Bad Education (2019 film)
The film "Bad Education" pulls back the curtain on the largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history, revealing a shocking betrayal of trust within a seemingly perfect community. Starring Hugh Jackman in a transformative role, it masterfully explores the intricate web of deception spun by a beloved school superintendent. Prepare to delve into a story where the pursuit of excellence masked a deeply corrupt secret. "Bad Education" dramatizes the true story of how a respected school superintendent orchestrated a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme from a top-ranked public school district. The film meticulously unveils the layers of deception, showing how a façade of integrity and community dedication can hide years of systemic fraud. It highlights the devastating impact of white-collar crime on a community and the complex psychological motivations behind such monumental betrayals.
AI Summary
The film "Bad Education" pulls back the curtain on the largest public school embezzlement scandal in American history, revealing a shocking betrayal of trust within a seemingly perfect community. Starring Hugh Jackman in a transformative role, it masterfully explores the intricate web of deception spun by a beloved school superintendent. Prepare to delve into a story where the pursuit of excellence masked a deeply corrupt secret.
- "Bad Education" dramatizes the true story of how a respected school superintendent orchestrated a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme from a top-ranked public school district.
- The film meticulously unveils the layers of deception, showing how a façade of integrity and community dedication can hide years of systemic fraud.
- It highlights the devastating impact of white-collar crime on a community and the complex psychological motivations behind such monumental betrayals.
Bad Education: A True Story Unveiled
Released in 2019, "Bad Education" is an American crime drama that brought to light a staggering true story—the largest public school embezzlement in U.S. history. Directed by Cory Finley and written by Mike Makowsky, it captivated audiences with its sharp script and incredible performances, especially from lead actors Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney.
Set in the early 2000s in the affluent Long Island village of Roslyn, the film centers on school district superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone and assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin. Together, they stole millions from their wealthy public school district, then desperately tried to cover up their tracks. What makes this story even more compelling is that screenwriter Mike Makowsky actually attended Roslyn High School after the scandal broke, giving him a unique insight into the community's perspective.
The film premiered to critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019, later broadcasting on HBO in 2020. Critics lauded Makowsky's screenplay, Finley's direction, and the powerful performances by Jackman and Janney. It even secured an Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie, with Jackman receiving a nomination for his compelling portrayal.
The Golden School District
In 2002, Dr. Frank Tassone reigned as the charismatic superintendent of Roslyn Union Free School District. Under his leadership, Roslyn High School soared to become the fourth-ranked public school in the nation, boosting local property values and earning him widespread adoration from parents and students alike. Frank projected an image of widower devotion, deflecting any romantic advances.
Behind this glowing façade, however, lay a deepening corruption. Assistant Superintendent Pam Gluckin was discovered using a fraudulent district expense card, which she even encouraged her niece, Jenny, a district clerk, to use. The first major red flag appeared when Pam’s son used the card for thousands of dollars in home renovation supplies—a purchase that quickly alerted a vigilant relative working at the store.
Meanwhile, an ambitious student reporter named Rachel Bhargava began investigating the school's finances for a story on a new skywalk. Frank, ever the encouraging mentor, urged her to dig deep. But as Rachel started noticing irregularities in the district's spending, her seemingly innocent article began to uncover something far more sinister.
The Unraveling Deception
Confronted by the school board, Pam admitted to embezzling at least $250,000. Frank, ever the smooth operator, persuaded the board to manage the scandal quietly, fearing the catastrophic impact on the school's reputation and the community's economy. Pam was forced to resign and pay restitution, her departure masked as a quiet "retirement."
To further conceal the crime, Frank enlisted district auditor Phil Metzger to falsify financial records, even appointing him as Pam’s temporary replacement. When Jenny, Pam’s niece, hinted at blackmail, Frank swiftly transferred her to a dead-end role, threatening to expose her own complicity if she spoke out.
Undeterred, Rachel continued her investigation. She uncovered evidence of unfulfilled supply orders and massive consulting fees paid to obscure companies—one of which turned out to be Pam's husband's car dealership. Her digging led her to a $803,000 expense to a company called Wordpower Tech.
Rachel traced Wordpower Tech to a Manhattan apartment building. As she left, she saw Frank arriving and entering the same apartment. The man who answered the door was Tom Tuggiero—Frank's domestic partner—revealing that Wordpower Tech was a shell company created by Frank, making him a central co-conspirator. The beloved superintendent was living a double life.
The final nail in the coffin came when Phil Metzger discovered a truly egregious expense: Frank had used district funds for first-class Concorde tickets to London for himself and a former student, Kyle Contreras, with whom he was having an affair. Despite Frank's desperate threats, Rachel published her explosive story in the school paper, exposing Frank's extensive role in the embezzlement. The school board had no choice but to report the full extent of the cover-up.
