Lower Learning

ANCHOR BAY/STARZ
Street: Dec. 2
Prebook: now
> Profane indie about public education has star power to burn.

Though set in an elementary school, Lower Learning isn’t appropriate for underage viewers. The profane tone is set even before the opening credits finish, with teachers cursing, smoking and snorting cocaine in the classroom in front of second graders. And, truth be told, it’s very funny. The farce turns on principal Rob Corddry’s plot to have his school shut down by district supervisor Eva Longoria Parker so he can cash in on missing funds, as assistant principal Jason Biggs tries to save the school. Some scenes are stiffer than others, but outrageousness is always just down the corridor. Given the content, we wonder, was the title “Pubic Education” taken?

Shelf Talk: For a low-budget indie, there’s considerable star power, beginning with Biggs of the American Pie franchise, Desperate Housewives’ Longoria Parker and former Daily Show stalwart Corddry, now a busy character actor (W., Blades of Glory). Also, there are less gross-out sight gags than one might expect, which widens the film’s appeal to a broader comedy fan base.