If you take a look at the kind of schmaltzy garbage director Richard LaGravenese has written prior to this "white teacher saves the minority students" film, you get a pretty good idea what to expect. The dude has gurgled out scripts for "The Bridges of Madison County," "The Mirror Has Two Faces," "The Horse Whisperer" and "Living Out Loud." Clearly, this is a man in touch with his inner romantic. Actually, he's got a hold of his inner romantic and is strangling it vigorously.

LaGravenese is inflicting double pain with "Freedom Writers," serving as both director and writer in order to make sure that the overbearing melodrama of his words is translated directly into overbearing melodrama on screen. Hilary Swank stars as Erin Gruwell, who takes a job teaching at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, not long after the L.A. riots in 1992.

Recalling about a half dozen other teacher films like "Stand and Deliver" and "Dangerous Minds," Erin's idealism bumps up against the reality of inner city high school, which is that her class is filled with a wide variety of minority students who seem more interested in killing each other than in studying. They have no hope and no motivation, but Erin gives them that motivation because she's young and white and proud and her father (Scott Glenn) doesn't believe she can do it and she's going to prove him wrong.

Erin wears pearls to school the first day and a fellow teacher, Margaret Campbell (Imelda Staunton), tells her not to, obviously believing one of the students will steal them. One immediately imagines a scene where the pearls get stolen and then returned later once the offending student realizes what a truly great person Erin is. I'm happy to report that such a scene never occurs, which is something of a credit to LaGravenese's ability to distinguish between syrupy and sucking-the-sap-straight-from-the-tree syrupy.

Erin's enthusiasm and creativity is met point for point by Campbell's dour, by-the-book negativism. It's like watching the intellectual equivalent of a slap fight. "I believe in these kids," says Erin. "Well, I know the reality," says Margaret. "But I know they can do it if they just have a little support," says Erin. "I know they won't," says Margaret. Man, if only Margaret and Erin had slept with the same man, you'd have an episode of "Jerry Springer."

More "credit" is due LaGravenese for deciding to avoid the scene with that one student who quits or dies or just doesn't get it. Everyone gets it in "Freedom Writers." Every student learns. Every student achieves. Every student is a changed person by the end of the film and Erin might as well be Mother Theresa.

"Freedom Writers 2" will feature Erin traveling to the Middle East to teach everyone peace, I'm sure.