HBO’s Bad Education -Anyone watching?

Can someone please give a synopsis of the scandal?

Based on a true story from the early aughts and directed by Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds), the film stars Hugh Jackman as Frank Tassone, superintendent of the Roslyn school district on Long Island — then the fourth-best school district in the state of New York. Tassone is beloved by parents, students, faculty, and administrators alike. He’s undeniably devoted to his work and the many families who depend on the school district to provide their children with an excellent education.

One day, however, thanks in part to reporting by a student journalist (Geraldine Viswanathan), the district discovers that the assistant superintendent for business, Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), has been embezzling millions of taxpayer dollars for years. Soon the noose starts to tighten around Frank’s neck, too — and there’s a lot he wants to keep hidden.

Bad Education serves up stellar performances from Jackman and Janney, both of whom seem trapped in hells of their own devising, suspended between a desire to serve the community and the feeling that their labor is underappreciated. But where the film really sings — aside from its often darkly funny writing and surprisingly thrilling take on what could have been a dull bureaucratic scandal — is in tracing the effects of the pressures placed on administrators and faculty. That college admissions matter so much that parents are willing to commit fraud to get their kids into good schools is no secret.

Jackman and Janney are MUCH better-looking than the real Tassone and Gluckin, who were VERY "Lawn Guyland."

It’s pretty good so far! Janney looks terrible with blond hair! I love her though!

Yeah, I just looked up the woman and I think John Goodman as Linda Tripp would be a more accurate portrayal than Janney

I didn’t know about the gay angle!

It captures perfectly the petty tragedies of educational administrators.

This was not all what I expected and I quite enjoyed it. Hugh’s character was in a domestic partnership with a man for 33 years though nobody he worked with was aware of it. He was also involved with a much younger ex-student.

Janney was amazing as usual

[quote] Jackman and Janney are MUCH better-looking than the real Tassone and Gluckin, who were VERY "Lawn Guyland."

Do you watch much tv? Nobody on high-cost tv shows look like real life.. I remember going downtown every day, walking past the courthouses, then watching reruns of LA Law or Law & Order. Where are all those snazzily dressed white people, especially the wasp-waisted women in 5” heels? All I saw were mostly overweight African American women & Latino deliverymen. The paunchy, bald headed white lawyers scurried around hoping not to be noticed. And nobody walked up & down those courtroom steps. Everyone entered on the street level side entrance

Then there were the hospitals I worked in, where no one wore white and the nurses looked like Cro Magnon men. A dr I worked with in my early suburban years murdered his wife. They made a TV movie of it. IRL the dr was slightly chunky, wacky Mexican guy who worked in a community hospital in a working class area; his wife was a mildly pretty housewife & they lived in a middle class East Coast town that teetered on being upper income. In the movie, the dr was a tall, thin, suave white guy in designer suits, his wife was a slinky, gorgeous woman in the pre-requisite 5” stilettos and the hospital was a high rise university hospital in sunny, palm treed Southern California.

Nobody looks as good IRL, especially criminals. Robert Chambers was probably the best looking criminal IRL — in photos. But on videotape you could see he was a degenerate drunk.

Of course nobody in real life looks as good, it always funny to see how Hollywood pretties things up. And yes, lots of real-life stories that involve solidly middle-class people are prettied up as upper-middle class when the stories are adapted for tv and movies.

Good movie though. Wish they would've showed Jackman's butt. He does kiss another guy!!

While at an education convention in Las Vegas, Jackman runs into a former student who is now a bartender and they wind up in Jackman's hotel room. Jackman is amazingly convincing in those scenes. Here's hoping he gets rewarded with a big fat Emmy.

Just watched. Loved. Absolutely LOVED. Could've definitely added another 15 - 20 minutes to fill in some gaps for better context, but they're negligible and overall the story was compact, atmosphere was just right, and damn Hugh's initial scene with the former student is hot as fuck! Very impressed. Reminded me of Election.

Loved it. Almost seemed to go too fast, that easily could have been a short miniseries.

Amused that Hugh is playing a closeted gay man......Not much of a walk from the page to the stage, is it, sister?

