Lean on Me (film)
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- For other uses, see Lean on Me (disambiguation).
| Lean on Me | |
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 Lean on Me DVD cover |
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| Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
| Produced by | Norman Twain |
| Written by | Michael Schiffer |
| Starring | Morgan Freeman Beverly Todd Alan North Robert Guillaume |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 3, 1989 |
| Running time | 124 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Lean on Me is a 1989 biographical-drama film written by Michael Schiffer, directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Morgan Freeman. Lean on Me is based on the true story of Joe Clark, an inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school is at risk of being overtaken by the New Jersey state government unless students improve their test score.
Tagline: A true story about a real hero.
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[edit] Plot summary
Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, is plagued with numerous problems, especially those dealing with drugs and gang violence. Furthermore, the students are receiving low scores on the basic skills test.
After the principal (during the opening credits sequence) is brutally beaten by students, the mayor (Alan North) consults the school superintendent (Robert Guillaume), who suggests the school hire Joe Clark (Freeman) as the new principal. The mayor is reluctant at first, knowing about trouble Clark has caused in the past. But Clark is hired and things immediately get tense after Clark dismisses from the school hundreds of students identified as drug dealers or abusers. A meeting between the parents of those students and the academic board only fans the flames.
The next day, Clark runs into one of the expelled youths, Thomas Sams (Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins), asking to be let back into the school. In a dramatic rooftop scene, Clark gives him a sharp lecture but grants him a chance to turn things around. Another dismissed student manages to get inside the school and attack another student before Clark comes to break up the fight. Knowing he is breaking the fire code, Clark orders all doors chained and locked during school hours to keep drug dealers out. Also, the students show no improvement in taking a practice version of the basic skills test.
Clark does not put up with teachers who disagree with him, especially those who do so in front of the students. One of his rash firings is reversed by the superintendent. Meanwhile, one parent (Lynne Thigpen) aligns herself with the mayor in an effort to oust Clark. The fire chief eventually catches Clark not just with the school's doors chained, but conspiring to have the chains removed during surprise inspections.
Clark's arrest comes after a key scene involving Kaneesha (Karen Malina White), who remembers Clark from grade school. Clark is offering counsel about Kaneesha's unwanted pregnancy just before he is arrested.
That night, while Clark is lying on his jail cell bed as the mayor moves to remove Clark, the entire student body converges on city hall demanding Clark be released from jail and retained as principal.
Eventually, Clark is freed from custody, and to good news: the students have passed the basic skills exam. With that, Clark shuns the mayor and leads the students in the singing of the school song (several scenes throughout the movie touch on Clark insisting that each student be taught to perform the school song on demand).
[edit] Cast
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[edit] Awards & nominations
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture — Morgan Freeman (won)
- Outstanding Motion Picture (won)
- Young Artist Award Best Motion Picture - Drama (nominated)
- Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture — Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins (nominated)
- Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture — Karen Malina White (nominated)
- Jackie Coogan Award — Norman Twain, producer (nominated)
[edit] Trivia
- Real-life students and teachers from "Eastside High School" appeared as extras in this film.
- Freeman spent time with Clark to capture his mannerisms and sayings.
- There was never any threat of a state takeover of Eastside High, though the state designated the Paterson Public Schools district as an Abbott District in 1991, one year after Clark left, taking over its operations. Paterson Public Schools was taken over by the State of New Jersey along with two other school districts. It remains under state control today along with being an Abbott district.
- Clark resigned as principal of Eastside High School the year after this film was released to become an author and motivational speaker. In August 1995, he was hired to run a juvenile detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
- The cast of the film includes the reunion of former Benson co-stars Robert Guillaume and Ethan Phillips.
- In the auditorium scene where Freeman's character expels the students on stage, a young Michael Imperioli (of The Sopranos) can be seen behind him.
- Michael Best, Stephen Capers Jr., Dwayne Jones, and Kenneth Kelly (who portray the students that Clark forces to learn the school song on threat of expulsion) formed the R&B group Riff after their involvement in this film.
- Parts of the film, including the elementary school scenes, were filmed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
- Rapper Young Dro mentions the song in his 2006 single Rubberband Banks: "Love glidin' down the street, love watchin' Lean on Me..."
[edit] External links
