Having collaborated on A Midsummer Night’s Dream back in 1999, director Michael Hoffman and actor Kevin Kline reunite for this schmaltz (based on Ethan Canin’s short story "The Palace Thief") about a dutiful educator confronted with an obstinate youth. Its arc is reminiscent of Dead Poets Society, with Kline playing Mr. Hundert, the compassionate but perfectionist instructor of "Western Civilization" at an all-boys school in 1972. His challenge, Sedgewick Bell (Emile Hirsch), is a troublemaking thorn in the side of the administration. Sedgewick also gets piss-poor grades, but he’s on a long disciplinary leash because his father is a power-thumping senator. In a Rocky-like ploy, Hundert uses the big Julius Caesar contest, a classical-studies form of Jeopardy with toga-clad contestants, to connect with the peevish adolescent and help him turn the corner. There’s an effective, if contrived, device whereby the film jumps forward some 25 years to reveal how several small misjudgments have had a drastic impact on the future. But the ruling power behind The Emperor’s Club is Kline, who brings conviction and vitality to what would otherwise be stereotype. (120 minutes)