The Professor

Starring: Johnny Depp, Rosemarie DeWitt, Odessa Young, Zoey Deutch, Devon Terrell, Ron Livingston, Linda Emond
Directed by: Wayne Roberts
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A college professor (Johnny Depp) is diagnosed with a terminal illness and decides to live his life with no rules, saying and doing whatever he wants.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit I've soured on Johnny Depp in recent years. It feels like his best days are far behind him and he's starred in too many poor movies for me to get excited about any of his projects. I went into The Professor with a substantial amount of trepidation. It also looked like a fairly depressing movie, even though it took a dramedy approach. The film received fairly terrible reviews from critics, too. So, I was fairly shocked when I enjoyed the movie. Oh sure, I see the flaws that many critics latched onto, but it was easier for me to overlook them than I expected. I had a good time watching this movie, which truly surprised me. I think the critics are wrong- surely this movie could have been better, but it was a fairly solid affair.

The heart of the story is straightforward. A college professor learns he's dying and decides to stop caring about anything. He says whatever he wants, not caring about the repercussions. He does anything that hits his fancy. It's fairly entertaining to watch a character who has lived his life one way, all of a sudden, make completely different choices because he no longer cares about the future. It really makes you think- if your life was rapidly coming to an end, what would you do differently? Many people would act more kindly, think about their loved ones, their legacy. It's quite entertaining to watch a character act the opposite. I admit that the story requires some major suspension of disbelief- this character decides to just continue his life, not telling his family, not immediately quitting his job. He continues the path of his life, just making different choices within the already established framework of his life. That felt unrealistic, but it certainly created opportunities for drama and comedy.

Depp is actually quite good in the lead role. He plays this unlikable character well- you can't fully support him, but you never actually hate him, either. It was a good reminder that when Depp isn't pulling out all the stops and acting so zany and over-the-top, he's actually a fairly good actor. I enjoyed his performance here. The movie is really elevated by the supporting cast, though (which is fairly rare to find). Rosemarie DeWitt does some great things with her role. You feel the influence of her performance throughout this film. I loved Danny Huston here. He's such an underrated actor and you don't often see him getting this kind of role. He worked well opposite Depp and was a joy to watch. I always love seeing Ron Livingston, so even though he played a quite unlikable character, it was great to see him here. I also have to give a ton of kudos to Zoey Deutch. It felt like she subtly stole most of the scenes she was in. I know I've seen her in a handful of films before- Why Him?, The Disaster Artist, Everybody Wants Some!! but it felt like she really shined here. She held her own against quite accomplished actors. I thought she did a fantastic job opposite Depp. She was a highlight of the film for me. The cast is a big reason why I enjoyed this movie. Depp was good, but the supporting cast around him made the film come to life. Depp's Professor is interesting, but he's more interesting because of the people around him. I applaud the supporting cast for being the best part of this film.

The film was enjoyable. I know the majority of critics would disagree with me, but they are often wrong. The Professor might be a bit self-involved and unrealistic, but I still thought it told an entertaining story filled with interesting characters and it made you think a bit. I had a good time watching this movie. It absolutely had some funny moments. I didn't expect to like the film, but it won me over.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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