BAD TEACHER

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For the first time since her unforgettable appearance in the Farrelly Brothers' 1998 gross-out comedy "There's Something About Mary" Cameron Diaz fulfills her comedic promise. That "Bad Teacher" is every bit as dirty, though not as raunchy, of an R-rated comedy comes as a welcome bombshell. Here the filth is kept on a primarily verbal level. Still, there are some real zingers. A hilarious scene involving a bedroom act of frottage between Diaz and Justin Timberlake goes over-the-top backwards.

Diaz plays bimbo-turned-middle-school-teacher Elizabeth Halsey. After her recent divorce Elizabeth becomes obsessed with raising enough cash to pay for breast enlargements that she imagines will attract a wealthy replacement hubby. Elizabeth is willfully less than marginal as a teacher. She naps at her desk while assigning her students classroom-related movies like "Stand and Deliver" to watch. Diaz completely commits to her anti-heroine character with scene-chewing assurance.

Splinters fly. Pot is smoked. Justin Timberlake's Scott Delacorte is a new-hire teacher who sports a bow tie as a marker of his family's wealthy pedigree. The trouble for Elizabeth is that Scott is attracted to her rival Amy Squirrel (wonderfully played by Lucy Punch). Ms. Squirrel is a goody-two-shoes teacher who sees right through Elizabeth's unsubtle plans. Between some guffaw-inducing dialogue and inspired physical slapstick lies a romantic comedy without a lick of romance. Here's a rare Hollywood comedy that actually makes you laugh.

Rated R. 89 mins.