''The Good Student'', also known as ''Mr. Gibb'', is a 2006 American

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

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film starring

Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom ''Wings'' and his voice role as Clark Kent/Superman in '' Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as his recurring role as ...

and

Hayden Panettiere Hayden Lesley Panettiere (; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is best known for her lead roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series ''Heroes (American TV series), Heroes'' and Juliette Barnes in the Am ...

Plot

Mr. Ronald Gibb is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

history

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, whose life has fallen apart - he is reportedly widowed, living in a messy trailer-home, and largely uncaring about life. Although he is depicted as a creative if weak-willed teacher, his

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s lack interest for the subject matter. One of his students, Ally Palmer, is a popular cheerleader, and a local celebrity, after being featured in a

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for her father's

car dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...

. Mr. Gibb has a not-so-secret crush on Ally (other students, and the school janitor, have noted it). He often stares at her inappropriately. One day after school, he overhears Ally and her boyfriend Brett get into a big argument, and they break up. She no longer has a ride home from school, so he offers to take her home. Mr. Gibb and Ally are photographed (by one photography-wise student who was aware of his crush) just as she spontaneously kisses him on the lips (to thank him for giving her an unexpected A), and as such the school board deems his behavior unacceptable and unprofessional; he is suspended from his teaching position. Ally goes missing after Mr. Gibb dropped her off at her house. The news reports that a

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

has occurred. Mr. Gibb is the primary suspect because police officials find

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

that he was with Ally moments before she was kidnapped. Considerable public attention is focused on the kidnapping, and the girl's unscrupulous father takes advantage by tying a large sales drive to the missing girl. The film follows Gibb as he copes with public humiliation and ends with a sudden twist in the final minutes. The apparently innocent teacher is seen in a new light, but many questions remain unanswered.

Cast

as Ronald Gibb, the high-school teacher *

as Allyson "Ally" Palmer, the kidnapped student * William Sadler as Phil Palmer, the girl's father ("Honest Phil" in his TV ads) *

Dan Hedaya Daniel G. Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American actor. He established himself as a supporting actor, often playing sleazy villains or wisecracking supporting characters. He has had supporting roles in films such as '' True Confessions'' (198 ...

as Gabriel "Gabe", the school janitor * Paula Devicq as Holly Cooper, a neighbor who sees Mr. Gibb as a romantic possibility *

John Gallagher, Jr. John Howard Gallagher Jr. (born June 17, 1984) is an American actor and musician best known for originating the role of Moritz Stiefel in the 2006 rock musical ''Spring Awakening (musical), Spring Awakening'', which earned him a Tony Award for Be ...

as Brett Mullen, Allyson's boyfriend *

Sarah Steele Sarah Jane Steele (born September 16, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Marissa Gold on the CBS legal drama series ''The Good Wife'' (2011–2016) and its CBS All Access spinoff series ''The Good Fight'' (2017–20 ...

as Amber Jinx, the photography-wise student *

Brian Anthony Wilson Brian Anthony Wilson (born February 22, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He first appeared in the 1997 film '' The Postman'' as Woody. Wilson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the la ...

as Detective Dick Moon * Andrew Benator as Kari *

Rita Gardner Rita Gardner ( Schier; October 23, 1934 – September 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer. Career Gardner made her stage debut Off-Broadway in Jerry Herman's musical review ''Nightcap'' (1958) before her breakout turn as Luisa in the ...

as Marge Whitman * Mark Kassen as Pete Macauley * Sadler Colley Bakst as Caroline * Lisa Lynds as Tiffany "Tiff" * Maureen Mueller as Evelyn Hirsch

Production

The story is based in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

, and some of the footage was filmed there, including Poughkeepsie Middle School and Vassar College. The film was released in 2006 with an R rating for theatrical distribution, at 1:30 length. It was released for TV use in 2008 with an apparently gratuitous nude scene removed and a 1:19 runtime.

Reception

The movie received mixed reviews. As of 2022, it holds a 4.8/10 rating on movie aggregator IMDb, and a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

References

External links

* *
''Mr. Gibb''
''New York Times''
"Alumni"
''The Canadian Film Centre'' 2006 films 2006 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films 2006 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub