Director: Ramón Menéndez
Producer: Tom Musca
Screenwriter: Ramón Menéndez, Tom Musca
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Virginia Paris, Mark Eliot, Karla Montana, Vanessa Marquez, Daniel Villarreal, Lou Diamond Phillips, Andy Garcia, Rif Hutton
Running time: 103 minutes, Year: 1988
There were moments in "Stand and Deliver" that moved me very deeply and other moments so artificial and contrived that I wanted to edit them out, right then and there. The result is a film that makes a brave, bold statement about an unexpected subject, but that lacks the full emotional power it really should have.
"Stand and Deliver" tells the story of a high school mathematics teacher who takes a class of losers and potential dropouts and transforms them, in the course of one school year, into kids who have learned so much that 18 of them are able to pass a tough college credit calculus exam. The exam is so hard that only 2 percent of students nationwide can pass it, although everyone in this class does.
The story is based on fact, on the life of Jaime Escalante, an East Los Angeles man who left a higher-paying job in business to return to education and prove something. What he proved is that motivation and hard work can rewrite the destinies of kids that society might be willing to write off.
Escalante, played in the film by Edward James Olmos, faces a disheartening challenge on the first day of school. His class is undisciplined, unmotivated and rebellious. He doesn't confront them; he outflanks them. Adopting a weird sideways shuffle and a strange habit of talking to himself, he strikes them at first as simply bizarre; they stop making noise because they want to hear what foolish thing he'll say next.
Then he starts teaching, using examples out of the everyday lives of his students, making them think things out for themselves, announcing that the "punishment" for not working hard in class is to be banished from the class - a class most of the kids would rather be out of, anyway. The kids themselves are amazed that this strategy works and more amazed still to find that they're expected to do 30 hours of homework a week and come in on Saturday mornings for extra classes.
All of this material is fine and strong. Not so fascinating, however, are the vignettes of student life outside the school. Some of these scenes are important to the story - as when we discover why it is so hard for some of the kids to find time for their homework - but others, including a high school romance, are simply marking time.
I was also disturbed by the cloudiness of the screenplay in the movie's most crucial scene. After the 18 kids have taken, and passed, the exam, their test scores are questioned by the Educational Testing Service for two reasons: (1) it seems extremely unlikely that all of these kids could pass the exam without cheating, and (2) they all suspiciously made some of the same mistakes. Because we have been through the movie and the experience with the kids, we know they were not cheating. But the ETS authorities cannot be blamed for their suspicions. What the screenplay needed, I think, was at least one speech in simple, clear dialogue, explaining what I assume to be true: The kids all made the same mistake because their teacher made that mistake in teaching them. There is a scene in the movie that seems to suggest this possibility; the teacher comes up with an assertion that everyone in the classroom tells him is wrong, but he won't back down.
However, that scene ends without making it clear whether the teacher was wrong, and the later scene never explains the similar wrong answers. This adds unnecessary cloudiness, to no purpose.
Other things in the movie may bother some viewers more than they did me. The Olmos performance takes a lot of chances. He is so mannered, in his stooped shuffle and his sideways manner of expressing himself, that perhaps he should have toned it down once he'd made his point. The kids in his class, on the other hand, do a good job of avoiding the usual high school cliches, especially Lou Diamond Phillips, who in a wonderful scene explains why he needs two sets of textbooks - one to keep at school and the other to keep at home, since it would never do for his street friends to see him carrying books.
The last shot of "Stand and Deliver" puts some astonishing statistics on the screen, indicating that in every year since 1982 (the year of the story), even more students from this East L.A. high school have passed the difficult ETS exam. That is a dramatic story, and this is a worthy movie for telling it. I only wish I hadn't been reminded, so often, that the movie was making it feel just a little better than life.
"Stand and Deliver" is a rousing, real-life underdog drama -- "Hoosiers" with logarithms. This time the Cinderella story is set at a high school in East Los Angeles; the hero is a driven, Bolivian-born teacher; and the players are remedial mathematicians who triumph over calculus.
