Teaching Mrs. Tingle

Teaching Mrs. Tingle
Theatrical film poster
Directed by	Kevin Williamson
Produced by	Cathy Konrad Julie Plec Bob Weinstein Harvey Weinstein
Written by	Kevin Williamson
Starring	Helen Mirren Katie Holmes Jeffrey Tambor Barry Watson Marisa Coughlan Liz Stauber Molly Ringwald Vivica A. Fox
Music by	John Frizzell
Cinematography	Jerzy Zielinski
Edited by	Debra Neil-Fisher
Production company	Dimension Films Konrad Pictures Interscope Communications
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date	August 20, 1999 (1999-08-20)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$13 million
Box office	$8.9 million

Teaching Mrs. Tingle is a 1999 American dark comedy thriller film and the directing debut of the film's screenwriter Kevin Williamson. The film follows a trio of seniors who must prove their innocence to their vindictive history teacher, who accuses them of cheating their exams. Williamson originally shelved the script, before the success of his later projects, including Dawson's Creek, Scream, and its sequel. Following this, the script was eventually picked up.

The film stars Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Marisa Coughlan, Barry Watson, and Jeffrey Tambor and was released on August 20, 1999. It was originally titled Killing Mrs. Tingle, but was delayed and re-titled due to the uproar over teen violence in films after the Columbine High School massacre. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb. It has since gained a small cult following.

Leigh Ann Watson is a high school student living in a small sleepy town of Grandsboro in Northern California with her single mother Faye who works as a waitress. Leigh Ann's aim is to achieve top grades to become valedictorian and leave the rather dead end town. However, her grade in history class is threatened by her sadistic and thoroughly vindictive teacher, Mrs. Eve Tingle. Mrs. Tingle has a special dislike for Leigh Ann and down-grades Leigh Ann's well-designed, though slightly misfired, project. Fellow student Luke Churner takes the final exam papers from Tingle and makes a copy. He offers Leigh Ann, whom he has feelings for, the papers but she insistently refuses to cheat. Ultimately, Luke stashes the papers in Leigh Ann's backpack without her consent. Out of nowhere Tingle happens by, discovers the papers in Leigh Ann's backpack, and threatens to expel her for cheating. Mrs. Tingle heads to Principal Potter's office, however he has left for the day and decides to tell him tomorrow morning. This gives Leigh Ann, her best friend, Jo Lynn Jordan, an aspiring actress who has feelings for Luke, and Luke time to think of a plan to stop Mrs. Tingle.