Lean on Me (film)

Lean on Me
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn G. Avildsen
Written byMichael Schiffer
Produced byNorman Twain
Starring
CinematographyVictor Hammer
Edited by
Music byBill Conti
Production
company
Norman Twain Productions
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • March 3, 1989 (1989-03-03)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$31.9 million[1]

Lean on Me is a 1989 American biographical drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by Michael Schiffer, and starring Morgan Freeman. It is based on the story of Joe Louis Clark, an inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school Eastside High is in danger of being placed into receivership of the New Jersey state government unless students improve their test scores on the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test.

The title refers to the 1972 Bill Withers song of the same name, which is used in the film. The film was released on March 3, 1989. It received mixed reviews from critics[2] and grossed $31 million.

Plot

In 1987, the once idyllic Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, has deteriorated due to drug use and rampant crime throughout the school. The majority of the student body cannot pass basic skills testing, and even the teachers are not safe from gang violence. Mayor Don Bottman learns that the school will be turned over to state administration unless 75% of the students can pass the minimum basic skills test. He consults with school superintendent Dr. Frank Napier, who suggests they hire elementary school principal Joe Louis Clark, a former Eastside teacher who was forcibly transferred years earlier, as the new school principal. Reluctantly, Bottman hires Clark.

Known as "Crazy Joe", Clark's immediate radical changes include expelling 300 students identified as drug dealers/users and troublemakers, instituting programs to improve school spirit including painting over graffiti-covered walls, and requiring students to learn the school song or be punished if they cannot sing it on demand. When one of the expelled students is found beating up another student, Kid Ray, Clark orders the school doors to be chained shut during school hours since there are no sufficient funds to purchase security doors.

Clark's actions begin to have a positive effect on his students. He encounters Thomas Sams, a freshman expelled for smoking crack and cutting class who pleads to be allowed back into school. Clark escorts Sams up to the school's roof and viciously berates him for using crack. Nevertheless, Clark gives Sams one more chance to clean up his act and redeem himself or risk permanent expulsion. Clark also reunites one of his old elementary school students, Kaneesha Carter, with her estranged mother.

Some parents react strongly to these measures, particularly Leonna Barrett, the mother of one of the expelled students, who presses Bottman to oust Clark. Clark's radicalism brings him into conflict with his own faculty, notably English teacher Larry Darnell, whom Clark suspends for picking up a piece of trash during a recital of the school song; and music teacher Mrs. Elliott, whom Clark fires for insubordination after he cancels a long-planned annual choral event at Lincoln Center. Napier lectures Clark over these incidents, demanding that he act as a team player, and Clark subsequently reinstates Darnell as a result.

Unfortunately, a practice basic skills test fails to garner enough passing students. Clark confronts his staff for failing to educate their students and prepare them for the post-high school world. Clark institutes a tutorial program to strengthen academic skills and encourages remedial reading courses on Saturdays so that parents may attend alongside their children if they want or need to.

When the day for the minimum basic skills test finally arrives, the students are much better prepared and filled with a sense of self-worth. Before the scores can be calculated, Fire Chief Gaines raids Eastside and discovers the chained doors. Clark is arrested for violating fire safety codes. That evening, the students gather at the meeting of the Paterson Board of Education, where Barrett, a newly appointed member of the school board, leads the call for Clark's removal.

The students demand that Clark be released from jail and retained as principal. Bottman has Clark released from jail so that he may urge the children to return home for their own safety. He is interrupted by assistant principal Joan Levias, who reports that more than 75% of the students have passed the basic skills test. He announces the results over his megaphone.

As a result, the school's current administration remains intact. Clark is allowed to keep his job as principal, and he cheerfully tells Bottman that he "can tell the state to go to hell!" The students celebrate by breaking into their school song. The film ends with Eastside's senior class, including Thomas Sams, graduating amid the closing credits as Clark hands them their diplomas.

Cast

Production

Parts of the film, including the elementary school scenes, were filmed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

Music

Songs included in the film include:

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 71%, based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10.[3] On Metacritic the film has an average score of 58 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[2] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.[4]

Accolades

1989 NAACP Image Awards

1990 Young Artist Awards

  • 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)

Television adaptation

On September 13, 2018, it was reported that a television series based on the film was in development at The CW. The Warner Bros. Television Studios project was written by Wendy Calhoun, with LeBron James, Maverick Carter, John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius also set to executive produce. The female-led drama was to center around "when a spirited young black teacher [named] Amarie Baldwin scores the principal job at an Akron, Ohio, public high school, she must dig deep to transform a failing campus into an urban oasis. In a time when education and school safety have life-or-death stakes, Amarie will take on a broken system that tests her mettle, love life and family. But can she keep her moxie in check in order to embody the aspirational educator that motivates and uplifts an entire community?"[5] On February 8, 2019, it was revealed that the script was not picked up to be a television pilot.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lean On Me (1989)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 31, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Lean on Me". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Lean on Me". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  4. ^ McClintock, Pamela (August 19, 2011). "Why CinemaScore Matters for Box Office". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  5. ^ Petski, Denise (September 13, 2018). "The CW Developing Female-Led 'Lean On Me' Drama Based On Movie From Wendy Calhoun, LeBron James & John Legend". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 8, 2019). "'The 4400' & 'The L.A. Complex' Reboots And 'Good Christian Bitches' Rolled To Next Season At the CW". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
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