Edward James Olmos' dynamic performance as workaholic saint Jaime Escalante drives the movie much as Escalante drives a class of unmotivated Latinos to study math. "What's cal-coo-luz?" asks one young tough who, like the rest, can barely subtract. Escalante, his pate peeping through his plastered-back linguine hair, goads, kids and cajoles the Garfield High seniors into bettering themselves.
Fearless as he is funny, Escalante faces down the resident leather-jacket with a wisecrack: "Tough guys don't do math. Tough guys fry chicken for a living." He loses the thug but wins the respect of his sidekick Angel (Lou Diamond Phillips), a tough in a hairnet. He calls Angel "net head" and threatens, "I'll break your neck like a toothpick." Standing up to bullies still works. His antics become legend when he comes to class with a meat cleaver -- not for self-defense, but to halve an apple, thereby dramatically demonstrating the concept of 50 percent.
Unflappable as a Borsch Belter fending off hecklers, he plays hard to get when the kids start with the smart talk and spitballs. "You think I want to do this? The Japanese pay me to do this. They're tired of making everything." He tempts the dispirited youths, promising them unheard-of powers.
Angel remains a charming reprobate, but a reprobate who is also a calculus whiz. The fat girl, the pretty girl, the brain, the boy who fixes cars, all live up to Escalante's high expectations and beyond. Grueling hours, racial prejudice, bureaucrats and broken hearts do not deter them. Chewing their pencils and crinkling their foreheads, the Garfield seniors enter the Math Super Bowl -- the forbidding National Advanced Placement calculus test. But the score is not yet settled.
This modest, time-tested story line pits the little people against the establishment, like "The Milagro Beanfield War," but not so evocatively. Even though Cuban-born director Ramon Menendez is familiar with barrio culture, there's nothing rich and pervasive in the movie's atmosphere. The language, yes. But you can't sense the salsa. It's all math anxiety, and no milieu.
Perhaps limited by his budget, Menendez has made a rather plain film. He keeps to the classroom instead of the streets, capitalizing on the charm of his modern Don Quixote and the natural dynamics inherent in a clique of students. Blackboard computations can't compare, however, with basketball or bean farmers. "Stand and Deliver," with its small scope, would have made a more perfect television drama emphasizing character over action, dialogue over cinematography. It takes a stand, but not a grandstand.
Olmos is absorbing as Escalante, whose determination is larger than life even though the man isn't. He's almost too human, a pudge whose chest shows through where the buttons gape -- a former computer nerd with the nerve of Zorro. As the chief troublemaker, Phillips lends the stardust. Slouched at his desk, his legs stretched out, he oozes the bravado that adolescents mistake for confidence. But under the machismo, Escalante finds the perennial schoolboy.
Corny, no. "Stand and Deliver" is inspirational, but never sentimental. It resists all too many temptations. It cries out for schmaltz. But this is a drama as honest as its hero, a work that comes from the heart -- the heart of a computer programmer.
Capsule review: What kind of a film would appeal both to the Hispanic community and to mathematicians? The true story of a math teacher who fights to make mathematicians out of barrio kids. This plot has been done dozens of times as a fictional sports story. but rarely this well and rarely with a subject that has the immediate appeal that calculus does. Rating: +2.
American Playhouse produces quality feature-length films primarily to be shown on PBS. Rare is the year that they have not made a film that deserves to be at least nominated for Best Picture, though to the best of my knowledge they have never received any such nomination. Some of their better work is released to theaters, though whether it is produced with that market in mind, I do not know. However, their films TESTAMENT and EL NORTE did get shown in theaters well before going to television. Their current release is STAND AND DELIVER.
