Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal is Netflix’s retelling of the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. You probably remember it – or were living under a rock at the time – but likely don’t know exactly how the scam functioned or who was behind it. As a historical reconstruction, this documentary works well and is fairly engaging when exposing the sordid actions of America’s upper classes. Disappointingly, there are no new revelations here – it lacks focus on the broken system that facilitated the scam or the victims it disadvantaged.
Enter William ‘Rick’ Singer. A smooth talking but unassuming college application tutor who cultivated $25 million in bribes from 33 parents in exchange for guaranteed places at some of America’s most prestigious academic institutions. He’s the man at the centre of the scheme and the target of the FBI’s Operation Varsity Blues. The documentary tells his story through well acted reconstructions of telephone calls and meetings that were ‘tapped’ or recorded by the FBI. The opinions of those that met and knew him are also explored, and help to paint a picture of a secretive master manipulator who took advantage of America’s system of privilege for his own selfish gain.
Director Chris Smith takes a similar approach to Operation Varsity Blues as he did with his previous Netflix documentaries, the critically lauded Fyre (which covers the disastrous 2017 Fyre Festival) and the popular if distasteful The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Like with those, he has selected an emotive and popular topic and, instead of opting for deep investigative journalism, has settled for a simple recounting of events. It is frustrating, because there’s clearly so much under the surface here. While the case itself isn’t the most complex, what it says about American society is. And those brief moments where Operation Varsity Blues dabbles in discussion about the wider system are among its finest.
There is a clear hypocrisy here in that Singer’s “side door”, as he terms it, is illegal. Yet colleges’ “back door” method of securing near-guaranteed places (donating more than $5 million dollars to an institution) is not. This deserved more time, and should have replaced some of the repetitious phone-call reconstructions of uneasy and nervous parents scared their children will find out that mummy and daddy have bought their college place. Similarly, more focus should’ve been given to the fact that these rich kids already had every advantage over their less wealthy peers, and yet their parents still felt compelled to cheat. What does that tell us about the super rich and the children they’re raising? The answer to that question and the inevitability of those kids’ success (with or without college) should have been explored in more detail.
However, Operation Varsity Blues does make a good point about the toxicity of America’s attitude towards prestigious colleges and the hyper-competitive system it has created. It isn’t something I had considered before and is Rick Singer’s secret enabler. Effective use is made of hopeful applicants crying into their phones as their college applications are denied – and it does make for some heartbreaking stuff. Especially in a world where kids are told that getting good grades and going to a good college are all that matters – when, in reality, it isn’t. A point proven by the fact that many of these wealthy parents bribing their kids into college didn’t even go themselves.
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal Credit: Netflix
The casting here is well done, with the actors chosen to portray real-life figures looking and sounding adequately similar. The reconstructions sound like real conversations (because they were) and this effectively highlights the knowingly seedy dealings in which Singer and his co-conspirators were engaging. Some of the conversations defy belief and I can only imagine how pissed off those kids were when they heard what their parents had been saying and doing behind their backs. Talk about having no faith in your children, nor a sense of morality when enabling their privilege.
A good chunk of time is spent explaining how Singer was able to secure guaranteed college places for these kids. And it seems unbelievably easy. Pretending child X was good at a sport which is underfunded or overlooked at college Y, and then bribing the coach with donations or personal renumeration for a guaranteed place for the child. Or taking advantage of reasonable adjustments on tests (usually meant for those with learning differences) to facilitate a shady exam proctor changing their answers. This view into the mechanics of the scam goes behind the headlines and made for eye-opening, often shocking, viewing.
If you are after a reasonably detailed and entertaining look at the people and events involved in the college admissions scandal, Operation Varsity Blues delivers that. Where it fails is in serving as an effective critique of America’s prestige hungry college system and the wealthy individuals who take advantage of it to the detriment of those who genuinely want an education. Without this, Operation Varsity Blues almost made me think, “Who can blame them?”. And I don’t think that’s the message anyone should be coming away with. Luckily, the scandalous conversations alone (even if they are repetitive in this format) are enough to convince you otherwise and provide a fascinating yet disheartening insight into the lives of the 1%.
Overall rating: 7/10
Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal releases worldwide on Netflix from Wednesday, 17th March 2021.
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Featured Image Credit: Netflix
