The Substitute (1996)

After a botched mission in Cuba, professional mercenary Shale and his crew Joey Six, Hollan, Rem, and Wellman head home to Miami, Florida, where Shale is reunited with his fiance Jane ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers:

Roy Frumkes, Rocco Simonelli,

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Raymond Cruz, William Forsythe

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Jonathan Shale
Raymond Cruz	...	Joey Six
William Forsythe	...	Hollan
Luis Guzmán	...	Rem
Richard Brooks	...	Wellman
Ana Azcuy	...	TV Announcer
Diane Venora	...	Jane Hetzko
Glenn Plummer	...	Mr. Darrell Sherman
Sharron Corley	...	Jerome Brown
Vincent Laresca	...	Rodriguez
Maurice Compte	...	Tay
Marc Anthony	...	Juan Lacas
Ernie Hudson	...	Principal Claude Rolle
Beau Weaver	...	Janus Showreel Narrator
Cliff De Young	...	Matt Wolfson

Storyline

After a botched mission in Cuba, professional mercenary Shale and his crew Joey Six, Hollan, Rem, and Wellman head home to Miami, Florida, where Shale is reunited with his fiance Jane Hetzko, who is a history teacher at Columbus High School in Miami. Some of Jane's students happen to be members of a street gang known as the "Kings of Destruction" (KOD), led by Juan Lacas, who has been terrorizing Jane. After Jane's kneecap is broken by a big seminole named Bull, she tells Shale that she believes Lacas ordered the attack, so Shale goes undercover as Jane's substitute, and initially, Jane has no idea that Shale is doing this. At the school, Shale meets principal Claude Rolle, librarian Hannah Dillon, and english and drama teacher Darrell Sherman. It turns out that Lacas is one of Jane's students. As Shale investigates the attack on Jane, he discovers that drugs are being circulated into the school. Shale even investigates local drug kingpin Johnny Glades, who may or may not have someone...

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Plot Keywords:

school | high school | drugs | gang | substitute | 

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Taglines:

He has a lesson to teach. And nobody's going to have a problem with it.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

El sustituto

Filming Locations:

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$40,167 (USA) (19 July 1996)

Gross:

$14,752,141 (USA) (2 August 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dinamo Entertainment, H2 Productions, Live Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was shot during the summer months and kids enrolled in summer classes were extras on the film. Free Papa John's pizza was served to anyone who would stay after school.

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Goofs

When Shale throws the fourth kid from the window in the library scene his shirt is unbuttoned and you can see that he is not wearing his bullet-proof vest. In the next shot he is taking the vest off.

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Quotes

Mr. Darrell Sherman: Rolle was a cop. He knows the law.
Hannah Dillon: Yeah, that's right Darrell, you keep the faith.

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Connections

Spoofed in High School High (1996)

User Reviews

Better than "Dangerous Minds"!

On a Friday, some weeks ago: the so-called television highlight for this evening was the "The Substitute", a film that got nothing but bad reviews by the TV guides. Nevertheless I decided to watch this flick - and after all it was really better than I had expected, because this movie contains enough action and suspense to keep you awake! The story is quite far-fetched but interesting in any case and actors like Tom Berenger, Diane Venora or Ernie Hudson do a solid job. Not as demanding as the brilliant "One Eight Seven" starring Samuel L. Jackson but definitely good entertainment!

6/10