Consequences and Revelations
The consequences were swift and severe. Pam, Jenny, and Phil were all arrested. Under pressure, Pam agreed to testify against Frank, providing crucial evidence of the elaborate scheme. Frank, for his part, fled to Nevada with tens of thousands in cash and moved in with Kyle in a house he had bought for him. However, his freedom was short-lived; he was soon arrested, returned to New York, and convicted.
An epilogue reveals the staggering scale of the betrayal: Frank Tassone was convicted of embezzling $2.2 million and sentenced to 4 to 12 years. Pam Gluckin, who pleaded guilty to stealing $4.3 million and testified against Frank, received 3 to 9 years. In total, a jaw-dropping $11 million was stolen, making it the largest school theft in American history. Adding insult to injury, due to a pension regulation oversight, Frank was still eligible to receive a hefty annual teacher's pension of over $173,000.
From Local News to Hollywood
The journey from real-life scandal to compelling screenplay began with Mike Makowsky, who was a middle school student in Roslyn when Frank Tassone was arrested. Makowsky secured the rights to Robert Kolker's "The Bad Superintendent" article and returned to his hometown for extensive research. He initially expected to portray Tassone as a clear-cut villain, but interviews with former teachers and neighbors revealed a far more complex and nuanced character, which profoundly shaped the final script.
Hugh Jackman's portrayal of Frank Tassone was a highlight, a testament to his dedication to the role. He worked closely with his dialect coach for 20 years, Jess Platt, to perfect the Long Island accent. Jackman noted that Platt's Brooklyn origins and deep familiarity with the region were invaluable in capturing that crucial 'final 20 percent' of authenticity that truly makes a difference.
The Mask We Wear
One of the film's most profound themes, as articulated by Hugh Jackman, is the stark contrast between the image one projects to the world and their true self. Frank meticulously crafted his public persona, justifying it as necessary for the school's success. This exploration of identity, ambition, and the lengths people go to maintain a carefully constructed façade resonates deeply, prompting us to consider the masks we all wear in our own lives.
Fact vs. Fiction
While dramatized, "Bad Education" largely remains true to the facts. The New York Times notably described Rebekah Rombom, the real-life student journalist, as doing "what few high school journalists ever do: she broke some real news." Her 2004 article on the embezzlement scandal was a major scoop, though the film's character Rachel Bhargava "does a little more investigative reporting than I did," according to Rombom herself.
The film's depiction of Frank Tassone's secret life—living with one man in Manhattan while owning another house in Las Vegas with a younger male exotic dancer—appears largely accurate. The one point of contention, however, is the film's suggestion that the dancer was a former student. Tassone emphatically stated, "I have never, ever, in my 36-year career in education, had a relationship with a student or with someone who had graduated." This detail remains a point of divergence between the film and Tassone's personal account.
Critical Acclaim
Critics widely praised "Bad Education," with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a remarkable 93% approval rating and Metacritic scoring it 79 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews." The critical consensus highlighted the film's ability to find "absurd laughs—and a worthy message—in the aftermath of a real-life scandal," anchored by Hugh Jackman's exceptional performance.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Jackman's work "a career-best performance," while Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times lauded Finley's direction, Makowsky's dialogue, and the entire cast. Allison Janney's seamless performance was also singled out, with Jake Coyle of the Associated Press noting she "slides into the movie so perfectly that it feels more like she came first and the film was sensibly built around her." Even the real Frank Tassone himself admired Jackman and Janney's performances, particularly how Jackman captured his sense of loss when leaving prison.
Article
Bad Education (2019 film)
Bad Education is a 2019 American crime drama film directed by Cory Finley and written by Mike Makowsky. It is based on the 2004 New York magazine article "The Bad Superintendent" by Robert Kolker, about the true story of the largest public school embezzlement in American history. It features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney, Geraldine Viswanathan, Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, Stephen Spinella, Annaleigh Ashford and Ray Romano.
Set in the Long Island village of Roslyn in the early 2000s, the film tells the story of school district superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone (Jackman) who, along with assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin (Janney) stole millions of dollars from their wealthy public school district, and together attempted to cover up the embezzlement. The screenwriter, Makowsky, briefly met Tassone as a child before the scandal broke and attended Roslyn High School in the late 2000s.
Bad Education made its world premiere on September 8, 2019, at the Toronto International Film Festival and was broadcast on HBO on April 25, 2020. It was well received by film critics, with particular praise for Makowsky's screenplay, Finley's direction, and Jackman's and Janney's performances. At the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, the film won for Outstanding Television Movie and Jackman received a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Plot
Bad Education (2019 film)
In 2002, Dr. Frank Tassone is superintendent of the Roslyn Union Free School District on Long Island. He and assistant superintendent Pam Gluckin have overseen major improvements in the district, with Roslyn High School becoming the fourth-ranked public school in the country. The school's performance stimulates the local economy, reaping rewards for school board president and real estate broker Bob Spicer. Beloved by students and parents, Frank claims to have lost his wife several years ago, and rejects advances from some of the local mothers. Attending a conference in Las Vegas, he begins an affair with his former student Kyle Contreras whom he meets at a bar.
