Bad Education

Based on true events, Bad Education follows Hugh Jackman’s school superintendent Frank Tassone as he finds himself embroiled in a larceny scandal at a Long Island-based high school. Filmmaker Cory Finley delivers an erratically-paced, hit-and-miss narrative that’s compounded by an often disastrously familiar atmosphere, as the picture, though based on a real-life happening, suffers from a been-there-done-that feel that Finley is simply unable to alleviate for more than a few minutes at a time – although there’s certainly no denying the effectiveness of the movie’s various performances. (Jackman is especially good here, to be sure.) It’s clear, too, that Bad Education’s sporadic emphasis on the student reporter (Geraldine Viswanathan’s Rachel) chasing the story remains an ongoing highlight, to the extent that one can’t help but wish that the entire production had been based around her scrappy exploits. By the time the inevitable (and somewhat padded-out) final stretch rolls around, though, Bad Education has cemented its place as a well-made misfire that doesn’t feel too far away from a movie-of-the-week.

** out of ****