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
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.
