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After using his years of torment as a fat teenager to write a hit self-help book about letting go of the past, John (Seann William Scott) returns home to some bad news: His mom (Susan Sarandon) is dating Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton), the gym teacher responsible for most of John's adolescent anguish.

Big question: "Mr. Woodcock" sounds like a cross between "School for Scoundrels" and an episode of "Freaks and Geeks," and the movie's release has been pushed back repeatedly. Is there any reason to be glad it's finally coming out now?

Skip it: "Mr. Woodcock" delivers a decent number of laughs in the first half hour and then completely loses track of where to go with the jokes or the story. Amidst some sitcom-esque miscommunications, questionable decision-making and a severely abrupt ending, the movie is like a pitcher throwing three good innings, losing his fastball in the next three and tossing the ball in the stands at the end of the game.

Catch it: If you enjoy a bit of exaggeration, as everything Mr. Woodcock says and does is absurdly extreme in an attempt to prepare his students and everyone else he meets for all of life's difficulties. This includes throwing basketballs at kids' heads and lines like this, after John refuses to take a post-workout shower: "There are kids in Africa that would kill for a shower."

Bottom line: The movie celebrates the use of nastiness as a motivator and defends any type of berating if it results in some discipline and a backbone. Even if the 9-year-old in you is going to chuckle at the name Woodcock, "Mr. Woodcock" will make you feel for the kid forced to do chin-ups in tighty whiteys without respecting the boldness of the guy cracking the whip.

Bonus: John's book offers this helpful piece of advice: "When you make a blame sandwich, you gotta be prepared to eat it yourself." Self-improvement has never sounded so tasty!

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