Mr. Lowrey is the new teacher, struggling to find the confidence to teach history to the kids at Harrison High. Mr. Stroope is dynamic, outgoing and determined to be named “Teacher of the Year” before his fifth year in the classroom. Coach Webb is energetic and involved, and some would say more than a little annoying. She struggles to connect with her fellow teachers and find a life for herself away from school. Mrs. Reddell is the new assistant principal. Moving into administration from the classroom, she’s dealing with new responsibilities, long hours, and difficulty balancing work and home life.

Together these four are the focus of director Mike Akel’s new “mockumentary,” Chalk, a lightly humorous slice of life that takes the audience inside the workings of the fictional Harrison High.

Chalk opens with the premise that 50% of new teachers quit within their first three years. It’s a subject close to Akel’s heart as both he and co-writer Chris Mass, who also appears as Mr. Stroope, conceived the project while working as teachers in Texas. Veterans of numerous short productions, their effort here is their first foray into feature-length film. Despite the duo’s background in academia, Chalk doesn’t really directly explore the issue of teachers leaving the classroom, or posit any solutions to the problem. What it does provide is a realistic portrayal of the kinds of things teachers deal with on a daily basis. Assuming it’s an accurate picture, the problems become clear…. too many students, too many distractions from “core teaching” and not enough time to juggle all of the components necessary to be both a successful teacher and functioning human being.

To create the documentary feel, Akel and his cast relied on a great deal of improvisation throughout the production. This technique works great when it works, but it puts a heavy burden on the actors. The ensemble cast here proves up to the task. The dialogue isn’t always smoothly flowing but then, life often isn’t. It serves to reinforce the realism here and winds up working. I already mentioned Mass as Mr. Stroope: he’s got extensive improv chops to his credit and it really shows in his performance. Making her debut in feature film, Janelle Schremmer wears the coach’s whistle as Coach Webb. Shannon Haragan is the delightful Mrs. Reddell, and really one of my favorite characters. To the degree that there is a star in Chalk, that role is ably filled by Troy Schremmer as Mr. Lowrey. I confess I enjoyed all of the performances.

For me, Chalk proved to be one of those quirky films that are simply fun to watch. The story isn’t expansive; there are no complicated plotlines or grand conclusions. It’s just solid acting with a plausible enough background to hang interesting scenes on. There weren’t a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, but I chuckled throughout the film. I hesitate to call it a “feel good” movie as it’s really not, but overall it’s pretty pleasant compared to most of the fare you’ll find in theaters these days. I suspect that most teachers will enjoy it even more than I did.

Chalk is rated PG-13 for “some language.” Honestly, I don’t even remember what language they might be referring to. This is pretty tame stuff; I wouldn’t hesitate to enjoy it with my own kids.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Michael attended a promotional screening of Chalk.