Any movie can be viewed a portal, a portal that can transport viewers to faraway places, alternate universes, or distant time periods. Although these movies started out as simple black and white projections, they have evolved into masterful cinematic experiences that defy the limits of the natural world. Today, a "good movie" typically boasts mind-blowing special effects, a deep plot line, well-known actors, or a combination of the three. These are just of few of the standards set by film-makers in the 21st century. However, I feel that it is worth recognizing films that were revolutionary in their time, not just films that live up to today's expectations. One of these films, "Stand and Deliver," is about a Calculus teacher at a local high school who turns a rag-tag group of seniors into excellent mathematicians. These students go on to take the AP Calculus exam, all earning passing scores. Although this movie is not impressive to modern-day standards, it is worth noting that at the time, passing an AP exam was very difficult, at any school. This simple, yet tremendous feat helps me appreciate the worth of the movie, despite it being outdated. Overall, "Stand and Deliver" is a likable movie because of its charismatic characters that are easy to relate to.Likable characters are important to a successful movie because they allow viewers to either relate to them or idolize them. In the case of "Stand and Deliver," there were both types of characters. Jaime Escalante, the teacher of the high school, was by no means a perfect teacher. Throughout the movie he made many mistakes, such as making a rude comment about a student's love life. He also had a heart attack just weeks before the students' exam. These downfalls show that Mr. Escalante is by no means a god or someone we are any greater or less than. He also showed his down-to-earth personality through his fun, charismatic teaching style. In one such instance Mr. Escalante created a simple algebra problem by replacing the variable "x" with the amount of "girlfriends" someone had. This did not only cause his students to like him, but the audience as well. In this sense, both parties develop a sense of respect towards him; it is very difficult for a teacher to educate and appeal to his/her students. Although Mr. Escalante is a likable main character, the supporting characters in "Stand and Deliver" demand viewers' affection as well.Likable supporting characters only add to the main character's charm because it shows how he/she affects them. For example, one of my favorite characters from the movie is a boy called Angel. Although Angel is involved with delinquent gang activities and smokes cigarettes, he shows viewers his soft interior when he is at home taking care of his sickly grandmother. On top of this, we later find out that Angel is an intellectual man who cares about his grades; although he doesn't want his friends to know this, he asks Mr. Escalante for extra textbooks so he can study wherever he is.Although movies can take us to amazing places and can let us travel with amazing heroes, but sometimes the best movies are the ones we can relate to. Although I have seen some exciting films, it's always nice to relax with one of the classics. "Stand and Deliver" is my favorite movie because it has likable characters that I can relate to. I hope reading this review will inspire you to watch the movie, as well as enjoy it as much as I did.

"Stand and Deliver" is not without flaws, but honestly these flaws don't matter so much given that this film is such good entertainment. In fact, film critics usually narrow in on the lapses in logic and flaws because they resent a film for being so boring. Such a criticism cannot be levelled at this picture, however. First and foremost, "Stand and Deliver" is unique in the sense that it is much more than a retelling of the inspirational teacher formula. Instead, this film is about the power of sheer determination. Edward James Olmos' Jaime Escalante impresses us when he claims that he can transform unmotivated and rebellious kids into math students without receiving additional resources and the proceeds to make good on this promise. He knows that his high school is in a crisis, but that does not seem to faze him in the least nor discourage him from doggedly pursuing his own vision. Then after Escalante works his magic, some of the students start to show their innate intellectual potential which few people ever thought was there. CastCast overview, first billed only: Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos ... Jaime Escalante Estelle Harris Estelle Harris ... Secretary Mark Phelan Mark Phelan ... Cop Virginia Paris Virginia Paris ... Raquel Ortega Eliot Eliot ... Tito (as Mark Eliot) Adelaida Alvarez Adelaida Alvarez ... Sexy Girl Will Gotay Will Gotay ... Pancho Patrick Baca Patrick Baca ... Javier Ingrid Oliu Ingrid Oliu ... Lupe Carmen Argenziano Carmen Argenziano ... Molina Richard Martinez Richard Martinez ... Heavy Metal Boy Mark Everett Mark Everett ... Heavy Metal Boy Tyde Kierney Tyde Kierney ... Joe Goodell Rosanna DeSoto Rosanna DeSoto ... Fabiola Escalante (as Rosana De Soto) Bodie Olmos Bodie Olmos ... Fernando Escalante See full cast »

