Editing Stand and Deliver

{{Short description|1988 American drama film}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Stand and Deliver
| image          = Stand and deliver.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Ramón Menéndez]]
| producer       = Tom Musca
| writer         = {{ubl|Ramón Menéndez|[[Tom Musca]]}}
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* [[Edward James Olmos]]
* [[Lou Diamond Phillips]]
* [[Rosanna DeSoto]]
* [[Andy García]]
}}
| music          = [[Craig Safan]]
| cinematography = [[Tom Richmond (cinematographer)|Tom Richmond]]
| editing        = Nancy Richardson
| studio         = [[American Playhouse]]
| distributor    = [[Warner Bros.]]
| released       = {{Film date|1988|02|13|[[Miami International Film Festival|Miami]]|1988|03|11|United States}}
| runtime        = 102 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1.6 million<ref>{{cite web|title=Box Office Champs, Chumps : The hero of the bottom line was the 46-year-old 'Bambi'|date=January 8, 1989|first=Leonard|last=Klady|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-08-ca-258-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=2024-08-15|archive-date=2012-12-04|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121204160747/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-08/entertainment/ca-258_1_box-office/2|url-status=live}}</ref>
| gross          = $13.9 million<ref>{{cite web|title=Stand and Deliver (1988)|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=standanddeliver.htm|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823174158/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=standanddeliver.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

'''''Stand and Deliver''''' is a 1988 American [[biographical]] [[comedy-drama film]] directed by [[Ramón Menéndez]], written by Menéndez and [[Tom Musca]]. It is based on the true story of [[Garfield High School (California)|Garfield High School]] mathematics teacher, [[Jaime Escalante]], who inspired 18 Latino students to pass the [[Advanced Placement Calculus]] in 1982. The film's title refers to the 1987 [[Mr. Mister]] [[Stand and Deliver (Mr. Mister song)|song of the same name]], which is also featured in the film's ending credits.

For portraying Escalante, [[Edward James Olmos]] was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] at the [[61st Academy Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|title='Rain Man' Given 8 Oscar Nominations; Sigourney 2 : Hoffman Wins 6th Acting Nod|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-15-mn-2644-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=15 February 1989 |access-date=3 September 2017}}</ref> The film won the [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Film|Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature]] in 1988. In 2011, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

== Plot ==
In the early 1980s, Jaime Escalante becomes a mathematics teacher at [[Garfield High School (California)|James A. Garfield High School]] in [[East Los Angeles]]. The school is full of [[Latino (demonym)|Latino]] students from working-class families whose academic achievement is far below their grade level. Two students, Angel and another gangster, arrive late and question Escalante's authority. Escalante demonstrates how to multiply numbers using one's fingers and appeals to the students' sense of humor. After class, some gangsters threaten Escalante. After school, he stops the gangsters from fighting. He then introduces himself as a "one-man gang" with the classroom as his domain. Escalante tells the students that he has decided to teach them [[algebra]].

At a meeting, Escalante learns that the school's accreditation is under threat, as test scores are not high enough. Escalante says that students will rise to the level that is expected of them. Escalante gives the students a quiz every morning and a new student joins the class. He instructs his class under the philosophy of ''ganas'', roughly translating to "desire".

Escalante tells other faculty that he wants to teach the students [[calculus]]. He seeks to change the school culture to help the students excel in academics, as he has seen the untapped potential of his class. Other teachers ridicule him, as the students have not taken the prerequisites. Escalante states that the students can take the prerequisites over the summer. He sets a goal of having the students take [[Advanced Placement Calculus]] by their senior year.

The students sign up for the prerequisites over the summer. There is no air conditioning, but Escalante is able to teach the class, giving them oranges and telling them to focus so they can get good jobs and take vacations. In the fall, he gives the students contracts to be signed by the parents; they must come in on Saturdays, show up an hour early to school, and stay until 5pm in order to prepare for the AP Calculus exam.

Two weeks before the students' calculus exam, Escalante is teaching an ESL class to some adults. He suddenly clutches at his torso in pain, stumbles into the hallway, and falls. A substitute teacher is found for the students while Escalante recovers in the hospital, but the substitute teacher is a music teacher. Soon after, Escalante escapes from the hospital and shows up at school to continue teaching. After taking the AP calculus exam, the students head to the beach and celebrate. All 18 students who took the exam pass it. At a meeting to congratulate the students, a plaque of appreciation is presented to Escalante.

To the dismay of both Escalante and the students, the [[Educational Testing Service]] questions the students' exam scores. Escalante finds an anonymous letter of resignation in his school mail and has to walk home that evening, as his car has been stolen from the school parking lot. Dismayed, he confides in his wife that he regrets having taught the students calculus, because they did well but nothing changed for them. Fabiola reassures him stating that his students appreciate his efforts regardless; this is confirmed when some of them show up at his house with a surprise: they have fixed up his car as a way to thank him. Escalante meets with the investigators from Educational Testing Service, argues with them, but ultimately offers to have the students retake the test. Despite having only one day to prepare, all the students pass, and Escalante demands that the original scores be reinstated.

