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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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