Student reporter Rachel Bhargava is writing an article for the Roslyn High School paper about a skywalk the school plans to construct, and Frank blithely encourages her to treat her article as any top journalist would. She investigates the project, to Pam's irritation, and notices irregularities in the district's finances. It is revealed that Pam has a fraudulent district expense card, which she encourages her niece Jenny, a district clerk, to use. When Pam's son uses the card to shop for thousands of dollars' worth of construction materials for her home renovation, Bob is alerted by a relative working at the store.
Bob and the school board confront Pam, realizing she has embezzled at least $250,000 in taxpayer funds. Frank persuades them to handle the matter quietly, detailing the consequences a public scandal would have on the school and community. They agree to conceal the embezzlement, forcing Pam to pay restitution and resign; the board announces her abrupt "retirement." Convincing district auditor Phil Metzger to falsify the financial records, Frank appoints him as Pam's temporary replacement. He transfers Jenny to a less visible "special utilities" role, threatening to expose her own misuse of funds when she implies blackmailing him.
Rachel continues her investigation, uncovering evidence of the embezzlement in supply orders that were never fulfilled and massive consulting fees paid to unknown companies, including Pam's husband's car dealership. She finds a cumulative expense of $803,000 to Wordpower Tech and visits the address, which she discovers is a Manhattan apartment. A man answers the door and Rachel leaves, but she and Frank spot each other when he arrives and enters the same apartment. The man is Tom Tuggiero, Frank's domestic partner, and Rachel realizes Wordpower Tech is a front created by Frank, a co-conspirator in the embezzlement. Frank later warns Rachel of the potential fallout for exposing the story.
Phil informs Frank of an incriminating expense: Frank used district funds on first-class tickets to fly himself and Kyle by Concorde to London. Frank threatens to place blame squarely on Phil for failing to catch Pam's scheme and taking part in the cover-up. Phil agrees to keep quiet, but Rachel publishes her story in the school paper, exposing Frank's key role in the embezzlement. Insisting he acted in the school's best interest, Frank pleads with Bob not to confirm the scandal until the school budget is approved, but Bob and the school board report the cover-up in its entirety.
Pam, Jenny, and Phil are arrested; when the authorities threaten to prosecute her family, Pam agrees to testify against Frank and turns over evidence of the scheme. Tom is informed of Frank's second life with Kyle, and Rachel becomes the school paper's editor-in-chief. Frank resigns, flees to Nevada with tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and moves in with Kyle in a house he bought for him. He is eventually arrested, returned to New York, and convicted. In prison, Frank fantasizes about being back at Roslyn, where he is congratulated for making the school #1 in the country.
An epilogue reveals that Frank was convicted of embezzling $2.2 million and sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison. Pam, who pled guilty to embezzling $4.3 million and testified against Frank, was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison. A total of $11 million was embezzled, the largest school theft in American history. Due to an oversight in state pension regulations, Frank is still slated to receive his teacher's pension of $173,495.04 per year.
Production
Bad Education (2019 film)
The screenplay was written by Mike Makowsky, who in 2004 was a middle school student in the Roslyn Union Free School District when its superintendent, Frank Tassone, was arrested for first-degree larceny. Makowsky bought the rights to Robert Kolker's New York article on the subject and returned to his childhood hometown to compile research for the project. He expected to write a film portraying Tassone as a straightforward villain. However, interviews with his former teachers and neighbors revealed a much more nuanced portrait of Tassone that informed the eventual screenplay. A decision was made not to involve any of the perpetrators in the development of the film, out of respect for the town of Roslyn.
Makowsky, Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Julia Lebedev, Edward Vaisman and Oren Moverman produced the film under their Automatik and Sight Unseen banners. In March 2018, Hugh Jackman entered talks to star in the film. Cory Finley (whose previous film was the Sundance darling Thoroughbreds) was announced as director at the same time.
Jackman worked with his dialect coach, Jess Platt, to perfect his accent as Tassone. Jackman noted that, "I haven't done a film without him—except for Australia, of course—for 20 years. I'm someone who can get to 80 percent of an accent sort of easily, but it's that final 20 percent that really makes a difference. He was on set with me yelling and screaming, and he's originally from Brooklyn, so he's around the area and knows it well."
In June 2018, Allison Janney joined the cast of the film, with Geraldine Viswanathan and Ray Romano signing on the following month. More than a dozen supporting cast members were hired in October 2018, including Alex Wolff, Rafael Casal, Stephen Spinella, and Annaleigh Ashford. Principal photography began in October 2018.