End captions indicate that in the summer of 1982 Escalante's entire class was able to pass AP Calculus and in subsequent years, his program became even more successful.

==Cast==
{{div col}}<!-- Names are in credits order and named as credited; please do not change. -->
* [[Edward James Olmos]] as [[Jaime Escalante]]
* [[Estelle Harris]] as Secretary
* Virginia Paris as Raquel Ortega
* Will Gotay as Francisco "Pancho" Garcia
* [[Ingrid Oliu]] as Guadalupe "Lupe" Escobar
* [[Carmen Argenziano]] as Jesse Molina
* [[Rosanna DeSoto]] as Fabiola Escalante
* [[Vanessa Marquez]] as Ana Delgado
* [[Lou Diamond Phillips]] as Angel Guzman
* Karla Montana as Claudia Camejo
* [[Lydia Nicole]] as Rafaela Fuentes
* [[James Victor (actor)|James Victor]] as Ana's Father
* Mark Eliot as Armando "Tito" Guitaro
* Patrick Baca as Javier Perales 
* [[Andy García]] as Ramirez
* [[Rif Hutton]] as Pearson
* Daniel Villarreal as Chuco
{{div col end}}

== Historical accuracy ==
The film accurately portrays that students had to retake the AP exam, and that all who retook it passed.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The movie gives the impression that the incident occurred in the second year Escalante was teaching, after students from his first year took a summer session for the calculus prerequisites. In fact, Escalante first began teaching at Garfield High School in 1974 and taught his first Advanced Placement Calculus course in 1978 with a group of 14 students, and it was in 1982 that the exam incident occurred. In the first year (1978), only five students remained in the course at the end of the year, only two of whom passed the AP Calculus exam.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Woo |first=Elaine |date=2010-03-31 |title=Jaime Escalante dies at 79; math teacher who challenged East L.A. students to 'Stand and Deliver' |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2010-mar-31-la-me-jaime-escalante31-2010mar31-story.html |access-date=2012-01-16 |archive-date=2019-08-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822180935/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2010-mar-31-la-me-jaime-escalante31-2010mar31-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Writing in ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'', Jerry Jesness stated, "Unlike the students in the movie, the real Garfield students required years of solid preparation before they could take calculus. So Escalante established a program at [[East Los Angeles College]] where students could take those classes in intensive seven-week summer sessions. Escalante and [principal Henry] Gradillas were also instrumental in getting the feeder schools to offer algebra in the eighth and ninth grades."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jesness |first=Jerry |date=July 2002 |title=Stand and Deliver Revisited |work=Reason |url=https://reason.com/archives/2002/07/01/stand-and-deliver-revisited/ |access-date=2015-11-12 |archive-date=2015-09-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905220558/http://reason.com/archives/2002/07/01/stand-and-deliver-revisited |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1987, 27 percent of all Mexican Americans who scored three or higher on the AP Calculus exam were students at Garfield High.<ref name="retest">{{Cite news |last=Mathews |first=Jay |author-link=Jay Mathews |date=2009-09-14 |title=Retest D.C. Classes That Had Dubious Exam Results in '08 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/13/AR2009091302414.html?hpid=sec-education |access-date=2012-01-16}}</ref>

Escalante himself described the film as "90 percent truth, 10 percent drama". He said that several points were left out of the film. He pointed out that no student who did not know multiplication tables or fractions was ever taught calculus in a single year. Also, he suffered [[cholecystitis|inflammation of the gall bladder]], not a heart attack.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-03-31 |title=Jaime Escalante dies at 79; math teacher who challenged East L.A. students to 'Stand and Deliver' |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2010-mar-31-la-me-jaime-escalante31-2010mar31-story.html |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207191242/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2010-mar-31-la-me-jaime-escalante31-2010mar31-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ten of the 1982 students signed waivers to allow the [[College Board]] to show their exams to [[Jay Mathews]], the author of ''Escalante: The Best Teacher in America''. Mathews found that nine of them had made "identical silly mistakes" on free response question six. Mathews heard from two of the students that during the exam, a piece of paper had been passed around with that flawed solution.<ref name="retest" /> Twelve students, including the nine with the identical mistakes, retook the exam, and most of them received the top scores of four and five. Mathews concluded that nine of the students did cheat, but they knew the material and did not need to.<ref name="retest" />

Mathews wrote in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' that the Ana Delgado character "was the only teenage character in the film based on a real person"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mathews |first=Jay |author-link=Jay Mathews |date=2010-04-04 |title=Lessons For a Lifetime |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-04-la-oe-mathews4-2010apr04-story.html |access-date=2015-11-12 |archive-date=2020-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020124149/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-04-la-oe-mathews4-2010apr04-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and that her name had been changed.

