User Reviews

Released on television, but truly meant for the big screen. Bad Education is an astounding film about a good-old fashioned, American white collar crime in Roslyn, New York. Directed by Cory Finley, this is a huge step-up from Thoroughbreds. Hugh Jackman and Allison Janey are Oscar-worthy here. Jackman is slick and slimy as Dr. Frank Tassone, who's reputation as the world's best superintendent comes crumbling as he's exposed as a co-conspirer in the largest public embezzlement scheme in American history. Geraldine Viswanathan and Ray Romano knock out their respective roles as well. All around, the talent on and off-screen is exceptional here. Don't let this one go under the radar during your time at home. You don't even have to wait until HBO Max launches. See it now.

He plays school superintendent Frank Tassone who, over a decade, embezzled millions from Long Island's Roslyn school district. But he wasn't alone. Embezzling even more was administrator Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), who is also terrific. If you only know her as the 50 something libertine grandma in "Mom" this is a real departure from that.

What makes this film great is the slow reveal. The film first looks like a set up for some kind of 21st century Room 222 - if anybody else here is old enough to know what I'm talking about. Tassone looks too good to be true as far as his energy and involvement with the kids. And he got real results. Roslyn became a top rated public school district. Real estate values in the district shot up because, unfortunately, top rated school districts are hard to come by anywhere, along with the coveted Ivy League college admissions that come with it.

But slowly, it becomes obvious - to the viewer that is - that Tassone is living a double life in many ways. Jackman as Tassone plays his hand very close to his vest, and I did not look up the details of what went on precisely because I wanted the plot to be somewhat of a surprise, and it was. How he and everybody else gets caught is a bit different in the film from the real story, but basically the plot is true.

I really liked how the parents were portrayed. They wanted to believe an illusion because to believe the truth might mean their kids don't go to Harvard, and their real estate values decline in a place where life is a race not a journey. Also the art design was done very well. Yes there were personal computers and cell phones in the early 2000s, but this really did look like 2002-2003. The sets, clothes, technology, and music were near perfect. The little things like the bulky computer monitors with those early Windows screensavers were spot on.

Youtube film reviewer Chris Stuckmann had this in his top ten list for 2020 - in fact he rated it 3rd - even though it was made in 2019, and I'd never even heard of it. I guess it was a victim of bad timing with the pandemic occurring and it being bought up by HBO rather than having a general release. I'd highly recommend it.

Greetings again from the darkness. Trust in our national institutions may be at an all-time low, but it's not like there haven't been plenty of events over the years to make us wary enough to demand attention and oversight. This story of the 2002 Nassau County Schools scandal is a prime example. This is director Corey Finley's follow up to his clever and twisted THOROUGHBREDS (2018), and the script is from writer Mike Makowski, who was a student in the district when the scandal hit.

Hugh Jackman plays Dr. Frank Tassone, the District Superintendent of Schools, while Oscar winner Allison Janney (I, TONYA) is Pam Gluckin, the Assistant Superintendent. Both are excellent, but Mr. Jackman delivers what might be his best ever performance. His Tassone is uber-charming, and clearly wants the best for the schools and students. We do notice some oddities about him. He seems to be overly concerned about his physical attractiveness - perfect business suits, facelifts, not a hair out of place, and big smiles to show the world he has it all under control. In contrast, if Ms. Janney's Pam had a mustache, she would certainly twirl it as the story's most obvious villain.

The film opens by informing us that the district has been evaluated as doing excellent in terms of student test scores, student admissions to prestigious schools, raising property values in the area, and with financial success that leads to a new construction project - one that appears to be more of an ego project than substantive for education. Ray Romano plays the President of the School Board, and we get glimpses of life at the school, and the challenges faced by the administrators. As with many things, if all is well, few questions are asked.

However, stuff hits the fan when a reporter for the school paper starts doing some basic research. Rachel (Geraldine Viswanathan, BLOCKERS) is writing a "fluff" piece on a new high dollar capital improvement project at the school, when she stumbles on irregularities in billing. It turns out Ms. Gluckin has been embezzling for years. When the discrepancies first come to light, the conversations with the school board and administrators is downright fascinating. The crime is obvious, but by going public, who does it help and who does it hurt? These people don't want the kids to lose opportunities. They don't want their property values to drop. And they don't want the bad publicity that comes with being unaware fraud had been ongoing under their watch.

Once Ms. Gluckin's scheme has been exposed, Jackman really kicks it into gear for Tassone. Any additional details would spoil the fun, but it becomes clear that he's a master manipulator. Corrupt people have a way of convincing themselves their actions are justified, given the good work they do. You know the drill - underappreciated and underpaid. Solid support work comes from David Bhargava as Rachel's father, who is also going through his own professional crisis. Alex Wolff is the editor of the school paper, and he faces his own moral dilemma in a scene where he knows the right thing to do will actually cause harm to his college opportunity. Finally, Rafael Casal stars as Kyle, a bartender/dancer and former student of Tassone, as they are reunited in Las Vegas.

