You could call Mr. Woodcock the latest version of The Billy Bob Thornton Movie. You know, that movie where he plays ornery elder to assorted subordinates, each insult or physical assault a sign of his arrogance and superiority, even as he's waiting to be revealed as a decent guy who only needs to be appreciated. He is, of course, always smarter and faster than all his opponents. Whether you see him as the bully of your own childhood or the payback that bully so richly deserves, you tend not to see the Billy Bob Thornton character as you.
In the new version of the BBTM, Thornton plays a gym teacher with a tedious name, introduced as he's pummeling little boys with basketballs, tormenting the ones who are overweight, stutter, or have asthma, infusing all of them with lifelong insecurities and nightmares. Johnny, a cute, freckle-faced boy, described by Woodcock as "fat and gelatinous," grows up to be Seann William Scott. In so doing, he appears to have escaped his fellow victims' pattern. In fact, John has written a best-selling self-help book, Letting Go, all about forgetting the past in order to move on.