God damn that was one hot kiss!

Jackman and Janney were both excellent.

I have never seen Janney give any performance that wasn't perfect. She's one of the greatest actresses working today.

And I will *always* love her for Loretta in Drop Dead Gorgeous!

I thought it was a miniseries

You thought wrong

Fascinating story with lots of dark humor. And while some things were changed for dramatic purposes, it was true that it all came tumbling down because the woman's son blatantly used a district credit card to buy supplies for her home renovation.

Tassone's partner of 33 years also went to prison, and was unaware that Tassone had the much younger BF with whom he'd bought a house in Las Vegas.

It is a movie that runs one hundred and eight minutes

I knew next to nothing about this before I watched it last night. I really enjoyed it. 4/5 stahhhs!

The real Tassone.

Oy! The gay Trump!

[quote]Good movie though. Wish they would've showed Jackman's butt. He does kiss another guy!!

No he kissed two! It was a theatrical feature a film festival that HBO outbid everyone for. Shame, it all this hadn't happened Jackman and Janney would have definitely been Oscar nominated. Amazing how greed overtakes people.

I read that they still get like $173k in annual pensions. State laws don't prevent it. Must be nice. Grifters.

I don't have HBO, and, regrettably, they are slow to release movies to other platforms. That is too bad, because I would love to see this.

They do!

Hugh is dead to me after this association was made public.

R30 what year was that?

[quote] I read that they still get like $173k in annual pensions. State laws don't prevent it.

If they were in FL they would not get a state pension while they are “guests of the state.” Because their room & board is being paid by the state already.

Wait...does Florida even have state pensions?

[quote]I don't have HBO, and, regrettably, they are slow to release movies to other platforms. That is too bad, because I would love to see this.

It's on Amazon Prime, I believe, if you have that.

FFS watch it on one of the free sites.

R31 around 2018

Hugh Jackman is aging like milk on the beach. He looks at least 60.

R33. I wish it were on Amazon, but it is not. They have a link to watch it if you subscribe to HBO through Prime, but you can not stream it without joining HBO, which I have no interest in doing it. HBO seems to hold their movies from other streaming sites more than other companies like Netflix do.

here......

Jackman's so lucky to have the chance to kiss Rafael Casal.

Love Allison Janney but can't stand that closet case Hugh Jackman.

I really enjoyed it.

Character actor (and back in the day Dynasty hunk) Ray Abruzzo played Allison Janney's husband. He was Little Carmine on The Sopranos and Don Draper's doorman on Mad Men but I'll always remember him for this.

R8 and r21, the "much younger" bf is 15 years younger.

Tassone’s partner Stephen Signorelli irl.

RE: the younger boyfriend, I thought it was referenced when they meet in Las Vegas that it has been 15 years since the boyfriend had graduated from high school, where he had been a student of Tassone's. In the movie, at least, the BF would have been early 30s while Tassone was in his late 50s.

Can't even look at Jackman after finding out he's friends with Ivanka and Jared

When the bf was 18, why couldn't his teacher have been 33?

So when they meet again, the bf is 33 and the superintendent is 48...

^Except Tassone was at least a decade older than 48.

The bf was 32 and Tassone was 55 in 2002

Started out good... but then...

I watched this film and 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' back to back yesterday and enjoyed both. Can anyone recommend more films like these? Darkly humorous films based on true stories of lives going off the rails due to dishonesty and/or crimes? 'I Tonya' is the only other film I can think of, and I've seen that.

Have you seen The Informant r50? I love that movie and this made me think of it

Ah yes I have R51 Enjoyed that.

(R28) HBO is free for another week. It was really good. Why can't Netflix make movies like this?

Thank you for the link to the movie!

Hugh needs to quit losing weight. He doesn't look as good. He was really good in this though. It was a nice surprise.

R24 R43 Well now I'm wondering what the Vegas toy boy looked like

Why are some actors just always great? Is it - talent?

[quote]HBO is free for another week. It was really good. Why can't Netflix make movies like this?

Netflix has garbage movies, but HBO didn't make Bad Education. They bought it at Sundance for $20 million, which is way more than what the film would have pulled in if it had a theatrical run.