Director Finley and cinematographer Lyle Vincent (THROUGHBREDS, A GIRL WHO WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT) shoot in harsh light, never allowing the truth to hide behind soft filters. These are complex people with real lives and real families and real friends, all doing good things for the students. Watching a compromise of morals or a twisting of ethics is always a bit uncomfortable, but the film shows just how easy we can overlook the obvious. The film features brisk pacing with some dark humor in moments that least deserve humor. The trailer is a bit misleading, as the comedy is quite dark in nature. A low-key approach to filmmaking provides none of the over-the-top dramatic flair we expect. Instead it's social commentary and a psychological study of pathological liars and manipulators ... in positions that bring public trust.

Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney give award-worthy performances in this based-on-a-true-story account of a school superintendent who runs a money laundering scheme for years under everyone's nose.

Jackman is the beloved superintendent, and Janney is the administrator who helps him by cooking the books and benefits financially herself. A writer for the school paper accidentally stumbles into a major story when she comes to interview them about a new fancy addition planned for the school and instead uncovers some suspicious financial transactions. It's her article in the paper that reveals the scheme and ends up landing both of them in jail.

"Bad Education" is modest in its ambitions, and it's as a result nothing fancy, but it is fiendishly entertaining and superbly acted, not just by Jackman and Janney but by the entire cast. It's about people willing to live their entire lives as a lie in the pursuit of material stuff.

I'm not sure whether the film is eligible for Oscars; I believe it was originally intended for theatrical release but was instead released as a movie on HBO -- not sure if that counts as a T. V. movie or a streaming movie that had to find a COVID workaround. If it is eligible, I would love to see Jackman and Janney in the running for nominations.

Grade: A.

Great performances here and a fascinating "small town" story. I was thrown for a complete loop with this movie. At a certain point I was glued to the screen until the ending credits. It's highly compelling. On the surface it seems rather predictable, but it soon spirals into a much more interesting story with some quite powerful and emotional moments. Some of the most intriguing stories really do come from small communities and unassuming characters. I can definitely see why an actor the caliber of Hugh Jackman signed on for this. I got far more out of this movie than I ever expected to, and it has genuinely stuck with me. Really impressed with this and would absolutely recommend to others. It seems like Netflix is really finding it's niche with projects like this. This is a movie that's perfect to watch during quarantine and doesn't require a cinema screen, which was wonderful.

This movie is not compelling as several fake reviews have stated. I guess this is a new word to describe movies. Compelling - requiring attention, overpowering, irresistible effect

This movie is about a few bad educators in positions of authority who hid their crimes so badly by owning multiple homes and driving fancy cars.

After looking at the true story I think the director failed to show how long and how lavish the thieves were living, how much they stole and of course how light their prison sentences were.

This is advertised as "comedy", but, that's almost false advertising. Sure, a few situations are depicted from a comedic angle, but, that's it. There are no real jokes here (good or bad ones) and there's very little fun.

As for a "drama", there's not enough of it. We have very little insight into the thoughts and feelings of the main characters.

It ain't a documentary-like movie either. There are way too many unrealistic things and the whole "young non-white reporter from a school paper breaks the story of a corrupt white man" angle is so worn-out it leaves a bad taste in the mouth (not to mention that, no, that's not really what happened, an anonymous letter started the chain of events, not a story in a school paper).

Also, it's kind of silly. This man was earning 200K/year and "stole" about as much. Keep in mind, he did not really steal, he abused his position to make the district pay for his expenses, some of each are actually non-totally non-professional. Sure, it's bad, but, let's be perfectly frank, all such people (and no, not just white men) do similar things. I'm pretty sure a lot of them do it for more money. So, this is hardly a worthwhile story on its own. Would you watch a movie about a non-interesting sprinter that runs 100 m in 11.1 seconds (which is a very good time, mind you, just not nearly enough for any major competition)?

So, what is this movie, really? What does it want to achieve, depict? It's really not clear.

As far as acting goes, it's OK. Nothing special, but fine. The scene when Wolverine tries to persuade the girl to not run the story is bad and it might as well be because it's obviously fake. In contrast, the scene(s) when he persuades the board to not report his right-hand woman (who, BTW, had stolen twice as much as he) are much, much better; again, most probably because they are partly real. It's actually nice to see Wolverine not play, well, Wolverine. :)

The story, apart from the parts based on real life, is pretty bad, the directing is good in general, but, starts to crumble near the end.

All things considered, this is not worth a watch, unless you are very young or naive and believe that people working in the school system are somehow immune from corruption.