Historical accuracy
Bad Education (2019 film)
Rebekah Rombom was described by The New York Times in 2004 as doing "what few high school journalists ever do: she broke some real news. Her article about the embezzlement scandal in the Roslyn School District was a major scoop." The Times gave a byline to Rombom to describe the events at Roslyn High over the prior several months, and in a June 27, 2004 Times article, Tassone had only recently resigned but had not yet been charged. Rombom writes, "School officials say that are looking into payments of several hundred thousand dollars paid to a company that lists Dr. Tassone's Manhattan apartment as its address."
Her film counterpart, Rachel Bhargava, "does a little more investigative reporting than I did" according to Rombom.
The film's description of Frank Tassone living with one man in Manhattan while secretly owning another house in Las Vegas with a 32-year-old male exotic dancer appears to be accurate except possibly for one detail: in portraying the dancer as a former student. Tassone claims: "I have never, ever, in my 36-year career in education, had a relationship with a student or with someone who had graduated."
Themes
Bad Education (2019 film)
Jackman felt one of the film's main themes was the difference between the image one projects and the truth. He noted, "For Frank, how he was perceived and judged by people on-site was very important, and he justified that as being a part of his job, how he needed to project being upstanding to represent the school district in order for it to get to No. 1. [...] And by the way, it's a battle that most of us face in our everyday life. It starts off as a teenager when you're trying to get a boyfriend or girlfriend or someone to like you, and you're like, OK, I'm not going to try that part, what's going to work for me?"
Release
Bad Education (2019 film)
Bad Education had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2019. Shortly after, HBO Films acquired distribution rights for $17.5 million in the largest deal of the festival. It was released April 25, 2020, on the HBO premium cable network and HBO's streaming services. The film was also available at the launch of HBO Max.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 156 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Anchored by an outstanding Hugh Jackman, Bad Education finds absurd laughs—and a worthy message—in the aftermath of a real-life scandal." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone described Jackman's work as "a career-best performance from a movie star with a genuine actor's depth and range" and the script as "devilishly clever and detailed". Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times chose the film as the publication's critic's pick and praised Finley's composition, Makowsky's dialogue, the set decoration, Abels' "jarring, percussive score", and Jackman's "darkly charismatic" performance.
David Ehrlich of IndieWire commended Makowsky's script as a "well-calculated masterclass in narrative economy". Jake Coyle of the Associated Press compared the film's tone and story favorably to Alexander Payne's 1999 film Election. Coyle also singled out Janney's performance as sliding "into the movie so perfectly that it feels more like she came first and the film was sensibly built around her".
Frank Tassone spoke admiringly about Jackman and Janney's performances. He noted that Jackman "did a very good job playing me. Especially at the end, when I walk out of prison and I see what I lost. That really hit home for me. Because I did lose all of that."
TV ratings
On its first televised airing, Bad Education scored a 0.18 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
Accolades
<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Award</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominee(s)</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2020</td><td>Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards</td><td>Best Picture</td><td>Bad Education</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor</td><td>Hugh Jackman</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Supporting Actress</td><td>Allison Janney</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Best Male Director</td><td>Cory Finley</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Adapted Screenplay</td><td>Mike Makowsky</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Primetime Emmy Awards</td><td>Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie</td><td>Hugh Jackman</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards</td><td>Outstanding Television Movie</td><td>Fred Berger, Caroline Jaczko, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Julia Lebedev, Leonid Lebedev, Mike Makowsky, Oren Moverman, and Eddie Vaisman</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Artios Awards</td><td>Film – Non-Theatrical Release</td><td>Ellen Lewis and Kate Sprance</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Critics' Choice Television Awards</td><td>Best Television Movie</td><td>Bad Education</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>GLAAD Media Awards</td><td>Outstanding TV Movie</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Golden Reel Awards</td><td>Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR for Non-Theatrical Feature Film Broadcast Media</td><td>Gene Park, Ric Schnupp, Craig Kyllonen, Colin Alexander, and Shari Johanson</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Gotham Independent Film Awards</td><td>Best Screenplay</td><td>Mike Makowsky</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Hollywood Music in Media Awards</td><td>Best Original Score in a TV Movie/Streamed</td><td>Michael Abels</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Independent Spirit Awards</td><td>Best Screenplay</td><td>Mike Makowsky</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Producers Guild of America Awards</td><td>Outstanding Producer of Streamed or Televised Motion Pictures</td><td>Fred Berger and Eddie Vaisman</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Satellite Awards</td><td>Best Television Film</td><td>Bad Education</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film</td><td>Hugh Jackman</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Writers Guild of America Awards</td><td>Long Form – Adapted</td><td>Mike Makowsky; Based on the New York Magazine article "The Bad Superintendent" by Robert Kolker</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>