John Gholson (filmcans)

Bornedal?s The Substitute is a great piece of entertainment and accessible enough for the anti-subtitle ?I don?t like foreign films? person in your life. How can anyone not be entertained by this cast of kids and this memorable villain, played by Paprika Steen? She?s an unflappable phony, with a mile-wide mean streak, and mental powers to boot, and she makes a great foil against this cast of pale-faced Nordic pre-teens. They?re one of the best ensembles of kids I?ve ever seen. There are some bumpy plot holes towards the end of the film, but The Substitute is such a crowd-pleaser, so funny and exciting, that those holes are easily overlooked.