'

Bad Education

Play trailer

1:07

Bad Education

2019

1h 48m

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

94%

Tomatometer

156 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

A Long Island school superintendent and his assistant are credited with bringing the district unprecedented prestige. Frank is a master of positive messaging, whether before an audience of community leaders or in an office with a concerned student or parent. That changes when a student reporter uncovers an embezzlement scheme of epic proportions, prompting Frank to devise an elaborate cover-up.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Anchored by an outstanding Hugh Jackman, Bad Education finds absurd laughs -- and a worthy message -- in the aftermath of a real-life scandal.

Read Critics Reviews

Ty Burr

Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack)

This is one of those deadpan farces where we get to chortle as awful people are hoisted high on the petard of their own greed.

Rated: 3/4

May 13, 2022

Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

Hugh Jackman turns in a beguiling and powerful performance in his latest movie, based on a real-life scandal.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 12, 2020

Full Review

Wenlei Ma

News.com.au

Fuelled by a fascinating story and its sensational performances, Bad Education is a movie worthy of its star-power and ambitions.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 18, 2020

Full Review

Bianca Garner

Filmotomy

Bad Education helps to present us with very flawed, and very real people who are as layered as the film’s plot.

Oct 4, 2024

Full Review

Joonatan Itkonen

Toisto.net

This is a great film; it will aggravate, amaze, and confound you all at once. Make it a priority to see it the moment it’s out.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 8, 2024

Full Review

Dave Giannini

InSession Film

Bad Education is a strong film overall, especially during a time in which we are bereft of theatrical releases and original ideas.

Rated: B+

Feb 20, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Paul S

This movie was so much fun to watch, and its story was really whacky and compelling. I definitely recommend it for drama fans!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/28/25

Full Review

Bret H

Turned it off after bout 20 minutes when the widowed school superintendent meets a former student who is bartending and takes him home for some man on man action.That is a far as I got.Turned it off.They left out that little nugget in the description of the movie.Maybe they say down and watched "broke back mountain".

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/22/25

Full Review

Guilherme N

Hugh's acting convinces you so well

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/04/25

Full Review

Tracy W

A very entertaining, well-acted movie but essentially a cover up of the real reasons for the destruction of public education. Companies essentially no longer pay property taxes and homeowners are being blackmailed into higher taxes. There’s no reason these issues couldn’t have been addressed. Instead it’s left on the level of personal corruption. Also, the state of public education isn’t really comedic, is it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/29/24

Full Review

Ventsislav Y

I would say worth a watch. Top performance from Hugh per usual

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/26/24

Full Review

Alec C

Prepare for some bad education, with some morally corrupt teachers! As a high school superintendent falls under scrutiny for embezzling funds from the budget, a massive cover-up is underway but there are still some co-conspirators hiding in plain sight. Biting humor and impressive acting make this true-crime comedy an enjoyable watch, despite the reprehensible things that the characters do!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/05/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Cory Finley

Director

Hugh Jackman

Frank Tassone

Allison Janney

Pam Gluckin

Ray Romano

Bob Spicer

Kathrine Narducci

Sharon Katz

Geraldine Viswanathan

Rachel Kellog

The Professor

11%

78%

The Professor

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Professor

Boundaries

49%

70%

Boundaries

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Boundaries

The Land of Steady Habits

83%

50%

The Land of Steady Habits

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Land of Steady Habits

Sun Dogs

%

69%

Sun Dogs

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Sun Dogs

Below

100%

%

Below

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Best-Reviewed Movies & TV 2020

2021 Producers Guild Awards Nominations: The Full List

The Biggest Snubs and Surprises of the 2021 Golden Globe Nominations

Bad Education: Featurette - Based on a True Story

3:51

Bad Education: Trailer - Race Car

1:07

Bad Education: Trailer 1

2:17

Bad Education: Teaser Trailer 1

1:07

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

A Long Island school superintendent and his assistant are credited with bringing the district unprecedented prestige. Frank is a master of positive messaging, whether before an audience of community leaders or in an office with a concerned student or parent. That changes when a student reporter uncovers an embezzlement scheme of epic proportions, prompting Frank to devise an elaborate cover-up.

Director: Cory Finley
Producer: Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Julia Lebedev, Mike Makowsky, Oren Moverman, Eddie Vaisman
Screenwriter: Mike Makowsky
Production Co: HBO Films, Sight Unseen Pictures, Automatik Entertainment
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 26, 2020
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now