''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' is a 1999 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

written and directed by Kevin Williamson in his directorial debut, and starring

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her film debut with a supporting role in Ang Lee's '' The Ice Sto ...

Marisa Coughlan Marisa Coughlan ( ; born March 17, 1974) is an American actress and writer. Her first prominent role was a lead in Kevin Williamson's '' Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' (1999), followed by a role as Officer Ursula Hanson in the comedy '' Super Troopers'' ...

, Barry Watson, and

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

. It follows a trio of high school seniors who must prove their innocence to their vindictive history teacher, who accuses them of cheating on their final exams. Williamson wrote the script before his work on ''

Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream (Six Flags drop tower), at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream (roller coaster), at ...

'' and ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

''. Following the success of those projects, his script was picked up and production of the film proceeded. Released in the United States on August 20, 1999, the film was originally titled ''Killing Mrs. Tingle'' and had a darker tone. It was delayed, re-edited and retitled due to the uproar over teen violence in films after the

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

Plot

In Grandsboro,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Leigh Ann Watson is a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

student living with her single mother, Faye, who works as a waitress. Leigh Ann's goals are to get top grades, become

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

, and leave town. However, her grade in history class is threatened by her teacher, Mrs. Eve Tingle, who has a special dislike for Leigh Ann and downgrades her well-designed project due to a minor historical inaccuracy. Fellow student Luke Churner makes a copy of Tingle's final exam and offers it to Leigh Ann, but she declines. However, Luke stashes the copy in Leigh Ann's backpack. Tingle discovers the copy and threatens to expel her. Tingle immediately heads to Principal Potter's office, but he has left for the day so she decides to tell him in the morning. Leigh Ann, her best friend Jo Lynn Jordan, and Luke visit Tingle's house that night and try to persuade her that Leigh Ann is innocent. Tingle, however, refuses to listen. Luke threatens Tingle with a loaded

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

, fellow student Brian Berry's project. A physical struggle ensues, and in the ensuing mêlée, Tingle is accidentally knocked unconscious. The trio panic and tie Tingle to her bed. Leigh Ann returns to her house and promises to return in the morning, while Luke and Jo Lynn are left to watch Tingle. While under Jo Lynn's watch, Tingle regains consciousness, and playing on her guilt, asks to be untied. Tingle immediately attacks Jo Lynn, but is restrained again by Luke. The next morning, Jo Lynn calls the school and impersonates Tingle, calling in sick. Leigh Ann and Luke go to school, leaving Jo Lynn to watch Tingle. When they return, the trio devise a plan to

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

Tingle by using fake photos of Luke and Tingle in bed together. Meanwhile, Tingle plays

mind games Mind games (also power games or head games) are actions performed for reasons of psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the aggressor ...

with Jo Lynn, concerning her jealousy about Leigh Ann's supposed relationship with Luke. Later that day, the plan goes awry when Coach Richard Wenchell, the school's married gym teacher and Tingle's secret lover, visits the house. Jo Lynn, again, impersonates Tingle and blindfolds Coach Wenchell to hide her identity. When Wenchell passes out after a high intake of alcohol, the trio decide to blackmail Tingle by producing photographic evidence of her affair with Wenchell. While Leigh Ann and Luke leave to have the pictures printed and take an unconscious Wenchell back home, Tingle reveals to Jo Lynn that Leigh Ann and Luke spent the night together at a party. Distraught, Jo Lynn leaves. When Leigh Ann and Luke arrive back, Leigh Ann berates Tingle for hating her because she has, unlike Tingle herself, the potential to leave town and experience life. Tingle retaliates that she used to be like Leigh Ann and that Tingle herself is Leigh Ann's future. In response, Leigh Ann and Luke have sex downstairs. Later, the two find Tingle's grade book. Leigh Ann marks down her rival Trudie Tucker's top A grade down to a B, and upgrades her own C to an A+. Tingle tells Jo Lynn and she confronts Leigh Ann of the sex. Leigh Ann confesses and Jo Lynn walks off in anger. The next day at school, Jo Lynn ignores Leigh Ann, still hurt over the revelation. Leigh Ann tries to make amends, but admits that she had sex with Luke, further infuriating Jo Lynn. Tingle escapes from her bonds, ties Luke down in her place, and using the loaded crossbow, threatens Leigh Ann. Jo Lynn returns in a failed attempt to persuade Tingle she will help her blackmail Leigh Ann. After a violent fight, Tingle fires the crossbow, hitting Trudie in the chest as she enters the house. Leigh Ann checks her pulse and says she is dead. Potter arrives to check up on Tingle and is horrified by the scene. Guilt-ridden, Tingle confesses that she shot Trudie and wanted to make Leigh Ann fail like Tingle did herself. However, Trudie was protected by the thick textbook she was holding to her chest and is completely unharmed, which Leigh Ann already knew. Potter calls the police and fires Tingle. The film ends with Leigh Ann being named valedictorian at graduation.

