'Bad Education' A Review

Bad Education is a dramedy based on real events regarding Long Island school superintendent Frank Tassone(Hugh Jackman). The film opens on Tassone presiding over a school assembly where Roslyn High School is announced as #4 in the region and lays out a plan to take it to #1. We see him interacting with students and staff, it's clear he's driven and hardworking and has a brassy friend and cohort in the assistant school superintendent Pam Gluckin(Allison Janney). When Gluckin's son makes some questionable purchases the schools finances and Tassone and Gluckin's oversight is called in to question.

Jackman, no surprise, puts in a delightfully layered performance modulating fluidly form comedy to pathos and exerting his considerable charisma to imbue the pretty suspect character with surprising and extensive sympathy and dimension. Janney in a more supporting role is equally dynamic, the two pair beautifully and have an exquisite chemistry, Janney as the brasher, rougher, administrator is a great foil. The supporting cast are all effective, Ray Romano continues his late career mostly overlooked renaissance, but Jackman has the bulk of the screen time and it is mostly Tassone's story.

The production is convincing but understated, after Cory Finley's 2018 debut the significantly more stylish Thoroughbreds the restraint is somewhat of a surprise but it allows the performances and the economics of the various locations to do a lot of the work rather than bravura camera work. Which is effective but somewhat disappointing.

A compelling story with a great two-hander at the center with somewhat limited cinematic ambition.

Currently streaming on HBO.

See It.