*Correction. It was sold at TIFF.

Found it flat. Did not engage me. But loved that Hugh and Alison are aging naturally.

Have you seen the money that Netflix spends on their movies? And they're still crap.

I grew up on Long Island in a neighboring district. This was a huge news story when it happened largely because of Roslyn's sterling reputation and how much was stolen. I thought it did a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the time. It did feel rushed at some points and I thought there were aspects that could have been expanded such as Tassone's sexuality and Gluckin's chaotic personal life but I enjoyed it. I thought Jackman was strong and Janney was excellent. Would have enjoyed seeing more of Annaleigh Ashford as well. I thought it was an interesting choice for Jackman given the gay rumors that have been swirling forever.

R53 Actually HOB did not make the film. The film was made independently as a cinema feature and when it played last year a Toronto HBO placed a very large bid to acquire the film for TV. Apparently, Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney were very disappointed because the film was being denied a cinema release and therefore Oscar consideration. Now they will have to settle for Emmy consideration.

R50, Catch Me if You Can is another good entry in the true crime/comedy genre

The cast is terrific and the writing very solid and surprisingly funny. Except I don't like Ray Ramano.

I did laugh at them showing Hugh's character getting a facelift. He should have gotten his money back because it didn't work.

It was fantastic... I grew up on LI and knew the Roslyn area pretty well

Barbra is not going to like Patti saying she is "50 years" too old for the role.

That is hilariously shady.

If she'd just said, "too old," Barbra would have thought she meant 10 years.

Barbra would have heard "too old" and agreed that she probably wouldn't have been all that convincing as Louise, and Baby June - though older - was only a supporting part.

It was an engaging diversion from our current nightmare.

DAMN! Hugh Jackson is amazing! All the subtle mannerisms in his acting! He's really bringing it! What an actor! A gay character too? I'm in love!

Crook/liar Frank Tassone is a tad miffed about the lies the film tells about his personal life.

[quote]The film depicts Frank having an affair in Las Vegas with a former student, which the real Tassone said bends the truth. In real life, Tassone had an open marriage and did not keep the affair a secret from his husband. Tassone said he was “bothered terribly” by the film showing him having an affair with a former student, which never happened. Tassone also took issue with the film implying that his husband was not aware he was previously married to a woman. “There was a lot of implication, or at least I felt, that I didn’t have a wonderful marriage or didn’t love her so very much, which I did,” Tassone said. “I almost felt it was disrespectful to her, and I loved her very much.”

Here's an interview with the real Frank Cassone.

OF COURSE he loved Hugh Jackman playing him. Making him more interesting than he really is. He's right about the gay portrayal like it was shady.

[quote] HBO is free for another week

Only some hbo is free. They control what is free & what isnt.

The Sopranos - free

Plot Against America - not free.

And it depends on what platform you’re using. Some platforms with HBO won’t let you access any HBO if you don’t have an account. For example, I have an older Roku on one of my TVs. I tried to watch Veep on HBO on the roku & it wouldn’t let me. It also wouldn’t let me view HBO on my cable company’s HBO channel.

But when I went to Hulu, all the free HBO shows were available, so I watched Veep on Hulu.

I thought the writing came across as a bit homophobic when Ray Ramano was talking to him outside.

"It's an open secret. People guessed with all the cologne you wear and the stuff you've done to your face."

R75 He was talking about the money he was embezzling, bright eyes!

You can watch all the HBO shows for free in the link provided earlier.

[quote]which the real Tassone said bends the truth.

Tassone has done plenty of bending in his time.

Why do I get the feeling Tassone probably spends his days posting bitch remarks on DL?

[quote] He was talking about the money he was embezzling, bright eyes!

No, he was not, idiot. Like wearing too much cologne is a sign of having too much money to throw around.

He was talking about whispers that he was gay.

Him embezzling money being an "open secret" is not something people would look the other way over.

Well this happened in the 80's didn't it? So a lot of people may not have been as open minded or accepting as they are now. And Tassone was closeted, too. So he was behaving as if he he were ashamed, or uncomfortable with his "secret" and acted like had something to hide.

