Review: 'Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal' Dissects the Anatomy of Entitlement

In a prominent 2018 scandal, 50 wealthy parents were caught trying to bribe their less-than-qualified children into elite universities. Chris Smith's intriguing 100-minute documentary "Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal" recounts and reenacts what ended up being one of the largest Department of Justice prosecutions in history.

Actor Matthew Modine plays Rick Singer, the stoic, so-called college admissions counselor who directed hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to his supposed non-profit foundation to get wealthy clients into the collegiate "side door," if the "front door" of admissions – good grades, high scores, etc. – was impossible and the "back door" of massive college endowments was out of reach.

The reenactment scripts were taken from actual wiretapped conversations that Singer had with his coterie of entitled clients. Singer started as a basketball coach in Sacramento, then became a college prep advisor. Colleagues at the time, interviewed in the documentary, say that his techniques and motivations were suspicious, self-serving, and circumvented ethical practices. He regularly lied and made promises he couldn't keep, but was the only pro college advisor in town at the time. He created several shady businesses to bilk "Future Stars," famously Photoshopping the faces of deceptive applicants onto the bodies of sailors, rowers, and water polo players. Singer also brought in several prominent coaches from lower-visibility sports to loophole his lucrative clients into university slots at Stanford, Yale and other Ivies.

Singer was also a natural-born marketer and salesperson, the law enforcement interviewees note, so he could easily con students with low test scores and their parents with large bank accounts. In addition to the forged athletic recruitment angle, Singer also hired a test proctor to "improve" scores once the tests were submitted by the student, and had the parents get extra time for their test-takers, accommodations usually reserved for special needs learners.

Between 2011 and 2018, Singer received at least 25 million in bribes as he crisscrossed the country to bamboozle and soothe his eager and entitled quarries. The documentary ponders the growing wealth disparity issue plaguing the country today: These folks had every advantage in life, and yet they still cheated in their relentless pursuit of bragging rights.

In the end, everybody flipped on everyone else to save their own hides. Singer himself continued his con to wiretap his clients with a relentless and unflappable demeanor that his FBI handlers admired. The formerly confident captains of industry folded like a house of cards when their recorded conversations were presented.

"White collar defendants have no filter," one notes.

"Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal" premieres March 17 on Netflix.