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.

"The principal" is one of many movies dealing with violence in school . Other movies about this subject are "Blackboard jungle" (1955) , "Class of 1984" (1984) , "Stand and deliver" (1988) ,"Lean on me" (1989) , "Dangerous Minds" (1995) , "The Substitute" (1996) , High School High (1996) ,"187" (1997).The best way to look at this movie is to look at it as unusual western. The lines between good and evil are very clear and there are no real moral dilemmas here. Some people might criticize that this movie is sometimes over the top , especially the action scenes. However I don' t think that this movie is too far from the real life problems. The reality is a lot worse. In my country there have been accidents in last years where teachers were attacked by aggressive teenagers . The problem of bullies , school violence and street gangs existed in 1987 and is even a bigger issue now. I agree with the message of "The Principal" – some kids you can reach to , but some are just lost case. Some punks only understand violence. Some hooligans can be saved by reaching out to them, but some will only understand baseball bat. In a way you could say it's a teacher fantasy , but one that makes you feel better. I believe that a teacher in school should be untouchable and every punk who doesn't know how to behave should get a serious ass kicking.I also don't believe that the movie is racist. Yes , the main villain is black , but we have also a white creep White Zac (JJ Cohen) here and few Latino gangsters. The janitor and female teachers who help Latimer are black and don't forget that there is one black "Baby" Emile (Troy Winbush) and Latino kid Raymi Rojas (Esai Morales )who become friends with Latimer. Most of the kids in this movie isn't portrayed as bad , they just apathetic and the same goes for almost every teacher in Brandel.James Belushi ("Red heat") fits the main role of Rick Latimer incredibly well. He's totally endearing and very likable character from start to finish. It was refreshing to see a teacher who isn't so noble and more down to earth. The film gives him the chance to mix serious drama with his comedy talent. Louis Gossett Jr. ("Officer and gentleman") gives a admirable support as believable tough security guard Jake Philips. The relationship between Belushi and Gossett Jr. is fun to watch thanks to some great chemistry between them. Michael Wright ("The Wanderers") is quite convincing as the main villain Victor Duncan and Rae Dawn Chong ("Commando") is fine in her role of impassioned teacher Hilary Orozco . The students played by JJ Cohen , Troy Winbush , Esai Morales are also very OK.It feels strange to write about action scenes in a movie about inspiring teacher , but the truth is that they are done nicely and the climax of the movie is full of suspense . Director Christopher Cain ("Young guns") did a good job. The screenplay was written by Frank Deese, a real life teacher who also plays a small role in the movie. The story gives enough time for character development and material for actors to work with. Some nice and memorable one liners here "I will expel you" , "No more" , "He's the principal man". The only problem is the undeveloped role for Rae Dawn Chong and her friendship/love story with Latimer. It doesn't seem to go anywhere like the writer didn't knew what to do with her. Some cliché moments at the end of movie , but I didn't minded them. The soundtrack is nice , especially if you like 80's music . Notable songs – Strafe "Set it off" , Jay Gruska /Bruce Roberts / Andy Goldmark "Livin in the line of fire" and Rob Jungklas "Hello heaven"."The Principal" might be a B-class movie , but it's a well made B-class movie. It has some good messages and is a positive movie . It's entertaining and actually inspiring. It's a movie how few people can make a difference. It does quite good job portraying the hard work many teachers have to face every day. It's a movie about fighting apathy and doing what you think is right no matter what. It never gets preachy , it's charming and enjoyable small movie. I give it 5/10.

This movie is about a simple guy that become principal in a tough school. That's what he always wanted but in a city he does not belong with criminals and drug dealers. James Belushi is the perfect choice in this movie, he was very young at that time in 1987, he was like 32 years old. But he looks 40. Plus, he got the help of the security agent of the school (yeap, only one agent) in the name of Louis Gossett Jr. (Iron Eagle). Gossett Jr. & Belushi have so much chemistry together, you forget about the script and the negatives of the film. Belushi is yet simple but effective, he's convincing in his role, and the ending is very violent but needed to happen ! B+

Rick Latimer (James Belushi) is a high-school teacher with some social issues. Hard drinking and soon to be divorced, Latimer flies of the handle when he spies his ex out having a drink in a bar with another man. Up before the school board, who have tired of his combustible attitude, Latimer is informed that he has finally got the Principal position he has long since courted. Trouble is is that it is at Brandel High, a notoriously troubled school where violence and crime are part of the curriculum. Taking up an attitude of fighting fire with fire and working from his motto of "No More," Latimer hopes to bring order and respect to the school. But with only Security guard Jake Phillips (Louis Gossett Jr) as an ally and the thuggish school kingpin Victor Duncan (Michael Wright) after his blood, Latimer will do well to just survive the first week.The formula of such movies like The Principal is now seen as old hat, post the release of Christopher Cain's movie you can trace a line from Lean On Me in 1989, to The Substitute 1996 and on to One Eight Seven the following year. Prior to The Principal the topic is a bit more thin on the ground, we can probably laud the excellent Blackboard Jungle from 1955, while 1984 saw Mark L. Lester tap into the video nasty zeitgeist of the early 80s with his trashy Classs Of 1984. So plenty of film's, and similar types like Stand And Deliver, from which to choose should you require a night in with a teacher intent on straightening out those ruffians; whilst ensuring the good kids get the education they deserve. So why choose The Principal then?Well James Belushi's fans don't need much convincing here, an always likable star who knows the limits of his talents, the film gives him the chance to mix serious drama with his comedy bent. This played out with immeasurable cool too. Latimer is one bad ass teacher, he drinks hard, plays hard, whirls his baseball bat and rides a motorcycle. He's no Dolph Lungdren (Detention) or a Tom Berrenger (The Substitute), but Belushi can carry off the tough side of Latimer, whilst showing his fallibility's via little comedy moments as he wonders just what the hell he is doing here. Belushi is admirably supported by Gossett Jr, a believable tough security guard if ever there was one, while a lot of the film's strength is drawn from the developing relationship between the two men. Of the rest of the cast it's Michael Wright who stands out as head thug Victor. Already at the time of release a cult actor thanks to his turn in The Wanderers, Wright is supremely cool and terrifying into the bargain. When he shouts "I expel you," you start to pack your bags, that is unless you are Principal Latimer of course.As ever with a film of this type there are complaints that it's full of stereotypes, but were they in 1987? Director Cain is for sure not addressing the then fledgling problems of education and crime amongst African-American and Latino school kids. But he is not shying away from the issue either. That the most unsavoury point in the film sees a white youth perpetrate crime on a black teacher tends to get over looked by snarky PC critics. Make no bones about it tho, this is more macho than the rest, again this is something that has upset many a critic who prefers the "reach out to the kids" approach in something like Morgan Freeman's excellent, but tonally different, Lean On Me. Oh yes sir, this is taking a different tack, but I for one appreciate having a different angle from which to view such subject matter. Some hooligans can be saved by reaching out to them, but lets not kid ourselves that some of them don't need more than just a telling off from The Principal. Yes the film is also very 80s, none more so than with the soundtrack where we get a mix of the bad; some American Heartbeat sounding fluffer, and the great; Strafe's pulse rocking "Set It Off". Not setting out to win awards or moralise about an ongoing problem, The Principal goes for a tough and gritty approach for this semester. Amen to that sir. 8/10