You have probably seen before the plot of the losing team and the coach who uses unorthodox techniques and understanding to build the team into champions. Things are different here. First, this is a true story and second, we are not talking about football or basketball, we are talking about calculus. This is the story of how a math teacher in a barrio school fought to take students who had a hard time learning fractions and turn them into some of the country's top scorers in the advanced college placement tests. Edward James Olmos plays Jaime Escalante, who is willing to play clean or hit below the belt to taunt his students to make something of themselves. His classes are peppered with under-the-breath (and over-) cutting remarks about math and life in the barrio. ("Tough guys don't need math. Tough guys fry chicken for a living.")
I guess that STAND AND DELIVER shows one of my childhood fantasies actually coming true--I always thought that if even the school toughs found out what math was really like, it would become the cool thing in the school to be really into math, much like it really was for football. This film actually shows that in one very unlikely school, math did become the "in thing." But I guess what I find most amazing is that the film was made at all. I mean, it's one thing to sell a kid from the barrio on the idea that math is nifty. There is intelligence there you can appeal to. But to sell calculus to a film producer is something else again. This fine film could have been sold only to something like American Playhouse.
Even those used to watching Edward James Olmos regularly in his ''Miami Vice'' role will have a tough time recognizing him at first in ''Stand and Deliver,'' since Mr. Olmos has transformed himself so completely. His hair has been thinned and pasted unflatteringly across his pate; he looks heavier, wears glasses and has none of the complexion-improving makeup used for his television role. Mr. Olmos has turned himself into the complete embodiment of a hard-working, knowledge-loving public school math teacher whose greatest ambition is to see his students get ahead, and he has done this to inspiringly great effect. If ever a film made its audience want to study calculus, this is the one.
''Stand and Deliver,'' which opens today at the Plaza and other theaters, is a lot more fun than that may make it sound. Mr. Olmos, as the teacher named Jaime Escalante, has the viewer rooting for him all the way, and his classroom methods are anything but dull. He shows up with a chef's hat, some apples and a cleaver to teach fractions, for example. And he taunts the kids who won't pay attention with remarks like ''Tough guys don't do math, tough guys deep-fry chicken for a living'' and ''Go to wood shop, make yourself a shoeshine box, you're gonna need it.''
Teaching mostly Hispanic pupils at a high school in East Los Angeles, this man speaks directly to his students' hopes and fears. ''There are some people in this world who assume you know less than you do because of your name and your complexion,'' he says, ''but math is a great equalizer.'' Not surprisingly, they begin to love him, and they begin to love math, too. Lou Diamond Phillips, who's as good here as he was in ''La Bamba,'' plays the group's biggest holdout, a boy named Angel who wears sunglasses and a hairnet and refuses to pay attention in class. But even he comes around eventually. Mr. Escalante, who knows a thing or two about teen-age pride, sneaks Angel extra textbooks so he won't have to be seen carrying books through the school corridors.
The students accomplish such miracles that ''Stand and Deliver'' plays a little like a fairy tale, even if it is based on a real story. However, Mr. Olmos makes it more than easy to understand why the students love their work and enjoy rising to the many challenges this hugely inventive teacher throws their way. Mr. Olmos seems to be living and breathing this role rather than merely playing it, and his enthusiasm really catches on.
Structurally, there's the slight problem of returning the film to its main course every time it makes a detour to examine the home life of one student or another. Ramon Menendez, who directed and co-wrote the film, is understandably eager to show why barrio kids have a hard time doing their homework, but these glimpses aren't much more than skin deep. When the film occasionally wanders in this way, one can hardly wait to get back to the tireless, wisecracking, one-of-a-kind Mr. Escalante for the next lesson.
