Cheap Stand and Deliver (DVD) (Edward James Olmos) (Ramón Menéndez) Price

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Customer Reviews of Stand and Deliver

A HERO IN AN UNHEROIC SITUATION
Jaime Escalante was a teacher who inspired students who might otherwise slip through the cracks. He followed through with a group of kids who might otherwise not have a chance and he taught them calculus and gave them hope. This seems like fantasy, far-fetched and totally out of a Disney story. But it was real life. Edward James Olmos gives a good performance as the inspirational teacher who inspired a movie. Lou Diamond Phillips is supposed to be the toughest of the bunch, giving the teacher the most problems. But he turns out all right in the end. My brother, for some reason, wants to invite Lou Diamond Phillips to Thanksgiving. My brother says Phillips just seems like "a nice guy". My brother is not particularly a fan of Phillips. It is all about being a nice guy. The movie overall is a bit too "feel good" for my tastes, but there is nothing wrong with it. It is the kind of thing that my junior high school math teachers "rewarded" us with right before winter break... a nice movie (meaning we did not have to do classwork) about, what else? Math. There are a lot of movies that fall into this kind of category. They stretch back to Sidney Poitier's To Sir, With Love. Sandy Dennis in Up the Down Staircase. Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds. Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart.

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Stand and Cheer for this Winner
Stand and Deliver has often been promoted as a must-see for all teachers and students. I have to disagree. It's a must-see for everyone, regardless of educational attainment or profession.

This movie, based on the true story of math teacher Jaime Escalante and his Garfield High students, shows us how one man's uncompromising work ethic can inspire others to overcome the most difficult adversities. Edward James Olmos is perfect as Escalante, a man who does not settle for mediocrity and sets out to instill that same philosophy in his students. No easy task, because his class is composed entirely of inner-city Latinos who have been conditioned by their circumstances to believe that they will never amount to much. Typifying this mindset is Angel (Lou Diamond Phillips, in a brilliant performance), a troublemaker who spends his nights boozing and joyriding with wild abandon.

But with trademark Latino fire, Escalante pushes, and pushes, and then pushes some more. He requires his students to come to school early and leave late. He takes away their weekends, and even their summer vacation. And by the time he's done, they're ready to take the Advanced Placement Calculus test.

Rarely do we see a film based on actual events that inspires us so profoundly. It's just a shame that it's not as well-known as it should be. (Count the number of reviews submitted here.)

Just an aside: Olmos's name is not often mentioned when the topic of conversation is Hollywood's greatest actors. But did you know he got a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance in this film? The eventual winner: Dustin Hoffman.

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Better Than " Lean on Me "
I was in elementary when this film came out and I didn't see the value of it then. Now I appreciate it for being a decent film about a teacher trying hard as possible to make students depend on education. There's not too many familiar faces in this. Lou Diamond Phillips and Edward James Olmos are the only ones around you'd remember. This film stays true to the true-life of the teacher and unlike Lean on Me doesn't rely on fictious elements to make the story move. Stand and Deliver also doesn't spend the entire film showcasing the students and blaming the teachers for everyone's problems. It's a simple little story that tells a true story about a man who made a difference if only for a short while. I highly recommend it. It is one of few positive Hispanic films around and that alone makes it a must-see.