Cast

as Mrs. Eve Tingle *

as Leigh Ann Watson *

as Coach Richard "Spanky" Wenchell * Barry Watson as Luke Churner *

as Jo Lynn Jordan * Liz Stauber as Trudie Tucker *

Michael McKean Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician. Over his career he has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

as Principal Potter *

Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress, singer and dancer. She made her Broadway debut in '' 110 in the Shade'' in 1963. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical product ...

as Mrs. Faye Watson (uncredited) *

Molly Ringwald Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and translator. She began her career as a child actress on the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and '' The Facts of Life'' (both 1979–1980) before being nominated for ...

as Miss Banks *

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983) and played roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' (1988) and ''Generations (American TV s ...

as Miss Gold * John Patrick White as Brian Berry *

Robert Gant Robert Gant (born Robert John Gonzalez; July 13, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ben Bruckner on the Showtime series '' Queer as Folk''. Early life and education Robert Gant was born as Robert Gonzalez in Tampa, Fl ...

as Professor (scenes deleted) *

Cherie Johnson Cherie Johnson (born November 21, 1975) is an American actress, writer, film producer, and author. She is known for her roles on ''Punky Brewster'' as Punky's best friend Cherie and '' Family Matters'', where she played Laura Winslow's best f ...

as Student (uncredited) *

Marissa Jaret Winokur Marissa Jaret Winokur (born February 2, 1973), sometimes credited as Marissa Winokur, is an American actress and singer known for her Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, Tony-winning performance as Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway theatre, ...

as Student (uncredited)

Production

Casting

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

and

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...

were considered for the role of Mrs. Eve Tingle, the antagonist.

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...

was offered the role of Mrs. Tingle, but turned it down.

Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...

was considered for the role of Leigh Ann Watson, the protagonist.

, who then had a principal role on Kevin Williamson's TV series ''

'', was cast as Leigh Ann in February 1998. Shortly after,

was cast in the role of Mrs. Tingle. Of Mirren, Williamson said, "I think Helen Mirren is one of the greatest living actresses that we have and the fact that she wanted to play this role was amazing. She elevated Mrs. Tingle to a new level." Of her casting, Mirren said: "This is not the sort of film that I'm usually associated with, so I was thrilled that Kevin would think of me for this role." Mirren commented: "For me ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' addresses teenagers' insecurities, ambitions, and fears about the future. Remembering back to the ages of Leigh Ann, Luke, and Jo Lynn, fear of the future is the most powerful thing driving you on. You don't know what's going to happen to you and it's terrifying. I think adults forget how scary that is."

Filming

Production began in April 1998 on a budget of $14 million. The film was entirely shot in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area and wrapped in July 1998. The fictional Grandsboro High School was a combination of location work filmed at Rose City High School in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

Culver City High School Culver City High School is the main public high school of the Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) in Culver City, California. It was established in 1951. The school's colors are blue and silver, and the mascot is the centaur. As of 2022, ...

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

, and sound stage sets at

Culver Studios The Culver Studios is a film studio in Culver City, California. Originally created by silent movie pioneer Thomas H. Ince, the studios have operated under a multitude of names: Ince Studio (1918–1925), De Mille Studios (1925–1928), Pathé St ...

. Exterior shots of Mrs. Tingle's house took place at a Victorian-style residence in Pasadena.

Controversy

Originally called ''Killing Mrs. Tingle'', the film was intended to have an earlier release date and an R rating. Its overall tone was darker, with certain characters being killed off. Holmes' character, Leigh Ann, was also much less sympathetic; in a 2023 interview, Williamson revealed the character was supposed to be a "take no prisoners" type of person, who had no issue with people dying if it meant accomplishing her goals. Owing to the

that occurred on April 20, 1999—and the ensuing public outcry over the portrayal of violence in the media—the re-titled film was pushed back to August, with certain scenes being reshot or re-edited to earn a

PG-13 rating The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion picture ...

