2002, Long Island, New York. Beloved school superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone (Hugh Jackman) is ready to bask in the adulation of raising his school district to 4th place in the country. But when school journalist Rachel Bhargava (Geraldine Viswanathan) starts digging into the school districts plans to build a “skywalk” she finds irregularities that threaten his career. 

Bad Education is based on the true story of the largest public school embezzlement in American history. The story starts by following Tassone and his deputy Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney) as we see the dedication and hard work that goes into running a district. The pair have great chemistry and have clearly got a close working relationship. However when cracks start to appear in the districts finances Tassone has to make a difficult decision to limit the damage. 

Bad Education has a fascinating story to tell and in Jackman and Janney it has a great pairing that bounce off each other. So much so that it is a shame when the plot forces them apart so early in the film. Jackman’s performance as Tassone is exceptional. We initially see a man loved by the community because of the dedication and hard work he puts in. But slowly the film takes away this veneer piece by piece as we start to see his real character beneath the facade. 

The film takes a slow build approach that never really takes off. All the information is laid out slowly and the focus is firmly on the character of Tassone. As fascinating as that is I would have liked to have seen a bit more on Gluckin or Bhargava’s characters or for an upswing in momentum towards the final third. 

Just like 2019’s The Front Runner this is a solid entertaining film that showcases Jackman’s acting skills that never quite takes off and soars.