Edward James Olmos gives one of the best performances of his career as Jaime Escalante, a math teacher at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles. As the film begins, Escalante has left his job working for a computer compnay, so that he can return to teaching. He was hired to teach computers, but on his first day, he is informed that the computers have not arrived and so he will have to teach mathematics instead. When he goes to his classroom, he must confront many of the problems that beset inner city schools: gang members and "wannabes" who wander around campus and are disruptive influences, poor facilities and lack of materials, students with little or no training and widely divergent abilities. The first step is to retake control of the classroom, and he does this through a combination of persistence, humor, and direct confrontation of anyone who challenges his leadership as a teacher. As he gets to know the students, he discovers that many of them have the ability to learn higher levels of math, but have never been challenged to do so, or required to put in the necessary extra study and class time to learn trigonometry and calculus. Once he gains their trust, and convinces them that preparing to take and pass the Advanced Placement examination in Calculus is their ticket out of the "barrio", the film focuses on their struggles to complete this lofty goal. On the way, Escalante and the students must deal with the indiference of their families and friends, the general feeling that these kids are losers and can't succeed in higher level studies, and the suspicions of officials of the Educational Testing Service, who administer the AP exams.
Stand and Deliver is a great film about education in America, because it punctures a few myths about what can be accomplished in the public schools. Students at Garfield High have many problems, but under the guidance of a committed teacher who acts as their surrogate father, they are able to master one of the most difficult subjects through hard work, long hours of study, and perserverance against those who don't believe they can succeed. Throughout the film, you see how these problems exist, but are conquered because the students are convinced to believe in themselves, constantly pressured to stick to their commitment to the class, and in the long run complete the necessary work and study to prepare for the AP Calculus Examination. Based on a true story, the film rings true because ultimately the characters are believable and you realize that these students could exist almost anywhere.
Lou Diamond Phillips plays a gang member, Angel Guzman, who turns out to be very gifted in mathematics and likes to wear black low cuts which he keeps in pristine condition. There are not a lot of great chucks shots, but you do see Angel wearing them a lot in classroom activities, and Escalante's son also wears light blue chucks high tops. The best scene is probably the above shot, where Angel, the other students, and Escalante are preparing for the AP test. Angel, propped up on the counter of Escalante's kitchen, asks what he is making, and Escalante says, "I'm making brains and this food lasts for 24 hours."
This uplifting movie was a welcome surprise on an evening when not much was happening. I came into the den and my wife was already watching HBO and I knew better than to try to wrestle her for the remote control! :>
I went on the porch and smoked a cigarette while I heard the credits for another movie that had just ended playing. Then I went to the refrigerator and got a cold Guinness and returned to the den. Stand and Deliver was just starting. I knew about the film by reputation but had never seen it.
The movie concerns the true story of Jaime Escalante a high school math teacher in the wasteland of East Los Angeles. His students are abandoned by society, mainly Latino kids some of whom are probably gang members, but are mostly considered lazy, do-nothing problem children.
Escalante challenges the kids to learn math step by step, telling them it s easy. Over time, his wisecracking style is infectious and the kids begin to warm to him. He tells them the Mayans, their ancestors used algebra. The kids begin to learn in earnest, but Escalante gets resistance from the other teachers, who have already given up on the kids. Escalante volunteers to work extra hours and teach the kids Calculus so they can get college credit on the Advanced Placement Test given by ETS. This is a formidable goal because only about 2% of the people who take the test pass it.
Because he has developed a rapport with the kids, they agree to come into school on weekends and over the summer. Some give up jobs to take the extra training. The students take the ETS test and all 14 of them pass. ETS challenges the results saying they must have cheated, so Escalante goes up against the big bad machine. He finally gets them to agree to re-test the kids, but they only give one day notice! He drills them again starting from the beginning, step-by-step. They all pass again! These were kids who aspired to become auto mechanics, short order cooks, and so on.
The vindication of the disadvantaged kids is very inspiring to me. Production values are like television, not the best but how much glamour can be projected on a public school classroom where most of the scenes take place?
Acting by Edward James Olmos as Escalante is top notch. He is very believable as a teacher who only just escaped from the barrio, himself. Supporting actors Andy Garcia and Lou Diamond Phillips also do a good job. The kids, besides Lou, are mostly unknown, but are very believable in their portrayals. The real key to this film's excellence is the character development and the story, which is first class.
As a movie to warm the cockles of your heart, Stand and Deliver delivers!!