Application for "Admission" Falls Short by Emily Cote

Two weekends ago, me and one of my friends went to see Admission. We walked into the theater expecting something funny and cute, mixed with a little bit of a heartwarming story line because after all, when you see cast names like Tina Fey and Paul Rudd you expect...well...funny. Right? Well this is what we got.

The film is based on the novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, adapted to film by Karen Croner and directed by Paul Weitz. It's about a Princeton University admissions officer named Portia Nathan (Tina Fey), who naturally is the one that the kids who visit the school are afraid of, and want to make a good impression on. She's a serious, no-nonsense type of person who has no problem rejecting the majority of the kids who apply. When she's up for a promotion, she tries her hardest to beat out the other woman who's also up for the same position, by trying to find the best group of students for the fall semester and rubbing elbows with the boss (Wallace Shawn), who doesn't realize the two women are actually feuding and hate each others guts.

Portia gets a call from a principle (Paul Rudd) of an alternative (organic, farming, artsy) school in New Hampshire to come check out some of the Juniors who would like to know more about Princeton. She then finds herself in the middle of no where with a bunch of free-spirited kids who don't really care that much about what she has to say. Much like the kids at the school, the principle John, is a single dad, and world traveler who never stays in one place for long, he pretty much goes wherever the wind blows him. Of course Portia thinks this is all some sort of a joke, but John used that as a way to get her there, before telling her that he thinks her son, who Portia put up for adoption when she was still in college, is attending his school. Portia can't think straight after finding this out and then, at the same time starts to think that John isn't as bad as she thought. In fact she might actually like him as more than just friends. All that considered, she still has a lot of work to do to get that promotion at work. Things get mixed up and confusing, and through it all, Portia finds that family is ultimately, the only thing that lasts and it's all very cute and typical.

This movie had a good base for the story line, but fell short in the comedy aspect of it, for me. I think it was one of those films that put the funniest parts in the actual trailer. They didn't execute the story very well, I kept feeling bored and wishing there was more to it. The director could have done so much more with the great group of actors he had, but they were just playing characters with pretty boring personalities. It all felt dry and tired. We left the theater feeling a little disappointed. Not a total flop, but it definitely could have been a lot better, in quite a few ways. I kept thinking, "I feel like I've seen this before." Of course I hadn't, but it was the same as the last romantic "comedy." All that to say, go see it if you want, but probably not something you'll want to see more than once. It was...average.