ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

dworldeater James Belushi is at his very best in the gritty urban action classic The Principal. Belushi is Rick Latimer, a hot tempered, hard drinking, skirt chasing maniac. His bar room brawl antics ended with his teaching job getting terminated and he is sent to Brandel, to become its new principal. Brandel is an alternative high school where all the bad kids who get kicked out of their prospective schools are sent and is much like a prison and is a breeding ground of drugs, gangs and violence. Leading man James Belushi delivers a tough, well rounded performance. He is funny, volatile and delivers on the dramatic end as well. Louis Gossett Jr. and Rae Dawn Chong give strong support. Michael Wright is awesome as gang leader Victor Duncan. The Principal is an 80's classic that is well performed, action packed and realistic. Well done and essential viewing in my opinion.

angelsunchained This is a very good action film. The movie moves at a quick pace and there is a lot of action. The characters are cartoonish and stereotyped. There is the dedicated teacher, the bad kid with a heart of gold, the evil bad guy always in black,and of course James Belushi doing his best to copy his brother's John wildman acting style. However, the film is really as stupid as a movie can be. A wild,out of control teacher, involved in bar room brawls and drunken fits of anger being promoted to be a principal. Once a principal, he drops f-bombs, throws fits, knocks out students and is just an overall crazyman. But, that is Hollywood. Besides, there is a very happy ending after a High Noon type showdown in the school, and everyone lives happily ever after. Jim Belushi best role and a good way to relax and enjoy an action packed entertaining movie.

jts0405 The Principal is an extremely underrated movie. James Belushi never really reached the height that John Belushi did, but he still has had some hits that I think people have had a hard time recognizing. Many people have probably not seen this movie, but it brings a satisfactory chemistry between both Belushi and Gossett Jr. in which they fight off punk teen gangs at their school. The concept is pretty different from any other movies involving the main character as a principal. It really isn't a comedy, which you normally see from James Belushi, but that doesn't make it bad. Give it a try, you might like it.7/10

C. Sean Currie (hypestyle) "The Principal" was released in 1987. During the 1980's, public schools of many inner-city communities were at a low ebb, with suburban flight and state/city cost-cutting contributing to the poor conditions. This led to many schools becoming especially vulnerable to gang activity and other crimes. New York educator Joe Clark became infamous around this time for his bat-wielding tactics, and was honored by president Ronald Reagan. Most teen-centric films of the 80's focused on upper-middle-class suburbia, and teens of color were barely seen, if at all. Hollywood soon resurrected the "well-meaning teacher confronts the urban dilemma" movie, and "The Principal" was one of them.Starring Saturday Night Live alumnus Jim Belushi, in this film he plays Rick Latimer. In an unnamed city (but filmed in Oakland, CA), Rick is a teacher at a suburban prep school; he's also recently divorced. One evening, while visiting a bar he sees his ex-wife with another man. Drunk and enraged, he harasses the man and vandalizes his car with a baseball bat.After being arrested (it's unclear what charges are filed, if any), Rick is called in by the school board for sanctioning. It is decided that he won't be fired, but instead he'll be promoted: only he'll also transferred to Brandel: An inner-city high school that has seen its better days.Now the principal of Brandel, Rick shows up on his motorcycle to see gang attacks, kids wandering graffiti-tagged hallways, drug commerce and other vices taking place out in the open. The teachers there are ambivalent and mostly resigned to the sub-standard conditions. Aghast, Rick calls an impromptu school assembly, and declares that things will start to change at the school immediately-- only, perpetual senior Victor, a gang leader and defacto "boss" of the school, will hear none of this, and declares war on Rick and his reform ideas.The Academy Award-winning but underrated Lou Gossett continues to slum it here, as Jake, the head of security. He soon becomes one of Rick's few allies in enforcing law and order at the school. Another ally is Rae Dawn Chong as Ms. Orozco, one of the few teachers who doesn't mind going out of her way to help the kids. There are hints of romance, but they are never followed-up on.An unusually labyrinthine locker room is the setting for the climax of the film, as Rick has a final showdown with Victor and his gang.The film is rife with several stock characters and situations, but as a B-action film, it delivers most of its points effectively.It's amusing to look back at some of Belushi's early vehicles, before his box office status petered out in the early 90's, before his comeback with "According to Jim".