Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

"The man behind the scandal."

2021 1h 40m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 151

DocumentaryCrimeDrama

Synopsis

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An examination that goes beyond the celebrity-driven headlines and dives into the methods used by Rick Singer, the man at the center of the shocking 2019 college admissions scandal, to persuade his wealthy clients to cheat an educational system already designed to benefit the privileged.

“The man behind the scandal.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Matthew Modine
Rick Singer
Roger Rignack
John B. Wilson
Jillian Peterson
Lead FBI Agent
Courtney Rackley
Jane Buckingham
Wallace Langham
Gordon Caplan
Josh Stamberg
Bill McGlashan
Jeff Rector
Devin Sloane
William-Christopher Stephens
Rudy Meredith

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Smith
Writers: Jon Karmen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chris Smith, shot by Britton Foster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Atticus Ross. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jon Karmen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Matthew Modine and Roger Rignack and Jillian Peterson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The man behind the scandal.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt14111734 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Smith directs. Britton Foster behind the camera. Atticus Ross scores. Jon Karmen cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 5 years ago.
2Directed by Chris Smith, shot by Britton Foster. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Atticus Ross. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Jon Karmen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Matthew Modine and Roger Rignack and Jillian Peterson carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The man behind the scandal.".
7IMDB entry: tt14111734 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Britton Foster
Original score: Atticus Ross
Editing: Jon Karmen
Costume design: Natasha Newman-Thomas
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (2021)

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Chris Smith

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Community reviews

What people are saying

rsanek2021-03-22
★ 7/10
If you've read the news articles about this story, there's not much that this film will reveal to you. Mostly an inoffensive dramatization of what's already been reported. One thing I did take issue with is the way that the piece basically promoted tracking down and searching for the defendants -- it felt like for every single parent, they had a shot of someone typing in their name into Google and looking at some images. Kinda weird.
Peter McGinn2021-07-23
★ 6/10
I guess this is a good character study of some variation of a psychopath, who lies, cheats, throw people under the bus — whatever it takes to advance their own interests. And the movie provides a peek into how the wealthy care about having the best of everything and knowing they can throw money at any problem to solve them. Of course, none of these people are presented in a way to make you root for them in any way, so in the end though I thought it was marginally interesting, I thought it was way too long.