"My students learned that, by trying hard nothing changes…" Jamie EscalanteStand and Deliver is an inspirational movie written by the minorities, played by the minorities and directed by the minorities. The movie depicts the limitations and drawbacks of one of many minority groups in America. The movie shows that being a minority in America- a country which is known worldwide for its tolerance and flexibility towards people from different cultures- automatically puts you in a "special" category in the society that treats you differently from the rest of the population. Even if you work hard and bring the best of yourselves, you will still face many challenges from the society that directly points its finger of accusation and discrimination towards you. Stand and Deliver not only identifies these problems but also shows in many occasions that when you are a minority in a country dominated by white majorities, the system fails to recognize even the basic needs and rights which everyone is entailed to, such as education and employment. The protagonist of Stand and Deliver is a middle aged man of Latino ancestry named Jamie Escalante. He is a computer science teacher who due to the lack of enough equipment (computers) is told by the school authorities to teach "basic math" to the dropout prone students of Garfield High School. This is clearly a downgrade and Mr. Escalante is aware of it. When he enters the class, few students recognize his presence and he is largely ignored be the majority of the class. However he asks the students to take their seats. The graffiti all over the class makes the viewer to witness the impact and the active presence of Latino gangs on the youngsters' lives. The class is crowded with different types of students: Chicanos who can barely speak English, young Latinos with adopted "American" appearances, and even several young Mexicans who seem to be affiliated with Latino gangster groups. What strikes the most is the age of the students, as they look older than average American high school students, which signifies their previous failed attempts in graduation. Throughout the movie we will find out that Mr. Escalante was an employer of a company with decent wage, but had quit his job in order to help the Latino community to better their lives through teaching. By becoming a high school teacher with significantly lower paycheck, we can assume that Mr. Escalante is not looking for fame or money, but rather is concerned with the fact that many of his people are sidelined with poverty, crime, discrimination, maltreatment and many other challenges that constantly threaten these minority groups. During his educational crusade, Mr. Escalante faces many challenges and difficulty, such as students' reluctance to learn any school related material, let alone a difficult and complex science in math and later "Calculus". In order to start the fire of knowledge within the uncooperative students, Mr. Escalante uses everyday examples and very tangible instances to draw the attention of the students to math, and he is successful. One of the challenges that our protagonist faces is a Latino woman who is an official school authority and constantly accuse Mr. Escalante of giving false hope to the children and even in one instance "allegedly" writes an anonymous letter to him and "indirectly" asks Mr. Escalante to resign from his post as the high school "calculus" teacher. This signifies the fact that even among the minorities there are people and groups who act as the barrier to younger Latinos' success in life. These people consciously or unconsciously set major obstacles in the way of youngsters by taking the luxury of "free will" and "choice" away from them. We see throughout the movie that Mr. Escalante sacrifices many things in his life such as having a better job with better wage, spending time with his family, and even he put his health at risk for the sake of his student's success at the "AP Calculus" national exam. Another thing which was depicted in Stand and Deliver was the concept of "Identity Loss". If we consider the high school students as the "microcosm" of Latino community, we can notice many instances of identity loss among them. Most notably, the way they dressed, their "western" hairstyle, their western manners towards their teacher and even among themselves, their eating habits and many other instances all signify the fact that "Identity Loss" was a major issue among the students and therefore the Latino community respectively. It seemed that, the students only adopted the negative aspect of American modern culture and ignored their own cultural roots. Even Mr. Escalante is aware of this phenomena and thus reminds the students of the great achievements that their "ancestors" had accomplish such as mathematics and Calculus, which is long been forgotten among the Latinos themselves as many of them are alien to their original roots and culture. There is no doubt that the movie is well constructed and is a deep cry coming from the very depths of minorities' hearths; but Stand and Deliver is prone to criticism. The movie in terms of giving information on how the students all committed the same mistakes and chose the wrong answer fails to give credible insights and therefore keeps the viewer uninformed about this particular instance. In the end it is worth mentioning that Stand and Deliver stands as a brilliant movie who depicts the existing problem of minorities in the "land of opportunity" and identifies the everyday challenges that the Latino community along with many other minority groups face and delivers the message of hope and freedom of choice for the people of minorities.

(Plot) This is a true story about a teacher named Jamie Escalante, a high school teacher who manages to defeat the odds, to teach a bunch of unmotivated students Calculus, and change Garfield High School foreverThis movie really hit home with me. I struggled to stay interested in school, because my teachers weren't very interesting. I just wasn't very motivated at times. Jamie Escalante gave me newfound hope that teachers actually do care about giving their students a memorable education. He was a courageous and pugnacious man who would stop at nothing to make sure his students knew the value of education. Edward James Olmos's portrayal of Jamie Escalante gives Jamie the justice he deserves. It really is a magnificent performance. He manages to maintain Jamie's tenacity, and never give up attitude. He made me fully believe that he really was Jamie Escalante. I can't praise his performance enough. All of the students in this movie had something interesting about them, but Lou Diamond Phillips (Angel Guzman) stuck out like a sore thumb for me. I find the man to be rather dull in a lot of things, but he really impressed me in this movie, with his performance. I dug his conflicted character. His interactions with Edward James Olmos were a treat to watch. I'd have to say this is Edward James Olmos's show. He runs with it, and never looks back. If you don't feel inspired or happy when this movie ends, I don't know what to tell you. It just goes to show you. Even if the world is against you because of your race, your reputation, etc. Hard work and determination can take you to new heights you've never dreamed of. I wish I had a teacher like Jamie Escalante. Final Thoughts: It's a really moving film that should inspire students around the world. If I saw this back in high school, I would strive to get better. This movie comes highly recommended by yours truly8.5/10