Bad Education Review: High Caliber Performances Get This HBO Film A Passing Grade–Just Barely Though

HBO’s Bad Education fails the history lesson with choppy storytelling, hoping its esteemed cast will help it achieve high marks. 

The film begins with what feels like just a slow start, but ends up maintaining that sluggish quality throughout. There are stylistic choices that seem to head in an interesting direction only to fizzle out. If it weren’t for the inspired performances by top-tier actors, Bad Education would not make the grade. 

Award winners Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, and Ray Romano are like that glowing recommendation you send in with your college applications when you’ve barely put any effort into your extracurriculars. They are vouching for the film when the film hasn’t done much on its own. It never finds its narrative voice, so it can’t speak for itself.

I’m not sure what the main goal is of the story as a whole.

Is it a dramatized exposé based on the true story of a scandal that rocked New York’s Roslyn school district? Is it a satirical character study of the beloved superintendent, Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman), who bamboozled his entire community? Or perhaps it’s a lesson in the importance of investigative journalism even when it comes from a high school newspaper.

Any of these routes has the potential to tell a good story with dynamic visuals and clever writing. Trying to fit it all into one cohesive narrative doesn’t quite work and makes the whole thing drag.

Thanks to the star power and talent of Jackman, Janney, and Romano, and not to mention the solid performances by Annaleigh Ashford and Geraldine Viswanathan, Bad Education manages to squeak by.

There’s a look into Frank’s vanity and mysterious private life (or lives, as it is) that could use a bit of backstory or backstory-like elements to make it a deeper character study, but it remains surface-level. That’s clearly not the fault of Jackman who gives a compelling turn as the corrupt educator.

It is believable that Frank was held in high regard in his community, that he was trusted—there is no questioning that with Jackman in the role. 

The relationship between Frank and his assistant superintendent, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), is the strongest aspect of the film. Jackman and Janney play off each other brilliantly, and Janney’s Long Island accent is deliciously thick, delivering her wisecracks with acerbic flair.

If the majority of the film had been these two together, I would not complain and this review would have a much higher rating. Unfortunately, their stories fork so severely that you keep getting your hopes up for more of their interactions that never come.

Similarly, the angle of the student reporter, Rachel, played by Geraldine Viswanathan, is a strong approach to thread the overall story, but it, too, frays when the focus continuously shifts.

Too many dead ends like this lead to a choppy narrative that lacks the slick and shiny cohesion the filmmakers seem to be attempting. Sunny, wide-angle framing, the tense, percussive undertone notes of the score, and the odd farcical insert shot are interspersed in pursuit of some cinematic aesthetic that the movie is never able to achieve.

Major kudos to the casting director, who really gives the film the edge that it needs, and thusly, some great performances in what is otherwise a rather mediocre film.

What did you think of Bad Education? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Bad Education is available on HBO.

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