Radical is a very familiar story told well. You’ve probably seen it before… a teacher from the outside arrives at a struggling school and helps the downtrodden, uninspired kids. This concerns the old guard, the corrupt, and the parents but the kids rally around the teacher. Cut to closing title cards explaining the true story and where everyone went from there.

Eugenio Derbez plays the teacher and he does so without his familiar comic (over)acting. I’ve only seen a handful of his movies released in the US so maybe a more serious performance from him is not unusual in Mexico. But it was to me and I liked this different side of him.

And most of the kids have interesting, inspirational stories too… and not in the usual fields. One girl is into astrophysics and keeps an eye on a nearby SpaceX launch pad and another is deep into philosophy. I liked their stories even when they were familiar and expected. The only down note was the “kid in trouble with a local gang” subplot. If it’s true, it’s tragic of course… but it felt predictable in the hands of this film.

It’s a feel-good film without being schmaltzy or turning the inspirational music to eleven. Definitely a good message and it is nice to see this story from a Mexican perspective.

Score: 85