Review of Bad Education (2019) by Markhreviews — 28 Apr 2020

With 2017’s “Thoroughbreds,” Director Cory Finley announced that he has a fresh perspective and a gift for dark comedy that make him a new face well worth following. It’s because of that promise, in part, that “Bad Education” seems so disappointing.

This film follows the true story of school superintendent Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) and his associate Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney). Over a period of years, the pair turned the Roslyn School District in Long Island, New York, into their personal piggy bank. Overall, $11.2 million went missing, the largest theft from a school district in American history. Screenwriter Mike Makowsky attended Roslyn High School in the years following this story’s unraveling and personally observed the consequences.

One of the fascinating quirks is that the fraud and embezzlement were not discovered by professional journalists but by a group of reporters from the student newspaper. In the film, this student-led effort is personified as a single character, Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan).

This story offers a rich vein of material for a dark comedy, a quirky character study or both. Frank Tassone was revered for bringing the school district to national prominence. He fended off the advances of the district’s more voracious ex-wives by claiming that the death of a wife many years ago was still “too fresh.” In reality, Tassone had at least two male partners. One he ensconced in a Park Avenue apartment. The other was a 32-year-old male dancer in Las Vegas. A fastidious dresser, Tassone justified his $30,000 expenditure for dry cleaning by explaining patiently that the expenses took place “over a period of years.” As the noose begins to tighten, so does Frank’s face, thanks to a district-funded visit to a cosmetic surgeon.

Finley and Makowsky take little advantage of this wealth of material. While Jackman and Janney are powerful in their respective roles, Act One is very slow-moving. What’s unpardonable is that there’s no meaningful exploration of these characters, who are practically begging to be better understood. There’s the intimation that school personnel may resent the sense of entitlement of the wealthy families in the school district. There’s the suggestion that this was all a slippery slope that began when a $20 sandwich ended up on the district’s credit card by mistake. But the viewer is left mystified about why these people did what they did (character development, anyone?).

There are some laugh-out-loud moments along the way. After being confronted with her crimes, Janney’s character tearfully says, “I’m ashamed of my actions. I’m ashamed of myself… There’s no excuse for it.” To which Ray Romano’s school board chair replies earnestly, “Well… the sociopathy.”.

If this film were a high school essay, it would have been returned for lack of analytical thought.