60
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThis heartbreaking and essential look into the lives of those who put so much into educating other people's children ought to be seen by anyone concerned about the fate of the public school system, and the nation as a whole.
- The film is relentlessly one-sided enough to become tiring, but it's impossible not to feel for the main characters, who all love what they do while continually being forced to question how feasible it is.
- 60VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyIts inspiring portraits of hardworking subjects make a fine case for raising the bar by rewarding excellence rather than punishing failure.
- 60Village VoiceErnest HardyVillage VoiceErnest HardyWhat's made powerfully clear is that we've reached a dire point of crisis that, while largely rooted in economics, is about so much more than dollars and cents.
- 50Boxoffice MagazineRay GreeneBoxoffice MagazineRay GreeneThere is a passionate, combative and riveting documentary to be made about the plight of the American schoolteacher, but unfortunately the well-meaning, unfailingly decent and overly slack American Teacher isn't it.
- 50Slant MagazineJoseph Jon LanthierSlant MagazineJoseph Jon LanthierThe movie is a curious blend of teacher-appreciation mandate and recruitment video, though it's not always clear at whom the narration's gravely spoken factoids are directed.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckA very important subject gets too dry a treatment to keep one's attention focused.
- 50The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerAmerican Teacher doesn't come close to doing what it sets out to do, but it does end up as a heartfelt, bittersweet portrait of several teachers.