“Mr. Woodcock,” a comedy staring Seann William Scott and Billy Bob Thornton, opened in theaters Friday.

In the flick, Scott and Thornton are joined by supporting cast members Susan Sarandon, Amy Poehler (“Saturday Night Live”) and Ethan Suplee (“My Name is Earl”).

According to the official “Mr. Woodcock” Web site, Woodcockmovie.com, the “outrageous comedy” focuses on self-help author John Farley (Scott) who returns to his hometown to discover that his mother (Sarandon) has fallen in love with his old gym teacher, Mr. Woodcock (Thornton), who humiliated Farley throughout high school. Resolving to prevent history from repeating itself, Farley does everything in his power to stop their romance once and for all, according to the Web site.

Both Scott and Thornton said they were originally attracted to the movie because of the writing done by Michael Carnes and Josh Gilbert.

“If I read a script that makes me laugh or cry or throw up or whatever, that’s it,” Thornton said in an Alloy Media + Marketing/New Line Cinemas “Mr. Woodcock” college press call. “It all starts from the writing for me, and [Carnes and Gilbert] have written a really funny script.”

Other than “Mr. Woodcock’s” script, the movie interested Scott because of the opportunity to work with Thornton and Sarandon, he said in the press call.

“I’m appreciative to work with all the actors that I worked with before this film, but, I mean, to get a chance to work with one of your favorite actors and also Susan… It was kind of a no-brainer,” Scott said.

Thornton and Scott both had similar experiences with horrible coaches and teachers in their high school days, they said in the press call.

Thornton, whose father was a history teacher and coach, said he thinks it’s important not to show weakness around Mr. Woodcock-like authority figures.

“You avoid them as much as possible,” he said in the press call. “You [have to] strike a balance between listening to them and not [ticking] them off and also standing up for yourself because they don’t really respond to weakness very well. There’s not a real way to deal with them, but that’s as close as you can get.”

Scott agreed with Thornton, recalling the horrors of being forced to take showers in gym class and dealing with his tough football coaches.

“I had some strange coaches like Mr. Woodcock, but they never ended up banging my mom, that’s for sure,” Scott said in the press call.

Regarding whether he thinks audiences can relate to the film, Scott said in the press call, “first and foremost, it’s just a comedy… I think we’ve all had a crazy gym teacher or a crazy teacher in high school or junior high, so it could bring back some memories. But…I don’t think it’s going to teach any lessons. Hopefully it’ll just make people laugh.”

Scott is known for his roles in such comedies as “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and the “American Pie” series. Thornton has acted in over 60 movies, including recent flicks “School for Scoundrels,” “Bad News Bears,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Bad Santa.”

“Mr. Woodcock,” which received mixed reviews from critics, grossed almost $8.8 million over the weekend, according to BoxOffice.com, which placed it at No. 3 at the box office behind the movies “The Brave One” and “3:10 to Yuma.”