Review of Admission (2013) by Austin H — 06 Jul 2013

Admission // Focus Features // Drama/Comedy.

Admission is an uneven dramedy that's too goofy for its serious subject matter while remaining too tense to work as a comedy either. Tina Fey plays career oriented Princeton admissions officer Portia Nathan, who's working hard to achieve her dream of taking over as Head of Admissions when the current title holder retires at the end of the year. Suddenly she's getting calls from an old classmate (Paul Rudd) who thinks one of the students in his new age hippie school is her biological son (who she gave up when she was in college. No, none of this is in the marketing. Weird right?) Distracted by this turn of events Portia helps Jeremiah in his quest to attend Princeton and begins to find herself along the way.

A quirky film that has its moments, Admission is ultimately a film that looks better on paper than it is in reality. Marketed as a romantic comedy with two immensely likable leads (Tina Fey and Paul Rudd) the film is more of an oddball dramedy that forces Fey and Rudd into roles that are difficult to relate to. Fey is a boring, driven, straight laced admissions officer who seems to lack any real family or friends, while Rudd's character is an uber-rich kid turned ultra liberal do-gooder, rebelling against his elitist parents. Just like you and your friends, huh? Negating the broad appeal of the actors hurts the charisma and charm of the characters they're playing, which is a problem because the script lacks any charisma or charm itself.

There are a few funny moments in the film which work fairly well, but not enough to really make this a successful comedy -- the jokes are simply spread to thin for a film about adoption, family, and the impact of the choices we make on our lives to qualify as, you know, a comedy. It works even less well as a drama, where Fey struggles during the scenes of emotional heft. It turns forced and uncomfortable as the plot progresses and never really reaches the potential that is there. While it's a film that is well intentioned and has some nice ingredients Admission doesn't put them together or work in the way it wants to, leaving us with an awkward and unfunny comedy or a poor drama; take your pick.

**1/4 out of five.