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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 13, 2022

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

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 12, 2020

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

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 18, 2020

Jackman and Janney are terrific. Both actors have the innate ability to truly disappear into the character they are playing.

| Original Score: 8.1/10 | Apr 30, 2020

Jackman does a magnificent job of portraying a man who has been lying so long on so many fronts, even he isn't sure of the truth any longer.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 29, 2020

The movie works best, in the end, by convincing us that these people are perfectly ordinary.

| Apr 28, 2020

[Hugh] Jackman is excellent in this movie.

| Apr 27, 2020

Bad Education is a brilliant movie with extremely excellent writing.

| Original Score: A- | Apr 27, 2020

Bad Education doesn't seem to fully understand why he did it, but it suggests that it's enough to have Rachel's access to the facts, and her confidence in making a clear and thrilling story out of all of it.

| Apr 27, 2020

Jackman captures that dichotomy perfectly, and makes "Bad Education" an offbeat treat.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 25, 2020

It managed to avoid sensationalizing the story or oversimplifying the characters in a way that I found to be really engaging.

| Apr 24, 2020

It's Tassone's perspective that Finley largely keeps to, which - if you don't know the true story - lets "Bad Education" unspool if not surprisingly at least captivatingly.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 24, 2020

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.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Apr 24, 2020

[A] bright, sharp-edged satire with the gift of two great comedic actors: Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney.

| Original Score: B+ | Apr 24, 2020

With Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney as a can't-miss combination, Bad Education joins a juicy true story somewhere in the middle, drags before getting into the meat of it, and then rallies solidly in the second half.

| Apr 24, 2020

Director Cory Finley finds the dark humor within this scandal, which he depicts with wit, style, and a terrific cast.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 24, 2020

It's a small and economical movie, but not slight, as it gives us a good taste of the banality of greed and entitlement, never turning its compromised characters into easily dismissed comic monsters.

| Apr 24, 2020

"Bad Education" reminds us how synonymous great acting and great lying can be.

| Apr 24, 2020

It's a delicate and memorable performance by Mr. Jackman. Ms. Janney does the whole Long Island thing as well as anyone ever has. The most resonant character, though, might be Rachel, whom Ms. Viswanathan imbues with the indignation of youth.

| Apr 24, 2020

It's a plum part, sure, but also a deeply unsympathetic one - a chance for the actor to channel his charisma toward dark, mischievous ends.

| Apr 23, 2020