What Happened In LEAN ON ME??!! (1989) PRIMM'S HOOD CINEMA 

Hate to get deep in the middle of this top tier comedy, but real talk the proliferation and popularity of this movie in the 80s and 90s is telling of where black elders heads were at during this time. White writer or not, I was shown this movie 100 times as a kid. That ridiculous opening scene legit gave me nightmares cause it was so horrifying. They really thought all we needed was tough love...

the unintentional roast "we don't want a good principal, we want Mr Clark" cracked me up!

As silly as this movie is, the line, "We Don't Want A Good Principal, We Want Mr. Clark," always gets me.

"We don't want a good principal, we want Mr. Clark." Yup, that pretty much sums up the whole movie.

That janitor was literally getting paid doing nothing in that school

“They used to call me Crazy Joe, but not they can call me Bat Man” The timing of that better help plug was hilarious 😂

One of the most harmful tropes in media is the idea of just yelling at drug addict or shaming them into quitting. Like shit on the kid all you want he’s still going to go through terrible withdrawal if he doesn’t get the proper treatment and will probably relapse. But the vast majority of people still think that addiction is nothing but a moral failing instead of a serious medical issue.

My old high school expelled all the 'problematic' kids in senior years to improve the overall end of year results. 20 years later my son went to the same highschool but these days they try to get the problem kids set up with a job so they have something to go to when they're asked to leave the school.

My dad actually went to this school shortly before this happened. He confirmed they exaggerated, but the school was absolutely in an unacceptable position. The school improved for a bit, but gangs gonna gang.

You're right, he really did kick out all the worst performing students onto the street to raise the aggregate test scores. Kind of puts a gaping hole in the entire plot honestly.

I never got why the dude selling the drugs in the beginning walked in the school? Was he a teacher selling drugs or just a drug dealer that was just walking the school halls? This movie wild as hell

That angry mom is the DJ from The Warriors. Legend. Only human that can say "Bopper" and not sound stupid.

This movie was peak Reagan era with its premise that Black people have slipped into social and moral dysfunction that can only be reformed by hard nose law and order tactics while ignoring the underlying socioeconomic issues! Morgan Freeman is a masterclass tho!

“Don’t you smoke crack?!!!!” “Muhhhh” “Yes or no” Your comedic timing has gotten a lot sharper since I started watching a year ago!

Shoutout to the woman playing the main bad guy for also being the voice on Carmen Sandiego. Black Allstar

The idea of shutting down a school that gets bad test scores is… horrifying at best

There are prisons that don't look as scary as that school did in that opening scene.

“This shit is haunted. This shit look like Luigi’s mansion, section 8 mansion.” LMAO 😂 this is my new favorite RU-vid channel, my dude. Keep doing movie reviews. You’re killing it.

The janitor part had me cracking up cause I said the same thing as a kid. Also when the teacher was getting his head smashed in I asked my father if high school was this bad? He said YUP! And I didn’t find out he was joking till I was in 7th grade

This movie is telling of the times as it was released in early1989. The crime rate had steadily increased since the late-1960s and would continue rising to all time highs until the mid-1990s. The music group N.W.A. was exploding in popularity and were more controversial than any other. Crack dealers and users were the face of the war on drugs. Even politicians who were considered soft on crime advocated heavily for three-strikes laws. Many people (including those who lived in the most violent neighborhoods) looked for any way to curb crime as many felt nothing seemed to work. Primm's inciteful observations are spot on. In the end, the policies that improved schools, neighborhoods and and cities started during the Civil Rights era. When affirmative action legislation was passed, nearly 75% of minorities lived in poverty. Today, less than 25% live in poverty. The movie is reactionary. But in the ultimate bid of irony, the film's supposed protagonist, who served as the loud mouth pushing a tough love approach did little to actually help the students. Instead, it was the professionals who remained committed to their students despite all of the efforts of Joe Clark's character who seemed to get all of the credit. Reminds me of reality.

Morgan Freeman was born with a AARP card

There were a lot of movies like this back in the day. The Principal, The Substitute, Only The Strong, Dangerous Minds, etc. It was practically it's own genre.

When I was in 8th grade back in 2013 I attended a predominantly black middle school in Louisiana. we were all called into the auditorium to wait for each of our test scores to be revealed us as we watched this film (go figure) I distinctively remember laughter among some of my peers at certain parts of the movie but didn't think much of it back then. I found out i passed all my test moved on and now that im older and wiser I cant help but realize that this film was so heavy handed and over the top that the very group of people that this film was aimed towards more than likely found it hilarious to watch. But hey that's just me.

7:14 “slovenly, sloppy boy” in front the whole cafeteria gotdamn Joe 😭😭

Crazy I was just feeling like absolute dog shit but Primm always saves the day. Immaculate timing

What the hell would Joe Clark have done if Sams actually DID jump off the roof!?? How the hell would he explain that to his Mom?

Today I learned that the writer of this movie also was a writer for the first three Call of Duty games.

