Grade: A … Bad Education will entertain you at first, but infuriate you at the end!

Back in 2002 Superintendent Frank Tassone and his assistant at the Roslyn High School in Long Island, NY were responsible for the largest public school embezzlement scandal in United States history. What started out as small purchases, such as a cup of coffee, on the school’s dime quickly snowballed into over $250,000 of debt from personal purchases and home improvement runs from Home Depot. This crazy but true story is what the HBO movie “Bad Education” delivers right to your home. The story was new to me because I had no memory of this embezzlement scandal taking place.

Bad Education was directed by Cory Finley and written by Mike Makowsky. The movie is based on a 2004 New York Magazine article by Robert Kolker called “The Bad Superintendent.” The movie boasts a solid cast featuring Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, and Ray Romano.

Hugh Jackman plays the Superintendent Frank Tassone, and in my opinion, delivers a performance that is among his best. The character is very dynamic throughout the story and you love him at first and want to kill him as credits roll. Allison Janney plays Tassone’s assistant, Pam Gluckin. Janney does a phenomenal job of adding the insanity to the story. Many times throughout the movie you wanted to ask her character “What the heck were you thinking?”

The script for Bad Education was so well written that it kept you engaged from wire to wire. The whole movie was equivalent to watching a train wreck as the Superintendent and his assistant further ensured some time behind bars. Watching everything unravel was nothing short of incredible. Bad Education also displays some fine cinematography as it sometimes feels as if you’re in the intense conference room with Tassone and his associates.

Bad Education can be found on HBO and it is really worthy of your time to tune in and watch the lunacy!