Poitier Fills Inspiring Role In ‘Sir’ Sequel
When audiences first met teacher Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier), it was 1967, and he was a neophyte educator assigned to teach London’s toughest high school seniors.
During the ‘67 film “To Sir With Love,” based on a novel by E.R. Braithwaite, Thackeray’s stern teaching style and compassion for his students earned him respect. The teen tale also introduced the world to Lulu and Judy Geeson, and it spawned a hit song.
Did you ever wonder what happened to him and his brood? You’ll find the answer in the sequel, “To Sir With Love II,” CBS Sunday at 9.
It’s a flash forward 30 years to Thackeray’s retirement party, which is full of praise and compliments from peers and former students.
Lulu and Geeson appear in a cameo after clips from the first movie. (They have aged nicely, incidentally.) Admittedly, the opening makes one fearful that the movie is about to become a sentimental mess with Poitier offering a primer on how to solve all the problems in today’s schools. But you’ll be pleasantly surprised that “Sir,” directed by Peter Bogdanovich, turns into an engaging story.
In this sequel, Poitier’s alter ego takes a job at a Chicago inner-city school where he contends with a whole new set of teen problems - guns, prostitution and gang violence.
Again, Thackeray works his magic, which would seem corny, but Poitier pulls it off as he whips his students into shape and manages to find them jobs on his day off. What a teacher.
This tale is a tribute to caring educators who go the extra mile for their students. Thackeray is quite an inspiration. He even manages to find a long-lost love in the windy city as well as lift his students beyond their expectations.
Highlights
“Real Funny,” ABC tonight at 8: Comedian Craig Shoemaker hosts this “Real People” knockoff in which a Cher impersonator, the world’s cheapest man and a juggling fly headline the electronic sideshow.
“Sommersby” (1993), NBC Sunday at 8:30: The U.S. adaptation of the French hit “The Return of Martin Guerre” is set in the post-Civil War South. Jodie Foster and Richard Gere steam up the screen as husband and wife.
Parents’ Pick
“Brothers of the Frontier” (1996), ABC tonight at 9: Shame on this network for putting such wholesome brotherly love at this late hour. My 2-year-old daughter, whose bedtime is 7:30, was thoroughly charmed by the Lawrence brothers, especially tiny Andrew (“Brotherly Love”).
The cuteness factor soars as Joey, Matthew and Andrew play siblings separated from their parents after fleeing from an evil land baron.
On their own in the wilderness, the brothers manage to survive; keep their hair perfectly coiffed and clothes pressed; and even save the life of a sickly Native American boy.
There’s one violent fight scene. But other than the fist fight between Joey and a Native American, this one is sugarcoated.
Cable Calls
“Tommy Boy” (1995), HBO tonight at 8: Only Chris Farley fans (“Saturday Night Live”) will be able to tolerate this tale about the heir to an auto-parts business.
“A Little Princess” (1996), HBO Sunday at 6:15. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s tale about a young girl who goes from riches to rags is a tearjerker. Liesel Matthews brings poise and maturity to the role of young Sara, who is forced to live in an attic and under the thumb of Miss Minchin, the strict headmistress of a swank Manhattan girls school.
“Sabrina the Teenage Witch” (1996), SHO Sunday at 8: Archie Comics’ fun-loving teen witch (Melissa Joan Hart) contends with adolescent angst as she tries to understand her new emerging magical powers. The young witch lives in Riverdale, where everyone is good looking and wears the latest fashions.
Hart, best known for her tenure as Clarissa in the NIK series “Clarissa Explains It All,” easily makes the transition to teen witch. She fits right in as an adolescent with such major worries as to how to get a date for the spring fling.
Shouldn’t it be called “Sabrina Explains It All?”
“Rodgers & Hammerstein: The Sound of Movies,” A&E Sunday at 5 and 9: The legendary songwriting team wrote several of your favorite tunes. They are all remembered here in this upbeat tribute.
“Moses” (1996), TNT Sunday and Monday a 5, 7 and 9: Ben Kingsley defines the biblical figure as insecure, self-effacing and crippled by shyness. As he hears the word of God, however, he begins a lifelong task to gain confidence and free the Hebrews from bondage.
The special effects here are so-so. The story is long, drawn-out and without any humor to lighten the load. It will make you want to avoid this four-hour-long film and check out Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 classic “The Ten Commandments” on ABC. (See below)
Movie Marquee
“The Ten Commandments” (1956), ABC Sunday at 7: DeMille leaves few stones unturned as he uses a cast of thousands, larger-than-life sets and memorable special effects to tell the story of Moses (Charlton Heston). Still mesmerizing is the effect used to show the creation of the sacred tablets.