Mr. Woodcock is a comedy with a premise to which anyone who has been tormented by a teacher can relate—its title character is nearly psychotic in his dedication to making his students miserable. Billy Bob Thornton is very funny—though, given a number of his other recent roles, totally predictable—as Woodcock, a P.E. instructor who verbally and physically assaults his pupils. Seann William Scott plays John Farley, a young man so traumatized by Woodcock's abuse that he needed to write a self-help book to work through it; now, he's a best-selling author returning to his hometown to accept a local award. When he arrives in town during a break from his book tour, Farley is dismayed to learn that his mom (Susan Sarandon) is dating Woodcock and plans to marry him. What ensues is an utterly formulaic chain of events in which Farley tries to sabotage the courtship, with expectedly unsuccessful results.
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