- The Substitute
Infobox Film
name = The Substitute
caption = Theatrical release poster
director =Robert Mandell
producer =
writer = Roy Frumkes Rocco Simonelli
starring =Tom Berenger Ernie Hudson Diane Venora Glenn Plummer Raymond Cruz Marc Anthony
Richard BrooksCliff De Young Luis Guzman
and William Forsythe
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =Orion Pictures LIVE Entertainment
released =July 12 ,1996
runtime = 114 minutes
country =United States
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by = ""
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0117774"The Substitute" is a 1996 action-crime-thriller
film directed byRobert Mandell and starringTom Berenger ,Marc Anthony ,Ernie Hudson , William Forsythe,Raymond Cruz , andLuis Guzmán .Corey Wagoner makes a cameo appearance as one of thegang members in the film.Three television/
straight-to-video sequels starringTreat Williams followed the original film: ' (1998), ' (1999), and "" (2000).Plot synopsis
The plot revolves around Shale (Berenger), a
mercenary who goes undercover as a high school teacher inMiami to combat agang . In the beginning of the film Shale comes home from a disastrous mission where three of his men were killed in an operation inCuba . He arrives in Miami to find out that a knee-cap attack has left his girlfriend Jane Hetzko with a broken leg. Shale decides to play the part of a Harvard-educated substitute teacher and recruit his former soldiers (Raymond Cruz ,Luis Guzmán , Richard Brooks, andWilliam Forsythe ) in order to find the culprits. While teaching history, Shale crosses paths with "Kings of Destruction" (KOD) gang leader Juan Lacas, played by Latino singerMarc Anthony . Shale realizes that Lacas is responsible for Jane's attack but that is just the tip of the iceberg of his nefarious activities. Shale's team infiltrates the school and sets up military surveillance gear throughout the bathrooms and corridors which lead to the discovery that Lacas is in cahoots with principal Rolle (Ernie Hudson ) to use the school buses and their secret stowage compartments as conduits for a heroin distribution ring in the greater Miami area.Criticism
In an article about films about troubled teens,
The AV Club stated "There have been plenty of movies about white people coming into inner-city schools and whipping the students into shape, but nothing quite like The Substitute, which brings the subtly racist, paternalistic elements of those films right to the surface." [Jason Heller, Noel Murray, Leonard Pierce, Nathan Rabin, Tasha Robinson, Scott Tobias. " [http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/the_kids_arent_all_right_17/2 The kids aren't all right: 17 scare films about the teen menace] ". "The AV Club". July 21, 2008.]Cast
*
Tom Berenger as Jonathan Shale/Mr. James Smith
*Ernie Hudson as Principal Claude Rolle
*Diane Venora as Jane Hetzko
*Marc Anthony as Juan Lacas
*Glenn Plummer as Mr. Darrell Sherman
*Cliff De Young as Matt Wolfson
*William Forsythe as Hollan
*Raymond Cruz as Joey Six
* Sharron Corley as Jerome Brown
*Luis Guzmán as Rem
*Richard Brooks as WellmanReferences
External links
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