Learning Curve (1998) was originally called Detention, but was changed to avoid confusion with a far lesser film by the same name. I can review it in two words ... BUY IT! It belongs in the same category as films like Breakfast Club, Band of the Hand, To Sir With Love, Stand and Deliver and The Substitute series, it is not definitive of any of them. It does concern problem High School students and an unconventional teacher, but was not predictable at any point. As I am strongly recommending this low budget indie, I will not reveal any of the plot. It would be a shame to spoil any of the surprises. Three women, as students, provide nudity, Brandie Little, 3 Bs, Rebecca Sanabria, breasts and bush, and Susanne Gibbs, 3 Bs. Marsha Dietlein, as a teacher, shows pokies.

IMDB calls it a drama, but drama/dark comedy would be more accurate. Part of what made this film for me was the fact that there was no exposition that relied entirely on dialogue, and everything was not spelled out and spoon fed to the viewer. The film could have easily become a little boring in the second act, but the main plot was intercut with a sub-plot, keeping me glued to the screen. Each character had a clear arc, not only in the film, but also in each scene they appeared in. There were also some very clever lines, including my personal favorite. The main character has just been accosted by a very uptight female administrator, and says, "When she farts, I bet only dogs can hear it."

IMDB scores this at a respectable 6.5 of 10, but voting has it much higher, with the mean being 8.3. This is another case of IMDB applying their secret sauce to the score. One critic called it the best indie of the decade. After receive a warm reception for his first film, Positive ID, writer director Andy Anderson was in demand as a screenwriter. That provided a regular paycheck, but none of his scripts was ever greenlighted, so, after ten years, he decided to make his own movies again. Also a full time teacher, he knows the public school system intimately, and many of the more implausible plot elements in act one actually happened in the Texas school system. The DVD is presented in a letter boxed Wide Screen format, and includes documentary, deleted scenes, and a trailer. Even if none of the films listed above appeal to you, and you do not usually like Independent film, you may very well enjoy this one as much as I did. B.

OTHER CRAP:

• California voting by County. Coast loved Gray. Interior loved recall.

• Alicia Rickter - October 1995 - Playmate Gallery Courtesy of PlayboyPlus.com!

• Great pictures of Renee Zellweger

• Vote for the winner of " Page 3 Idol 2003". Hint: they are all topless. I love The Sun.

• Mandy Moore says she's surprised that she suddenly sprouted breasts, but she's still going to use a body double

• PLAYBOY X-TREME TEAM VOTED SEXIEST WOMEN IN SPORTS BY ESPN MAGAZINE

• IFILM managed to find the L'Oreal commercial about Ben Affleck's Hair. This is the one from the UK that he doesn't want America to see.

• California voting by County. Coast loved Gray. Interior loved recall.

• The Official Rules for Calling Shotgun

• Sox Win, Cubs Win. Satan seen shopping for ice skates. And I don't mean the NHL's Satan

• 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference

• The internet's most annoying backgrounds

• You think nobody could be as dumb as Harry and Lloyd in real life? Wrong

• Alec Baldwin Calls Texas Governor a 'Lap Dog'. Baldwin is now about to enter a war of words with Tom DeLay. Wow. That's like choosing sides between Hitler and Stalin.

• I don't think Ginger Spice is enjoying horsemanship

• Googirl - Girl search engine

• Shop Elvis: Deluxe Eagle Jumpsuit Costume

• They found NEMO

• Evil 2 the Core - Hostile Undergarments For Smiling Professionals

• Global Kissing Customs

• KBS Beer Bottle Collection

• what is Cheese Whiz made of?

• The Reflex Tester

• Why are legal pads yellow?

• Mantlepies.com presents the Foul Mouthed Cunt Restaurant and Pub

• Godly Tips on How To Punish and Beat Your Christian Child

• Mac and Bumble Bumblegirl Model Search 2004

• Angelina Jolie likes to eat cockroaches

• Which country is most corrupt? Nigeria has dropped from #1 to number #2, opening the door for our new champ. Unfortunately, Chicago is not a country, and was thus ineligible for the trophy. Nigeria would have won, but they didn;t give a big enough bribe to the judges.

• Tarantino's favorite revenge movies

• ABCNEWS.com : Middle-Aged Star Most Likely Home for Alien Life: I knew there was an explanation for Madonna's behavior - she's hosting alien life.

