The Principal is a 1987 American action film directed by Christopher Cain and starring James Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr., and Rae Dawn Chong.
Rick Latimer is an alcoholic teacher who lands himself in trouble when he tries to beat up his ex-wife's boyfriend in a bar fight, leading to his reassignment as the new principal of the Brandel High Inner City School. While there, he tries to combat the gangs who are terrorizing the school.
This film provides examples of:
- Arc Words: "No more."
- Attempted Rape: White Zac breaks into his classroom after hours to rape his teacher Ms. Orozco. Rick comes to her rescue by beating up White Zac and turning him over to the police.
- Badass Biker: One of the things that marks Rick as a Badass Teacher is his motorcycle. At one point he drives it straight through the school hallways to prevent a rape-in-progress.
- Badass Teacher: James Belushi's character Rick, the principal in question, personally fights the Gangbangers who are turning the school he's been assigned to into a living hell.
- Inner City School: Brandel High is in the middle of a crime-ridden district. It's up to a disgraced reassigned principal to clean house.
- Is That a Threat?: During the confrontation between the principal and the leader of the school gang. The threat is about as blatant as it can get (not to mention in front of the whole school), the guy who's being threatened just wanted to prove that he's not afraid.Victor: I expel you, you fuck! You're not the principal here anymore, fucker! And if you come back tomorrow and you try you're leaving in a body bag!Rick: You threatening me?Victor: You're a dead man if you come here tomorrow!
- Never Learned to Read: Ms. Orozco is giving Raymi after-school tutoring because it turns out that he can't read. When she decides to take a job at another school after one of the students tried to rape her, Rick personally takes over Raymi's lessons.
- Now It's My Turn: Victor Duncan seems to be beating Rick Latimer during their final fistfight, till Rick catches one of Victor's punches in his hand and says, "My turn."
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Rick is reassigned to Brandel High by the school district after he gets into a drunken bar fight with his ex-wife's new beau. He uses it as an opportunity to restore his name by cleaning up the crime-ridden school.
- Save Our Students: This movie also takes the tough love approach, straight to a climactic fistfight pitting the titular principal against the leader of one of the gangs that ravage the school.
