My Teacher's Wife

Released in 1995 under the title Learning Curves, this derivative comedy is so uninspired that you'll have to stifle a dozen yawns while watching it, and it goes through all the familiar motions with a plot about a high school senior (Jason London) who needs some math tutoring to improve his odds of getting into Harvard. It just so happens that the beautiful babe who tutors him (Tia Carrere of Wayne's World fame and little else) is also the neglected, lovelorn wife of his math teacher (Christopher McDonald), and she's willing to give him more than a few math lessons. (Can you say "predictable"? Knew you could!) Tepidly directed with all the subtlety of an anvil to the skull, the movie gets a much-needed boost from its appealing cast (indeed, Carrere shows some actual talent here, leaving the peekaboo nudity to an obvious body double), and North Carolina locations add some relaxing visual charm. And because London's character is an aspiring cartoonist, typically wacky animations by Bill Plympton are used as semiclever linking devices. Still, you'd have to be very forgiving--or an obsessive Tia Carrere fan--to consider watching this lightweight snoozer more than once. --Jeff Shannon