Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Comedy
Runtime: 108 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Ray Romano, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff
Description: The beloved superintendent (Hugh Jackman) of New York’s Roslyn school district and his staff, friends and relatives become the prime suspects in the unfolding of the single largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history.
Review: Charisma is a sly fox. A quality that we praise but also underestimate. Some people are champions in keeping up appearances. And that’s what we see in “Bad Education”, which is based on true events.
Dr. Frank Tassone is the superintendent of a New York high school. He oversees this school district of Roslyn, New York together with his colleague Pam Gluckin. And everything is going perfect. A large group of their students will go to Ivy League universities, which makes Rosylin the fourth most successful school district in the US. And with that Frank is a very well-loved man among his colleagues, students and parents.
But that bubble bursts, when it is revealed that Pam has used the school budget for personal purchases, like her house. The community is broken about it and so is Frank, who was close friends with Pam as well. He confronts her, she gets fired and even loses her license. But something is not right. One of Roslyn’s own students goes on an investigation of her own, while writing an article for the school paper. Here she finds out the dark truth about both Pam and Frank.
This is of course not all, but I’m not going to spoil the fun. This event became one of the biggest school scandals in American history. And the deceit went much further than just school budget fraude. There was a lot more going on.
“Bad Education” has hints of comedy, personal drama, crime and journalistic drama. Because it’s Roslyn students Rachel that eventually blows the whistle and uncovers the truth.
The film has enough pace and never bores. And their biggest trump is the cast. Allison Janney and Ray Romano are very strong in their supporting roles, with enough irony and never going over the top. I was impressed by Geraldine Viswanathan, who played Rachel. She is really good in this film. But Hugh Jackman is the scene stealer and plays one of his most versatile characters ever. He shows he is more than just Wolverine. Frank sees himself as the personification of the ‘American Dream’, but also hides parts of himself to keep up the appearances. He looks for scapegoats to cover up his own misdeeds.
“Bad Education” is a really good movie, with a strong cast and a interesting true story.
Rating: 4 / 5
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