Stand and Deliver delivers.

My high school English and Spanish teacher (same guy) would motivate us students to speak in front of the class by saying, "You must stand and DELIVER." The sweeping arm movement helped with the emphasis. It also gave us great material to work with outside of class while making fun of him. I'm convinced he got that saying from an '80s movie called Stand and Deliver. Even though this was way past the '80s, my entire town was really stuck on feathered hair, tapered jeans and heavy eye shadow. So, my teacher was no exception.

That phrase really did motivate me. But, the movie--a true to life story--behind it is even better. It stars Edward James Olmos as the teacher, Jaime Escalante, at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. Jaime is slated to teach remedial math to Chicano/Hispanic students. Instead, he decides to teach them calculus. They eventually take the AP exam and are accused of cheating. I know I always wax nostalgic for '80s movies, but I can't help it. There's something raw and rugged about the camera work, the wardrobe, the actors that has yet to really translate in subsequent decades. Now, for the most part, movies seem too glossy and the actors seem too clean.

Stand and Deliver is really a coming of age story of sorts. The students work together for two years and we see the struggles they encounter in their personal life against the backdrop of them becoming college-ready. These are poor kids from the barrio and even the educators were probably hoping they would simply make it out of high school alive. Mr. Escalante is giving them the potential to earn college credit. That is huge. (In a way, this movie reminds me of the documentary called Fear and Learning at Hoover Elementary about barrio kids and the teacher that motivates them. She gives the elementary students fake diplomas to some prestigious universities on the promise that these kids go to college and get the real deal.)

Okay, so when the students are accused of cheating, first they deny it and then they collectively decide what to do next. I always cry at the last 30 minutes. It's just powerful. And, yeah, I know they're high school kids (but probably all the actors are really of age, right?), but they're hot. Lou Diamond Phillips plays Angel (gangsta turned calculus god) and I'm just into him. He had me at La Bamba. The girls are cute, too, with their big hair and real-woman figures. I'm saving the best for last: Andy Garcia. I LOVE Andy Garcia, and I really don't think he's gotten the amount of movie roles he deserves because you know that eye candy is always necessary. He is just beautiful. Andy plays the guy who has to investigate whether the students at Garfield cheated or not.

Okay, this movie is not good because everyone is hot (and, yes, Mr. Olmos, I include you...that combover really gets me). It's good because it's a true story that has some depth. Yeah, they're high school kids and usually nothing much happens of significance to an average 16 year old. But, you really will understand the importance of these kids learning calculus. Well, the thing is, the kids are ordinary. And, that's what makes this feat so much more than ordinary. Dare I say it? It's inspiring.