Teaching Mrs. Tingle

Celebrated SCREAM scribe Kevin Williamson pulls double duty as writer and, for first time, director with this black comedy that's neither very dark nor particularly funny. All high-school senior Leigh Ann Watson (Katie Holmes) needs to become valedictorian of Grandsboro High and win the scholarship she desperately needs to pay for college is an A on her history project. Standing firmly in her way, however, is Leigh Ann's venomous history teacher Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren), a smartly suited viper who would much rather shatter the self-esteem of her students with a cutting remark and a reptilian smile than nurture their minds. When Mrs. Tingle catches Leigh Ann with ...