User reviews

A school board discovers that one of its administrative staff has defrauded the school out of about $250,000. They have the staff member pay back the money, resign and leave it at that. Without knowing this, a journalist on the school newspaper starts investigating the school's finances and discovers that the issue may be bigger than what they school realises.

Highly interesting and entertaining film based on a true story. Very well told story. The extent of the issue is not revealed at the outset, so you get to discover it as the investigators do. The writer and director play their cards close to their chests, bleeding in the information, making for quite compelling viewing.

Great work by Hugh Jackman in the lead role. The character required an actor of great charm, charisma and presence, making Jackman perfect for the role. Good support from Alison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan and Ray Romano.

Great film.

Great cast, great story, strong creative script. Interesting story of corruption of surprisingly large scale in underfunded education field. Nice work on showing many sides of main characters. Unlike most of movies that keep everything black and white. Allison Janney killed it again. one problem tho: they could focus more on ordinary teachers that lead poor lives. How that was a major spit in their faces.

This is a film no one wants to watch, just by looking at the premise. But I was keen when I saw Hugh Jackman was involved as the lead. And from the first scene of the movie, you can tell it is going to be a good movie based on his character. Alison Janney is a pleasure to watch in this film as well. The movie is carried on the shoulders of these two accomplished actors and they make the sleazy embezzlement affair enjoyable to watch.

Based on a true story. Ray romano, hugh jackman, allison janney. The story of how one school district cooked the books, and spent the school's money for their own personal use. The top administrators used the school credit cards as their own, and when discovered, tried to cover it up. And that worked for a while. When a student starts researching the costs billed and supplied, she realizes there's a huge difference between what was invoiced and what was actually received. Of course, it all has to blow up in their faces. It's good! Although all the talk of invoices and credit cards got a bit boring. Having some big names helped to keep it interesting. Will these people ever get busted for all this embezzling? Directed by cory finley. Based on an article which appeared in new york magazine, outlining the events.

An interesting story told in an interesting artsy way The acting was first class. You know why criminals get caught? Not because of the crime they committed, they get greedy.

Hugh Jackman was great. Allison Janney was great. Ray Romano was ok as usual. That said the movie was desperate for some sort of entertainment value. It was moderately boring from start to finish. I found myself hoping something was going to break open and because the film did not deviate from the truth it suffered a bit. The big short had it's comedic moments. The wolf of wall street had a very interesting main character to work with. This film however didn't really have the right source content to produce a truly entertaining piece of cinema. Was it a bad movie? No not by a long shot. It was fine. There was some good character development along the way and the cinematography was handled well. When the movie was over I was just left with the feeling that, as a native long islander in my mid 30s, the film didnt offer much that I didn't know about the story already. Decent flick, just not necessarily for everyone.

I was uninterested in watching this movie, but thought I would give it a shot given that it's based on a true story. Allison Janney is amazing, Hugh Jackman delivers a great performance, Geraldine Viswanathan is stellar (as always), but the entire cast is great (truly). From the beginning the film tells the story in captivating and compelling ways. The momentum builds over the course of the hundred minutes. Edge of your seat storytelling. This could have been made into a miniseries. It's just that good. Do yourself a favor and see it.

...but adding an overbearingly loud satirical score, doesn't make this a satirical dark comedy. For that matter, where was the comedy?

This film would've showed better and captivated the audience by making it a drama, with a proper score, faster pacing, with elevated personalities and dialogue, instead of drab and monotonic characters. Jackman and Janney were the only reason I didn't fall asleep, and their outstanding performances is the majority of my rating. Poor judgement on the screenplay's genre choice, but decent directing and cinematography. A generous 7/10 from me.

Interesting true story but a bit boring really. Good acting makes it bearable but don't get too excited.

Generally tedious and lacks any grit, major drama or excitement.

Why is it categorised as a comedy? Dont find it funny at all.

It didn't take itself too serious. The movie was obviously dumbed down to an almost comedic level & put together as compact as possible keeping viewers interest just long enough. Jackman does a great job & really kept the movie together. Lucky enough Jackman was the main character, great acting. I think the movie would have worked on a more serious note also, there was enough detail available based on true facts to be serious or in this case a more relaxed option. Worth the watch. Solid 6 /10

Were Bad Education to truly, truly break from its historical roots and become the best story it could be warped into while still remaining faithful enough to its roots to qualify for the "based on a true story" tag, it could have become something very special. Because it didn't and perhaps out of respect to the people the film portrays, it lands somewhere in the decent to good region of biopics.

Beyond the story, the acting of Jackman and Janey are both incredible, and are certainly worthy of Oscar nominations. They really propel what is a mediocre story into one that resembles something personal and enjoyable. Their performances very much deserve recognition and are some of the best of their respective careers.

That said, the script is well composed, and does well to accent the talent, but is unfortunately hindered by the otherwise uncompelling story. The story is so uncompelling that neither the main story or the side story manage to drag in the viewer and are left with a vapid and detached feeling by the end. 6/10.

Fabulous performance superb acting by all cast members wonderful direction and beautifully written.

Hugh Jackman stars as a school head who has gained great respect from teachers and parents for raising school standards to a new high. However, a student on the school paper discovers that money intended for a new school project isn't going where it should be.

A fascinating enough, apparently true story balancing a genuine devotion to helping the students and living the high life. What keeps the attention going is the superb acting from both Hugh Jackman and Alison Janney and particularly Jackman who manages to strike a sympathetic note for a man who loves his job but needs more out of his complex life.

Loved this film! Great script, direction and fantastic acting. Also a film with a message for today. A suburban school seeking to be #1 in its district is enamored and deceived by their charming Superintendent of Schools. Lots of twists and interesting characters. Well done and thoughtful film!

Interesting and fascinating story with a strong performance by Hugh. But the movie itself felt a bit bland and surface-y to me.

When something is based or inspired from a true story,it can be a hit or miss depending how it's represented. That being said.. Great cast,wasn't horrible but felt slow in spots.

Impeccable performances by all actors. One of Hugh Jackman's best.

The way the story unfolds just isn't very engaging. There are few surprising twists or turns. You know everything there is to know very early on, and then you basically just watch the story play itself out the way you expected it to all along.

This is a solid film with a flat storyline problem. Not bad at all, but not very thrilling either. 7/10 is fair.