It happened in the early 2000s

R80, he was and they did know which is why they got arrested too. He mentioned, the suits, the cologne, the car, the cosmetic surgery!

Also, the fact you call someone idiot for stating an opinions reveals you to be unstable trash! A true dumpster!

[quote]Also, the fact you call someone idiot for stating an opinions

Oh, dear.

Oh, so he's still together with his longtime boyfriend and there actually was a wife at some point. They made it seem she was made up.

tassone was born in the 40s, would have gotten together with the partner in the 70s. He worked in a profession where a certain image was important, esp. in a suburban school district. He also was discreet about his home life--living far away. A teacher once told us never to live in the district where you taught. The way he conducted his life is very much of his time and place. The 30-something not quite boytoy in Vegas was a vanity, vanishing youth thing, along with the diet and facelift. he calims there was no boytoy, but apparently there was. I'll bet the old boy is dining out on all this celebrity, initial embarrassment aside.

I wonder if any student ever gave him a blow job in exchange for a recommendation to Harvard.

I think based on the character in the movie, that Tassone was smart about his personal life for as long as he could get away with it. I doubt he ever got close to a student or a woman in his district. He really compartmentalized if the movie is at all accurate. Hitting on that waiter in Vegas was risky. The fact that he was a former student, and knew who he was, if the bartender hadn't been a sweet guy, he could have been the one night stand from hell.

Terrific movie. At some point I thought it was directed by Woody Allen and that's why It didn't get a bigger release. Total underrated gem. And yeah, the scene of Hugh and the student in the hotel room was hot. Even with the stupid "I'm not gay" comment from Hugh's character.

Frank explains here. He was basically don't ask don't tell because it was 70s and 80s.

Real Frank has a great point about not understanding why they had to put his sexuality into it.

What was the point of making the young lover a former student? Just to show off Frank's super extra memory skills?

To show how he's willing to cross the line. Foreshadowing.

I am watching Jackman's face skin in this movie. It moves in fascinating ways.

R94 He had red scarring around his ears in a way that makes me think he had a facelift.

The character he plays is a plastic surgery.

How much research did Jackman have to do to play a gay character?

R89, the reason it didn't get a "bigger release" is because HBO bought it at a film festival for their own network. There are some interviews with the cast stating that they were disappointed it was not getting a theatrical release, although also admitting that many more people would see it on TV than in a movie theater.

Works for a quarantine.

I can't say I enjoy watching this story unfold. Jackson's character is fucking gross.

That scene where he freaks out on the mom and her problem child in his office is pretty epic.

How is it “crossing the line” to have consensual sex with a person who was a student 15 years prior? Not a current student by a long shot, and they were both consenting adults. Tassone did plenty wrong, but the only thing wrong with that relationship is the betrayal to Tassone’s partner - if that.

Yeah, I didn't get why the young lover had to be a former student when it wasn't part of the real story the movie is based on.

The fact that he was a former student actually makes it less likely they'd hook up, imho.

There aren't ANY former teachers I'd hook up with without feeling really skeevy.

Anyway... Huge Jackman's performance is amazing.

And Allison Janney is beyond amazing, as usual. She's always awesome.

I liked the former student - he was blown out, gone to seed, washed up, but still youngish.

Having him hook up with a former student seemed like a plot hole.

Wouldn't he be worried about word getting back to the students' parents, who probably still lived in the school district?

On the other hand, it did make it creepier. And they were trying to depict as the show progressed how he used bad judgment and crossed lines.

I’m sorry, I’m not really understanding the scandalousness of “former student”. If it was 15 years since a teacher had any authority over a student, what’s the problem? It’s two adults. It’s like saying that you could never sleep with a former direct report, even ten years later.

I’m sorry, I’m not really understanding the scandalousness of “former student”. If it was 15 years since a teacher had any authority over a student, what’s the problem? It’s two adults. It’s like saying that you could never sleep with a former direct report, even ten years later.

