The Cartel
Truly Indie | Release Date: April 16, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
5
Negative:
2
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York PostKyle Smith
Few documentaries have covered such an important matter so convincingly and with such clarity. When it comes to public education, we are all New Jerseyans. Read full review
83
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Although it’s refreshing to see a movie that stands up for charter schools and takes on teachers unions for their hammerlock on educational oversight, Bowdon overcorrects. His home state of New Jersey may not be an isolated case but neither, with its high level of corruption, should it be seen as altogether representative of all countrywide educational ills. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A brisk, incisive and mind-boggling -- no other phrase will work -- exposé of his native New Jersey's public education system. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The Cartel does what good reporters are supposed to do: follow the money. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMichelle Orange
The Cartel makes up for what it lacks in style and structure with selective but stone-cold facts. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Bowdon makes a compelling argument against the defensive maneuvers of teachers' unions and in favor of vouchers and charter schools, but his documentary is no exercise in free-market cant. It merely explodes the fiction that funneling more money into the same highly bureaucratized and politicized system will fix our deepening education crisis. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
The Cartel frequently veers into the realm of black comedy, as Bowdon uncovers instances of nightmarish teacher behavior, but the dark comic elements would be better served by deadpan detachment. Read full review
50
VarietyJohn Anderson
A lopsided whine about the state of American public schools, The Cartel is a lesson in dichotomous documaking: Effervescent and tedious, crusading and craven, it's a prime example of that ubiquitous oxymoron: the agenda-driven "expose." Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Purports to be a documentary about the American public school system. In reality, however, it’s a bludgeoning rant against a single state — New Jersey — which it presents as a closed loop of Mercedes-owning administrators, obstructive teachers’ unions and corrupt school boards. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazinePam Grady
The doc has won a host of awards at film festivals and it is a policy wonk's dream of a movie, but it is dry, statistic-laden viewing that is unlikely to attract much attention beyond education circles. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
In my old New Jersey public school, the first thing we learned was the smell of baloney. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Actually, everything in Bowdon’s rant about America’s woeful public school system is important, including Bowdon. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
It's all talking heads, clanging music, substandard graphics, long scans of Web-page headlines and Bowdon's heavily cadenced voiceovers. Read full review
20
Time OutS. James Snyder
After decades of endless policy debates, you’d think fixing America’s schools would be a complex endeavor. But apparently not--at least according to this tunnel-vision editorial. Read full review
More From This Movie

59 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL