Mr. Woodcock
2007  PG-13  COMEDY  1h 27min
CAST— Seann William Scott, Billy Bob Thornton
MUSIC— Theodore Shapiro  DIRECTOR— Craig Gillespie

     Juvenile, often raunchy comedy that emphasizes inner peace amid constant chaos. A self-help, feel-good, give-yourself-a-great-big-hug author returns to his hometown only to find that his childhood tormentor Mr. Woodcock, a stone-faced, hard-as-nails gym teacher, is marrying his mother. Inner peace goes out the window, along with his sanity, as he desperately tries to break up the happy couple. The movie tries and tries but never seems to lead anywhere solid. Some good laughs but zero substance. Billy Bob Thornton is a riot as the quasi-evil Woodcock, and Amy Poehler hands in a fine performance as a manic publicist. The rest is just filler.
OUR RATING— **