Mother Jamie (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and teacher Nona (Viola Davis) are extremely unhappy with the way John Adams Elementary is handling children’s education. Jamie decides that it’s time for action, so she approaches Nona with an interesting proposition: Why don’t the two take over the school? This movie is par-for-the-course “inspirational” stuff; the two leads do what they can, but the writers don’t bring anything new to the table. Everyone just goes through the motions, and while there is some emotional stuff, the movie feels quite empty. While the film is apparently based on something that actually happened, all of the things seen onscreen are just tired dramatic tropes that have been done better.