The section where he has Kanye dancing to “Lean On Me” at 14:17 - 14:22 had me dead ☠️

“We hear ya looking for Candyman, BITCH!” 🤣🤣 Primm’s reviews are upper echelon🙏🏼 Preciate the time you put into these.

Can I say this, as a teacher: DO NOT TELL YOUR KIDS TO KILL THEMSELVES!!

PTA mom played the police chief in “where in the world is Carmen San Diego “ and the DJ in The Warriors she’s an all-star ⭐️

"Jump off the roof then, its your fault....or something" YOU KILL ME!!! 😂😂😂😂😂

"Nobody's ever supposed to conduct themselves like this in a professional setting" got me 🤣😂

"We don't want a good principle. We want Mr. Clark" Well at least they're honest. Lol

Young Candy Man was the second scariest person in the movie. Especially how they moved out that door like marines.

11:22 getting of drugs and feeling deep DEEP shame is real buddy. When I teach first generation parents English, their main concern is to not fail their children and it's a motivation thing. Parents saying they don't want their kids to know they were crummy students, gradewise, is a secret withheld in order to prevent their kids from thinking they are "just like their parents". Girls mom don't want that.

Joe Clark was pretty nuts IRL but this movie is insane. It’s like a racist’s fever dream. Also, I’m working with a school that the state took over, (put into receivership), which means the school failed to meet certain benchmarks over so many years so the governor appoints someone with authority over the superintendent. It’s not a great system - more money comes into the school to meet state goals, but, like in this movie, the goals are always test score based, not, “is the school actually better?” Anyway, yes, that is something that happens, unfortunately.

Glad you did this one. And yeah, one year after the real Joe Clark resigned and less than two years after the film was released, the state came in and took control of the school. And since they weren't actually threatening to take over in the first place, I think we can assume they got the idea from the movie. Have to say I never noticed Candyman was in the movie XD

Primm made us laugh with great jokes and comedic timing and showed us this film from a different perspective. He a good leader.

He foreshadowed himself being in Batman. He's a good leader too 😅😅

Can you do one of these movies? -Love Don’t Cost A Thing -The Wash -Blue Hill Avenue -A Bronx tale -Colors -The Warriors -Good fellas -Streets -3 Strikes -Prison Song -Civil Brand -New Jersey Drive -Idlewild -Bad Boys -Shottas -Four Brothers -Plug Love -Harlem Night -American Me -Lockdown -In Too Deep -Dope -Above The Rim -Next Day Air -Jason’s lyric -Trippin -Never Die Alone -Freedom Writers -The Blind Side -Purple Rain -Gridiron Gang -Biker Boyz -Vampire In Brooklyn -Pulp Fiction -Fresh - 730

The end part when he said he of course they passed because he kicked out half the kids. It reminds me of the family guy episode when they kick Chris out so their test scores would improve.

That "Roll Bounce head ass boi" killed me from the gate 🤣

6:48 “MUAAAHHH, YES OR NOOO” 😭😭😭😭

THE ROAST OF REVEREND SLAPPY WAS HILARIOUS 😂😂😂😂😂

Morgan Freeman deflecting a knife with a blow horn and slow mo punching to San Andreas music has me rolling

For sum reason that head slam in the beginning was traumatic as a kid 😂 “shut this shit down” 😂😂😂

My man single handedly increased test scores and local crime with one move.

My question is as it always has been.... Where was PTA Villian Lady when the school was crappy? Where was this energy!?!?! She waits until someone else cleans up the school to start fussing...

Fun fact: The guys singing the school song were a real life R&B group called “Riff”

I went to the theater to see this as a kid. The soundtrack was really popular. We all learned how to play Lean on Me on our Casio keyboards 🙂

your humor, editing, and critiques are top tier. thank you. (+for the algorithm)

The janitor roast was justified cause bruh… 😂😂😂

My dad went to eastside high and graduated the year before the principal came. He said it obviously wasnt this bad but it was terrible he saw some CRAZY shit. Including students beating teachers asses. I even have his old year book where he had written which students had died and how and such.

6:14 that Resident Evil Directors cut basement music 🤣🤣🤣🤣

😂 the Resident Evil song & Baby Boy edits @ 6:10 KILLED ME! never change, Primm. Never

My uncle actually went to the school like this he told me that the students actually threw a teacher into a trash can and they would be making wine in the lockers.

This and dangerous minds was what our school used to play for us all the time. As soon as we saw the cart with the tv on it we knew what was up.

😂😂😂 I’m in tears from laughing so hard!!! Liked and shared!

“Used to call me Crazy Joe, well now they can call me Batman” “This video is sponsored by Better Help” Perfect.

This movie has a special place in my heart. It was 1989, I was 13, and this was the first movie my cousins and I all went to see without any "grown ups" around "babysitting us" at the Security Mall theatre here in Baltimore, lol. Of course we had a blast (and a big popcorn fight with the other teenagers there.) Great memories! Thanks Primm. Btw, Please do Cooley High!

