As reader Huge Hanshaw reminded me during my last review of We Are Marshall, you can't really criticize a true story. It would be insensitive to suggest that real life stories of hope, courage and triumph are a waste of time or have in any way become trite. There is nothing as repetitive as real life human drama, and yet we never think of our physical lives as hackneyed, tedious or even dare we say cliched. Perhaps the problem is that in real life, people usually live predictably and whenever they are asked to tell their true story, they usually tell it using the dullest, most self-indulgent narrative possible. Indeed, what happened to them--which felt so exciting, so unforgettable in person--was probably quite boring by our tastes. For example, would anyone reading this column like to hear about my weekend? It was exciting, I tell you! Yeah, I didn't think so.

The marketing campaign behind Richard LaGravenese's Freedom Writers would suggest to you that because Super-Teacher Erin Gruwell is a real person, and this film is based on actual events happening in the Long Beach area, that Freedom Writers is actually not another familiar teacher-saves-the-day genre flick, but a true piece of human history captured on screen. Gruwell is the young white teacher in the bad part of town and is played by Hilary Swank, in one of her rare female performances.

The scenes seem familiar. Schools are overrun with violence. Racial tension and defiant rebellion is in the air. Most of the teaching staff is resigned to helping these students progress in life, since most of them will presumably drop out or get shot in the coming years. Gruwell though, is determined to the inspire her ethnically diverse class to learn tolerance, to apply themselves and to graduate high school. **Spoiler Alert** Yes, this movie ends predictably. It really is amazing how one person's determination can make all the difference in the world in the lives of her students. I hope I didn't give away the ending.

Interestingly, when hanging out at the IMDB playground and evaluating the reaction of the film's biggest core fans and detractors, I discovered that many people were complaining that Freedom Writers the film presented a very exaggerated view of racial violence in Long Beach high schools. I didn't attend high school in Long Beach, so I had to take writer-director LaGravenese's word for it, that this school really was one step above hell and that such a petite little white woman like Gruwell could survive in this atmosphere. And win over her hard-edged students. And face practically no resistance from the school board besides a few snotty assistant principals.

Nevertheless, the freedom writers would never forgive me if I failed to acknowledge that this is a true story. Therefore, the fault must lie with LaGravenese as a director, as he has directed one of the weakest high school dramas in the entire history of the tired genre. Students seem to alternate between dangerous minds and Ms. Holland's Opus of lovable geeks. Yes, it is believable that a teacher could overcome the odds and make a class of gangsters rethink their destiny. The problem then may lie in lead actress Hilary Swank, who inhabits the role with the same bubbly enthusiasm she brought to Million Dollar Baby. I didn't buy Erin Gruwell as a real teacher who had the teaching capacity or great speaking ability that would be required to genuinely move a cold-hearted audience. Since Gruwell obviously existed, I have to believe that Swank failed to capture the strong authoritative presence that got the real teacher noticed.

I must give Freedom Writers a grade for effort, but an A is out of the question for this class. Grade: C