns is recalled as a first real Pfeiffer experience, Wolf with a creepy James Spader as a favorite, and her appearance in the Gangsta's Paradise video as what sold the film.

Approx. transcript time · 00:19:54Read transcript

Pfeiffer is said to have broad likability like Sandra Bullock, and the role is read as a possible Oscar vehicle, though Simpson-Bruckheimer movies do not win Oscars.

Approx. transcript time · 00:21:35Read transcript

The host says the shoot was troubled and Andy Garcia's love-interest arc was cut, wishing for a director's cut; the disagreement is that her devotion to the classroom, then nearly quitting, is true to young teachers.

Approx. transcript time · 00:22:21Read transcript

The host notes this was the last Don Simpson movie and that Simpson had demons.

Approx. transcript time · 00:24:26Read transcript

An inappropriate alternate version involving the teacher and Emilio is joked about; Emilio's actor is said to have been 30, and a moment when Emilio sleeps over is called uncomfortable.

Approx. transcript time · 00:24:48Read transcript

Background read on air: the film is based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by a retired Marine who taught in Belmont, California, with mostly Black and Latino students from East Palo Alto, using rap lyrics; negative reviews, a $23 million budget and a gross stated as "$179.5 billion" (evidently misspoken).

Approx. transcript time · 00:26:24Read transcript

The soundtrack is said to have gone triple platinum and Gangsta's Paradise to be the No. 1 song of 1995, the first rap song to finish a year at No. 1, winning a Grammy and MTV awards.

Approx. transcript time · 00:27:03Read transcript

Gangsta's Paradise is rated as still 100 percent; the video with Pfeiffer and the locker-slam clip is recalled, the song plays three times in the film, and it is joked it should play in the NBA bubble.

Approx. transcript time · 00:27:28Read transcript

A counterview: the song went pop, a Weird Al parody cost it hip-hop credibility, and it was a dark turn for the Coolio of Fantastic Voyage, though it still sounds amazing and is a serious song.

Approx. transcript time · 00:29:16Read transcript

The host compares the song to the Bee Gees and Saturday Night Fever and argues it was the first single rap song to market a massive hit film; the Pfeiffer video was made because of worry the film would flop.

Approx. transcript time · 00:31:06Read transcript

Counterexamples raised: Deep Cover (introducing Snoop), Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap in Ninja Turtles 2 and Hammer's Addams Family song; the claim narrows to the song's dramatic impact on a film becoming a hit.

Approx. transcript time · 00:32:03Read transcript

Seeing the film in theaters because of the song is recalled; Above the Rim's hooks (basketball, Tupac, soundtrack) are compared, and Will Smith's Men in Black and Wild Wild West are cited as learning the lesson.

Approx. transcript time · 00:34:01Read transcript

The host says Gangsta's Paradise was offered to Bad Boys, which did not want to pay for it.

Approx. transcript time · 00:34:29Read transcript

Citing a Rolling Stone oral history, the hosts say Stevie Wonder approved the sample only if curse words were removed, and that Coolio did not know Wonder also wanted 95 percent of the publishing.

Approx. transcript time · 00:35:18Read transcript

A question only Shea can answer: Emilio versus the two smaller kids; Emilio wins as in the movie, likened to a 91-second Tyson-Spinks fight, with the two smaller kids called plucky.

Approx. transcript time · 01:10:15Read transcript

The hosts agree to book Above the Rim for a future episode.

Approx. transcript time · 01:19:37Read transcript

A son is recalled being confused by an Above the Rim character playing basketball without a ball; the host says Above the Rim comes in a couple of weeks, thanks Shea and Van, and previews a Labor Day weekend episode with Chris Ryan on the 25th anniversary of an iconic movie.

Approx. transcript time · 01:20:21Read transcript