I have no idea why. I can’t explain it to anyone. But the explanation of the janitor has me crying laughing! It makes too much sense! 😭😭😭😭😭

In such a serious film, seeing Michael Blackson just makes me laugh, I never noticed him, damn he been around for a hot minute😂😂

“Awkward Left Hand Dap”. That’s gold 😂😂😂

"I don't want you to blame your parents I don't want you to blame the white man I want you to blame yourself" Morgan Freeman out here cutting Mr McMahon "Life sucks and then you die" promos

Found you because of Brett from Super Beard Bros, and I'm so glad I did. Top tier content.

14:55 bruh got arrested by bubbles from trailer park boys 😂

15:54 "You deserve a good principal." "We don't want a good principal!" Bruh.

"we don't want a good principal we want mr. clark" took me out. 😂😂😂😂

10:41 this whole bit is hilarious

That star fox 64 sound bit every time someone chimes in is underrated

This was an entertaining movie, but way over the top. Ain’t no freshman in high school smoking crack then getting clean immediately lol. “You smoke crack don’t ya!” like come now😂😂😂😂

I’m glad you pointed it out. They never explained that lady’s problem in the movie. From what the movie’s showing, Joe Clark was successful but she was on his case.

Yes! Been waiting for this one lol. I’m telling you “Who’s the Man?” From 1993. Every early 90’s rapper ever pops up in that!

Bro you had me falling out listening to you commentary! You got my sub. Now I'm bout to watch the rest of your vids

I remember as a kid the opining scene of this movie traumatized me for high school especially the part when they were banging the teachers head into the ground....changed my life "Man I don't think I'm ready for all that " (younger me) Thank you so dang much for the upload i'm over here dying

Someone could watch this movie, think all 'inner-city' schools need tough love and discipline branded under the lense of personal accountabilty instead of support from public programs, then write off Black people under their perception of them not trying hard enough. It's a Reagan era movie.

Your videos help me out more than you know man. Comedy is one of the greatest things in this world.

What video is the edit at 7:57? “Fuckin playin with me bitch” Takes me out every time😂

This one of the funniest ones Primm done had in like a year this shit got me crying 😂😂😂

Saw this in theaters when I was younger and this film still holds up. Funny Primm making all of these Batman and Arkham Asylum references them come 2005 to 2012 Morgan Freeman playing in 3 Batman films 🤣 And shout out for pointing out Michael Blackson in this film....Primm is a BLACK ALLSTAR

“of course your test scores went up you kicked out half the school” I never noticed this before 😂😂😂

It's amazing how right when you posted this reaction, Netflix uploaded the movie. I watched up until the chorus teacher scene and turned it off. Cause it's so unrealistic and Morgan would've gotten his ass whooped talking to me like that

My parents always said this movie was sensationalized . Any movie that's based on a true story will be exaggerated.

He said Thanos Snapped the bad kids. That animation was no joke 🔥😭🤣

This movie is disgusting, though I must admit I only know of it from this review. It comes off as racist propaganda, the notion that the sole issue in the Black community is "they just don't try hard enough!" It has nothing to do with purposefully unequal systems meant to maintain repression, it is because of a failure WITHIN Black people. Hell, Clark flat out says "half of the Black students just cannot be saved and must be thrown out", discarded, because of their failing. It is the story of "one of the 'Good Ones'" that Tucker Carlson would bring on to promote the reintroduction of mandatory minimum sentencing

14:50 the Enemy is here

This is what I deserve after a bad day, thank you Primm⭐️

Principle Joe Clark really was like that in real life, I watched a speech he did back when I was teaching and he was like "The Jews, they wouldnt let them go to Florida, so they got rich and bought the whole damn state!"

His endings be killing. ‘The movie over…. The Video-‘ ‘THANK YOUUUUUUUU

I’ll never get over Morgan Freeman saying the fire chief is the enemy😂

"Don't blame the white man! Blame yourself!!" [White writer white director] "Have some respect! Get off welfare!!!" [White writer white director] These blacks just need some tough love from an extreme authoritarian. [White write white director] 8:55 I was totally expecting a "Weird Al Yachovich lookin" comment.

The Welcome to the Jungle transition was an all time classic intro

11:57 I don't know why that shit made me laugh so hard....just the way he said it all like off hand 😂😂😂

“You smoke crak don’t ya..go ahead JUMP” 😂I

Yeah Batman has come under greater scrutiny and controversy since this movie. And Principal Joe's tactics have been seen as being less effective after the years have went by and people have had time to analyze them.

When you consider that Morgan is a vampire around 325 years old you'd recognize how young he looks in the flashbacks.😁

🤔This is quite possibly the best / most accurate movie review I have ever seen in my life.😂

The principal at my old job went to HS there when Joe Clark was the principal. That stage part realy happened. He for real changed that school.

I used to love this movie as a kid and recently watched it for the first time as an adult a month ago . I was laughing my ass off at the corny 80’s banter 😂🤣😂🤣