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it has an approval rating of 19% based on 69 reviews, with an average score of 4/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "As a dark comedy-thriller, this movie lacks humor and thrill." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film scored 35 out of 100 based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film one and a half stars and compared the film to ''

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

'' in its concept, but said that ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' fell short of ''Election'' in wit, and in that ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' had no sympathetic characters; although he complimented Mirren's acting.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the film one star of out of five, calling it a "misguided teen thriller". There were some positive reviews for the film. Thom Bennett of ''

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of '' Adweek'', '' Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodical ...

'' praised the film, calling it "an entertaining film full of Williamson's familiar movie-reference-laced dialogue". Michael Dequina of ''The Movie Reporter'' gave the film three out of four stars, calling it "admittedly junky but wickedly watchable revenge fantasy".

Box office

The film was a

; it made US$3.3 million in its opening weekend, debuting at number 10 at the North American box office. However, by its second week, the film dropped down to number 15 and brought in $2,344,298. The film continued to drop, and on its final week in the box office, the film was at number 44. By the end of its run, the film grossed $8,951,935 at the domestic box office against an estimated budget of $13 million.

Music

Soundtrack

The original motion picture soundtrack was released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

on August 17, 1999. The album features music from

Eve 6 Eve 6, stylized as EVE 6 or EVƎ 6, is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Southern California, best known for its hit singles " Inside Out" and " Here's to the Night". It disbanded in 2004, returned for numerous tours in 2007 with a new l ...

The Moffatts The Moffatts are a Canadian pop/rock Country music, country band composed of brothers Scott Moffatt, Scott, Clint, Bob and Dave Moffatt. Scott was born on March 30, 1983, in Whitehorse, Yukon, and multiple birth, triplets Bob, Clint and Dave wer ...

, Stretch Princess,

Tara MacLean Tara Margaret Charity MacLean (born October 25, 1973) is a Canadian musician, singer, and composer. Her songs as a solo artist include "Evidence", "If I Fall (Tara MacLean song), If I Fall", and a cover of the Christmas song "Light of the Stabl ...

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has com ...

, Kendall Payne, Sozzi,

Bree Sharp Bree Sharp (born December 17, 1975) is an American musician and actress. As of the 2010s, she is the lead vocalist of the electropop band Beautiful Small Machines. A native of Philadelphia, Sharp studied theatre at New York University before re ...

, Radford, and Eman.

Score

The score was composed by

John Frizzell John Frizzell may refer to: * John Frizzell (screenwriter), Canadian screenwriter * John Frizzell (composer) (born 1966), American composer {{hndis, Frizzell, John ...

and was released as an album on August 24, 1999, by

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

on December 21, 1999, by Dimension Home Video. As part of a deal with

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

Echo Bridge Home Entertainment Echo Bridge Entertainment was an American independent distribution company. It acquired and distributed feature films, scripted and non-scripted series, documentaries, and children's programming for home video, digital and television in the Unit ...

released the film on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on May 3, 2011. ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' was released in several countries on Blu-ray, including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on June 25, 2012, by

StudioCanal UK StudioCanal Limited, trade name, doing business as StudioCanal UK (formerly known as Optimum Releasing), is a British film distribution division and the official British branch of the French film & television production and distribution company ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on June 7, 2012, by

Studio Canal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film & television production and distribution company which is a ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on July 3, 2012, by

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on November 30, 2011, by Emon Home Entertainment.

Accolades

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * * {{Kevin Williamson 1999 films 1999 black comedy films 1999 directorial debut films 1999 thriller films 1990s American films 1990s comedy thriller films 1990s English-language films 1990s high school films 1990s teen comedy films American black comedy films American comedy thriller films American films about revenge American high school films American teen comedy films Dimension Films films Films about educators Films directed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter) Films produced by Cathy Konrad Films scored by John Frizzell (composer) Films set in California Films shot in Pasadena, California Films with screenplays by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter) Impact of the Columbine High School massacre Interscope Communications films Political controversies in film Teen thriller films English-language black comedy films English-language comedy thriller films