It was never about money or education. It was about the lifestyle.
‘Bad Education’ tells the real-life story of Long Island Superintendent of Schools Frank Tesssone, who over the course of his career embezzled $2.2 million dollars of taxpayer funds. Over the course of the film, we see Frank and his co-conspirators deal with the unfolding events and the fall out from them.
So for the uninitiated, this is based on a true story and there isn’t much to spoil. The events in this film lead up to the biggest school embezzlement scandal in American history. At the time, there was nothing bigger in the mainstream media. Basically what I’m saying here is, there are really no spoilers for this movie cause you know what’s going to happen. Obviously, he gets caught. However, for the sake of spoilers, I’m not going to go into any fine details. Just know that people try to steal money from taxpayers and it blows up in their faces. Either way, ‘Bad Education’ is really about the characters’ journey more than anything else.
To start, the casting in this movie is phenomenal. First of all, Hugh Jackman is amazing as Frank Tessone. Jackman oozes charisma in every scene and gives the powerhouse performance that we’ve all come to expect from an actor of his caliber. Not to be outdone, Jackman’s co-stars Allison Janney and Ray Romano also turn in top-notch performances as well. Janney plays the schools’ Assistant Superintendent, Pamela Gluckin. Janney really packs a punch in her more intimate scenes, as well as giving us some laughs with her comedic timing.
Overall, I’d say the acting from the entire cast was top notch and not something to be overlooked. Like seriously, some scenes had me totally engaged and it’s really the performances that are pulling me in. I loved watching Jackman and Janney just chew up the scenery in the best way possible. I’d recommend this movie for that over anything else.
The writing and directing are also top-notch. The shot composition combined with the dialogue really sets the tone of the film perfectly. It’s this weird balance of overt melodrama and light-hearted fellowship. You see the relationships of characters who have known each other for years start to deteriorate over something incredibly heinous. By the way, that’s how I would describe the characters’ actions, heinous. Stealing, in general, is not cool, but stealing tax dollars is especially despicable.
However, ‘Bad Education’ does such a good job of striking it’s one of a kind tone that I actually was only ever compelled by their actions. In the end, I think what I’m trying to say here is this: despite their actions, I was still captivated. The way the story delivers information to you doesn’t feel forced. Everything just follows a natural flow of events that feel true to life – mainly because they are.
I feel I shouldn’t have to mention that the events in real life did not take place in two hours. So obviously, the film had a hefty job of condensing years’ worth of events to fit the runtime. Honestly, ‘Bad Education’ does an okay job of this at best. It seemed for the first 20 or so minutes things were slow. After that, I was hooked and I couldn’t wait to see how things played out. Bottom line, I think the pacing of this film suffers from a slow opening act, but after our main players are set up it’s a truly gripping ride.
Despite the pacing set back, ‘Bad Education’ is a great movie. It’s not the most flashy of those ‘true events’ movies, but it is certainly one of the most grounded. Each character is given a full arc, each actor turns in an amazing performance, and the direction from is top tier. ‘Bad Education’ really does have the whole package.
If you liked this article, be sure to check out our review of Extraction right here. For more News, Reviews, and Video Content, be sure to stay right here with The Nerdy Basement. Stay Nerdy My Friends!