• CNN.com - Study: New study shows that giving blow jobs may reduce the risk of breast cancer: "Women who perform the act of fellatio on a regular basis, one to two times a week, may reduce their risk of breast cancer by up to 40 percent, a North Carolina State University study found. " (I should spoil the fun here and point out that this is not really CNN's site, but I'm pretty sure you can trick some of your female friends with it)

• Hunter Thompson weighs in on Rush Limbaugh's firing

• Paltrow Not Surprised at J.Lo-Affleck Drama: Gwyn said that B-Af's perfect woman would be "anyone that serves cold beer in a bikini"

• Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah is pushing a constitutional amendment that would allow his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger to run for the Presidency. Looking at the pictures of the candidates, Elya had a good point about the recall. If there is one thing the people of California know, it's casting. Arnold looks like a leading man, and would be played by John Wayne. Gray Davis looks like your possibly insane uncle, and would be played by Clu Gulager.

• Administration officials yesterday refused to rule out invoking executive privilege to shield some documents from Justice Department investigators. Gosh, I hate to break this to you, lads, but you'll have to find a different weasel-out. That one would be an option if the investigators were congressional or independent, but executive privilege doesn't apply in this case. The Justice Department is part of the executive branch, as you may remember! Not only that, but think how bad the stuff must be if they need to hide it from Ashcroft!! The mind boggles. This could be fun yet!

• Does the governorship mean 'Hasta La Vista' for Arnold's movie career?

• Kutcher Goes Home to Iowa, takes Demi Moore to homecoming

• Nyuk, nyuk ...  we told you months ago that Peter and Bobby Farrelly are working on a big screen homage to the 'Three Stooges.' But did you know the silly sibs pine for Oscar-winner Benicio Del Toro to play one of the stooges?" That's some crazy casting. Curly was the tallest of the Thwacking Triumvirate at a mere 5'5". Del Toro is nearly a foot taller. But there is one advantage of that casting: with Del Toro as Moe, the height match-up would allow Will Farrell to play Curly and Jim Carrey to play Larry, and they are the right guys for the job, if the Farrellys could afford them! Farrell, Carrey, and Del Toro are all about the same height, so they would look right together. Farrell is one inch taller and taller and heavier than the other two, so the proportions would be right, and Farrell would truly make an inspired Curly.

• DIRRTY pop queen Christina dazzles concert fans with an amazing collection of wild stage outfits.

• Praise from Steven King gets a multi-million dollar deal for unpublished author.

• Some news from Buckingham Palace - Prince Charles is now a sprinter - and a black man.

• The wife of Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich made an inadvertent figure of speech when she said she would shoot pop singer Britney Spears if she had the chance The best part of the story? She was speaking at a conference on domestic violence. I would have assumed it was against domestic violence, but maybe it was a pro-violence conference.

Other crap archives. May also include newer material than the ones above, since it's sorta in real time.

Click here to submit a URL for inclusion in Other Crap

Post-season level BASEBALL TRIVIA:

Great bar bet winners

Q: Which member of the 1927 Yankees, a Hall of Famer, was the first man to hit 60 homers in a single season of organized professional baseball.

A: Second baseman Tony Lazzeri. He hit 60 homers for Salt Lake City in 1925. His teammate on the 27 Yanks, Babe Ruth, was the second man to accomplish the feat, although the first to do so in the major leagues. Ruth had hit 59 back in 1921, but had his only 60 homer season in 1927, two years after Lazzeri accomplished the feat in the minors. Lazzeri's major league high was 18, although he had seven 100 RBI seasons, and is in the Hall.

Q: The same guy hit behind the two most prolific home run hitters in history. Name him.

A: Davey Johnson. He hit behind all time #2, Hank Aaron (755 lifetime), when he played for the Atlanta Braves. He hit behind #1, Sadaharu Oh (868 lifetime), when he played for the Yomiuri Giants.

MOVIE REVIEWS:

Here are the latest movie reviews available at scoopy.com.

• The yellow asterisks indicate that I wrote the review, and am deluded into thinking it includes humor.
• If there is a white asterisk, it means that there isn't any significant humor, but I inexplicably determined there might be something else of interest.
• A blue asterisk indicates the review is written by Tuna (or Lawdog or Junior or C2000 or Realist or ICMS or Mick Locke, or somebody else besides me)
• If there is no asterisk, I wrote it, but am too ashamed to admit it.

Kristen Wilson
(1, 2)

Natasha Budhi

"Ferris Bueller" co-star Jennifer Grey shows serious pokies.
Kristen Wilson from the "Dr. Dolittle" movies bares her bum, and has a bikini scenes.
Natasha Budhi is topless.

ARNOLD ELECTED CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR
Gray Day For Gray - Tuesday, California voters turned out in record numbers and voted overwhelmingly to replace Gov. Gray Davis with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold's campaign sources told ABC that their internal polls showed a huge surge for Arnold right after Davis started saying he should be criminally investigated for allegedly groping women.