==Reception==
On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the movie holds a score of 89% from 63 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "''Stand and Deliver'' pulls off the unlikely feat of making math class the stuff of underdog drama – and pays rousing tribute to a real-life inspirational figure in the bargain."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stand_and_deliver|title=Stand and Deliver|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=2024-11-09|archive-date=2024-08-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827063219/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/stand_and_deliver|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] has given the film a score of 77 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/stand-and-deliver|title=Stand and Deliver Reviews|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=2020-01-28|archive-date=2020-09-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920131910/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/stand-and-deliver|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 99%;"
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s) in
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
| rowspan="1" | [[61st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Edward James Olmos]]
| rowspan="3" {{nom}}
| rowspan="1" | <ref>{{cite web|title=THE 61ST ACADEMY AWARDS - 1989|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989|website=Oscars.org|date=5 October 2014 |publisher=[[Academy Awards]]|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=17 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417063017/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[46th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]]
| rowspan="2" | <ref>{{cite web|title=Winners & Nominees 1989|url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1989|website=GoldenGlobes.org|publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]]|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220130531/http://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1989|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
| [[Lou Diamond Phillips]]
|-
| rowspan="7" | [[4th Independent Spirit Awards|Independent Spirit Awards]]
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature|Best Feature]]
| [[Tom Musca]]
| rowspan="6" {{won}}
| rowspan="7" | <ref>{{cite web|title=32 Years of Nominees & Winners, 1986-2017|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/SA_SubForm_etc/2017_SA_NomsWinners_030617.pdf|website=FilmIndependent.org|publisher=[[Independent Spirit Awards]]|access-date=3 September 2017|archive-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322020147/https://s3.amazonaws.com/SA_SubForm_etc/2017_SA_NomsWinners_030617.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Ramón Menéndez]]
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead|Best Male Lead]]
| Edward James Olmos
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male|Best Supporting Male]]
| Lou Diamond Phillips
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female|Best Supporting Female]]
| [[Rosanna DeSoto]]
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| Ramón Menéndez<br>Tom Musca
|-
| [[Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]]
| [[Tom Richmond (cinematographer)|Tom Richmond]]
| {{nom}}
|-
|}

==Legacy==
In December 2011, ''Stand and Deliver'' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]].<ref name="LOC">{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html|title=2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates|work=Library of Congress|date=December 28, 2011|access-date=December 29, 2011|archive-date=July 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704135038/http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2011/11-240.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Registry said the film was "one of the most popular of a new wave of narrative feature films produced in the 1980s by Latino filmmakers" and that it "celebrates in a direct, approachable, and impactful way, values of self-betterment through hard work and power through knowledge."<ref name="LOC"/>

The film is recognized by the [[American Film Institute]] as #86 on its 2006 [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers]] list.<ref>{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers100.pdf |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=2016-08-14 |archive-date=2013-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316140946/http://afi.com/Docs/100Years/cheers100.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2013, [[Rand Paul]] was accused of - and subsequently admitted to - plagiarizing the Wikipedia page of the movie in one of his speeches.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kaczynski |first=Andrew |date=2013-10-30 |title=Rand Paul Defends Wikipedia Plagiarism |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/rand-paul-defends-wikipedia-plagiarism |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=BuzzFeed News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=James R. |title=Rand Paul admits his plagiarism 'is my fault' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/11/06/rand-paul-plagiarism/3451991/ |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2016, the United States Postal Service issued a 1st Class Forever "Jaime Escalante" stamp to honor "the East Los Angeles teacher whose inspirational methods led supposedly 'unteachable' high school students to master calculus."<ref>{{cite news|date=2016-06-09|title=Stamp Announcement 16-26: Jaime Escalante Stamp|language=en-US|work=United States Postal Service|url=https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2016/pb22443/html/info_006.htm|access-date=2022-05-08}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1988 in film]]
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers|AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers]]
* [[List of American films of 1988]]
* [[List of hood films]]
* [[List of films about mathematicians]]
* [[Mathematics education in the United States]]
{{Portal bar|Greater Los Angeles|Film|1980s|Education|Latino and Hispanic American}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0094027}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|stand_and_deliver}}
* {{Mojo title|standanddeliver}}

{{Ramón Menéndez}}
{{Independent Spirit Award for Best Film}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stand And Deliver}}
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1980s coming-of-age drama films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1988 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1988 drama films]]
[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:1988 independent films]]
[[Category:American biographical drama films]]
[[Category:American coming-of-age drama films]]
[[Category:American high school films]]
[[Category:American independent films]]
[[Category:American Playhouse]]
[[Category:Biographical films about educators]]
[[Category:Biographical films about mathematicians]]
[[Category:Drama films based on actual events]]
[[Category:English-language biographical drama films]]
[[Category:Films about mathematics]]
[[Category:Films about Mexican Americans]]
[[Category:Films about race and ethnicity]]
[[Category:Films about teacher–student relationships]]
[[Category:Films directed by Ramón Menéndez]]
[[Category:Films scored by Craig Safan]]
[[Category:Films set in 1982]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Hispanic and Latino American drama films]]
[[Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Film winners]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]