Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Ray Romano, Allison Janney, Welker White, Annaleigh Ashford, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Calvin Coakley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Katherine Narducci, Victor Werhaeghe, Will Meyers, John Scurti, Rafael Casal, Hari Dhillon, Alex Wolf, Ray Abruzzo, Jimmy Tatro, Kayli Carter, Jorge Chapa, Jane Brockman, Larry Romano, Catherine Curtin, Jeremy Shamos.
A good education is not just a right, it is the cornerstone of a civilised society, and yet between politicians, officials and high, often outrageous, demands from parents, school can become a chore, a place where learning is not fun, but a slog, one exacerbated by lack of investment, one in which the system is rigged against everybody concerned.
No matter the country and their own ideological stance on learning, it is fair to say that teaching in general is undervalued by all, underpaid and underfunded by government, and on occasion abused by those who can see chinks in the system, those that benefit only by serving themselves.
Based on the true story of Frank Tassone’s and Pam Glukin’s incredible deception, fraud and ultimate betrayal of the school district they were in charge of, Bad Education is a reminder that temptation is always in reach of those who hold the purse strings to any organisation, and whilst billed as a comedy, and there are moments in which the humour is unavoidable, it is more in keeping, more honest, to say that it is a series of misdemeanours that lead the viewer into the realm of the cunning thief, or of the greedy and under- appreciated official.
Mike Makowsky’s script is genuinely heartfelt, the observations of one who had met the aforementioned Frank Tassone as a pupil, and to whom the sincerity of the man doing his job was upmost in the memory of all who met him; and yet it could be argued that the sympathy felt for Mr. Tassone comes across in giant waves; a man to whom his own pride and greed was the undoing of all the good he achieved as an Inspector.
It is to Hugh Jackman and Allison Janey that the film stands up as well as it does in the eye of the viewer, Mr. Jackman especially seeming to relish the challenge of playing somebody so completely different to any character he has played before, one so vain, almost arrogant in their belief that they should have no questions to ask in how they conducted their position of responsibility.
Bad Education is a film that pushes the sense of fair pay and fair play equally and without favour, a reminder that learning is the path out of poverty, and yet somehow prove that some will abuse the power at their disposal to deprive students of their possible futures.
Ian D. Hall