[quote] I am watching Jackman's face skin in this movie. It moves in fascinating ways

It’s prosthetics & makeup. The real Frank Tassone had a facelift using school funds. They show him undergoing the first cut & they show his (fake) scars. They emphasize this post-facelift look to remind you that he is very vain & stole from the district because of his vanity.

The former student Kyle is failed at life and louche. He is the opposite of Frank's carefully constructed identity. Kyle is a plot device to make us think more about Frank. Does Frank love Kyle because Frank is truly an educator (despite also being a sociopath) and wants to encourage those who lack self confidence. Does Frank love Kyle because Kyle represents who Frank fears he would have been, if he hadn't become a sociopath? Does Frank love Kyle at all?

R109 Oh, I missed the beginning of the movie.

I wonder to what degree this is prevalent at other schools.

Frank Wants Kyle, R110, because he's vain, and he's chasing after lost youth, and he wants to feel beautiful and being with a dancer ("stripper") fulfills those needs.

Kyle WAS a stripper. He aged out of it because he drinks and doesn't work out. He's a bartender now.

He's not a stripper. He's an ed-ysiast!

ed-ysiast?

what was Ray Ramano's character? Early on Allison Janney wonders what he makes and says "high 600s, maybe 7 figures" (a million).

What kind of school admin would make that much??

[quote] You can watch all the HBO shows for free in the link provided earlier.

What link?

It’s a good movie. If Hugh Jackman was a sociopath why was he was so loving towards his young gay lover? I’m so tired of Hollywood making movies about strippers and ‘dancers’ and not showing the hot action involved. The last 30 minutes was very slow paced.

I do t see why they had to add a fake affair with an ex-student. The actual real story was good enough. I think it was kind of homophobic to put that in there. “Eww, look. If he would have an affair with an ex-student, maybe he had affairs with lots of students. After al, he was a homosexual in our schools!”

I liked that nosy gal Rachel. Was there a real-life counterpart? I’m too lazy to google.

I don’t remember the nosy girl Rosy. Was she the high school journalist? I felt sorry for the Jamey relative. First she was demoted and then I guess she went to jail. Did it every say what happened to her?

Jackman 's character wasn't a sociopath. I'd call him more of a narcissist. And he was very manipulative. Not a dumb man. An educated intelligent man...who was foolish. He had a partner he cheated on. He had larceny in his heart. Now the former student in Vegas? As I watched it I got the impression he was probing the guy. Trying to find out just how connected to that school community he still was. And trying to figure out if he was Gay...which he got that right away. But he wasn't going to make a move until he was satisfied he could handle the former student.

R116, Ray Romano's character is a school board member, not part of the school administration or faculty. He has another full time, well-paying job, probably a real estate developer.

R123 thanks. BTW I read that Hugh Jackman worked with a dialect coach and thinks he got it "80%" right .....but he didn't have a LI at all!!!! He just sounded generic "trying to be American". Allison Janney got it down pat!

Ray Romano's character wasn't based on any one person, he just represented members of the school board. I think he was supposed to be a realtor.

Agree r103. I don't know why they changed Jason Daugherty into Kyle who is a former student. And for the life of me I can't find a picture of the real Jason Daugherty.

But yes seeing Hugh Jackson play a closet case was amusing, they knew what they were doing by casting him in this role.

Also a big deal is made of Kyle being a dancer, Rafael Casal did a good job but the guy does not have the body to be a stripper in Vegas!

Well, he was a FORMER dancer. Not a current one.

I thought it was funny Hugh was a slimy thief but portrayed him as having two positive gay relationships.

love this website

Jackman looks like the pre-plastic surgery Tassone. Janney looks much better than her tubby real-life counterpart. They built up the Vegas thing and made him a former student to highlight the "double life" aspects of Tassone.

Hugh Jackman plays a gay who lives with a man his age but fools around with a twink

Was that Artie Bucco’s wife?

Hugh beat out Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek), Paul Mescal (Normal People), Ramy Youssef (Ramy) and Jeremy Pope (Hollywood) in Best TV Performance - Actor as the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics' Dorian Awards.

This is now available on Netflix. Probably has been for a while. Also, Paul Mescal should get every award given out for the next 5 years; he is that good......

This won the emmy for best TV movie.