Consolacion Movie Review

When a school in Paterson, New Jersey has a less than average basic skills test scores, it faces the possibility of being taken over by the state. So the mayor asks the school superintendent for help, he suggests that they appoint the controversial Joe Clark as the school principal. Clark begrudgingly agrees. And when he arrives, he shakes things up by reassigning teachers and calling all of them incompetent. And it isn't long that a lot of people want him out but at the same time, he gains the respect of some of the teachers and the students.


John G. Avildsen's
"Lean on Me" (1989)
This is a true story about a real hero.

Eastside High was a training ground for jail. Then Joe Clark took over.
Now the kids are getting something they never had. A future.



		When a school in Paterson, New Jersey has a less than average basic skills test scores, it faces the possibility of being taken over by the state. So the mayor asks the school superintendent for help, he suggests that they appoint the controversial Joe Clark as the school principal. Clark begrudgingly agrees. And when he arrives, he shakes things up by reassigning teachers and calling all of them incompetent. And it isn't long that a lot of people want him out but at the same time, he gains the respect of some of the teachers and the students.

		Synopsis:
		*LEAN ON ME* is based on the true story of Joe Clark, an obsessed, disciplinarian of a principal who has a mandate: In one school year, he had to turn the chaotic wreck of a high school into a semi-civilized educational center where students and teachers don't have to walk the halls in fear.





		Credits and Additional Info :
		Starring: Morgan Freeman, Robert Guillaume, Beverly Todd, Alan North
		Directed by: John G. Avildsen
		Distributed by: Warner Home Video
		Rated: PG-13 (MPAA)
		Run Time: Runtime: 109:00
		Release Year: 1989

		Plot Summary:
		An arrogant and unorthodox teacher returns as principal to the idyllic high school from
		which he had earlier been fired to find it a den of drug abuse, gang violence and
		urban despair. Eventually his successful, though unorthodox, methods lead to a clash
		with city officials that threatens to undo all his efforts.
		Based on a true story.