Review of Liberal Arts (2012) by Cameron J — 31 Jan 2013

"Happythankyoumoreplease 2: Have Some More", or rather, "How I Met Some Too Young to Be a Mother". Ted Mosby is so stupidly charming, but Josh Radnor is driving that role so far into the dirt that he's even gone so far as to import over to his "other" characters Mosby's tendency to get into doomed relationships, and seeing as how we're talking about a man cougar, pen-pal relationship here, this film portrays what may very well be his magnum opus as far as romantic disasters are concerned. Hey, at least Radnor's getting better-looking girls, like the lovely Elizabeth Olsen (If nothing else, he's getting girls who can act better; forget Sarah Chalke), because although Ted Mosby has bagged the occasional, as I like to put it, "purtty" lady, at the point where he's hoping to get into a threesome with the scrawny Danica McKellar and the anything-but-scrawny Busy Phillips in "Third Wheel" (I'm so much of a "HIMYM" nerd that I just referred to it as "HIMYM"), I think "Friends" ultimately secured its position as essentially the only modern group-of-buddies sitcom to feature dudes who have consistently good taste in really attractive women. Man, I love "Friends", no matter how cheesy and, well, badly edited it gets, but, speaking of magnum opuses, "How I Met Your Mother" is pretty much modern network television's masterpiece (I know that's not saying much, but take my word for it), and if you think my dropping those two sitcom names is white enough then, this film, well, is going to underwhelm, because not much is whiter than a reference to both "Friends" and "How I Met Your Mother" in the same sentence. Of course, this film probably would have stood a chance if it was about something like, I don't know, a convervative arts degree, because as our useless current president reflects, liberals will believe anything if it's not white (It's not racism, it's realism... commies). Hey, say what you will about the liberals, they at least know how to make some good films, and they certainly know how to make good television... sometimes (Come on, "How I Met Your Mother" is on CBS; what does that tell you?). Still, while I did indeed walk away from this film not just saying "Happythankyoumoreplease" because Josh Radnor is evidently getting a formula down, the final product's not really telling you just what in the world a liberal arts degree is, outside of a ticket to unemployment, is the least of its problems.

The film entertains much more often than not, but if you're expecting a thematic and adultly sophisticated indie film that made it to Sundance Film Festival to be consistently thrilling, then, much like the characters in this film, you're in for quite a few disappointments in life, because regardless of is engagement value, this film still slips into quite a few slow spells, in atmosphere, alone. Needless to say, this film's atmospheric bland spells go made all the worse by slow spells in Josh Radnor's script, which is generally fairly tight, but still drags out certain scenes, if not the whole story structure itself, which comes to a final act that is compelling and all, but overdoes its wrap-up of some subplots, to the point of sparking a bit of focal unevenness. This film never has too much momentum, and has enough engagement value to keep especially slow spells at bay for the most part, yet atmosphere gets to be too dry for its own good, and quite a few moments in story structure stick around too much for their own good, thus bland spells ensue and dilute momentum that was never to be too high in the first place, while giving you enough time to meditate upon the fact that this film's plotting drags along a familiar path. The film has more than a few unique touches that help greatly in really bring this story to life, but for every refreshing touch, the film makes a move that sends it right back into tropes established by other films of this type that might not be entirely like this film, but established a formula that this film all too often follows too closely. These tropes go battled back by plenty of refreshing spots, but are more recurring than I make them sound, joining the slow spells in steadying an already pretty steadily-told film a touch too much, and thinning out the impact of a story that is already rather limited in the meat that it should have, because no matter how hard this very intelligent film hits at times, it doesn't quite cut into its subject matter as thoroughly as it could have, leaving you to further notice the film's other hiccups, of which, there are only so many. There is only so much that's wrong with this film, but then again, in all fairness, that's partially because there's only so much to this film to mess up, for although this film, in quite a few ways, hits more than expected, there are still natural shortcomings to go with the consequential shortcomings that help in holding the final product back a bit. Still, no matter how much it goes held back, this film ultimately graduates to a rewarding state with relative ease, facing its share of flaws, but ultimately coming out with a lot for you to chew on, or at least a fair bit of things to enjoy looking at, outside of Elizabeth Olsen's pretty little face.

Seamus Tierney isn't quite to be mistaken for Seamus McGarvey, as Tierney's photographic efforts aren't too terribly lush, so don't go into this film expecting it to look as good as other indie films whose slowness makes this somewhat too steady film look about as thoroughly lively as an episode of "How I Met Your Mother", much as good as, well, "The Avengers" (McGarvey sure knows how make some pretty motion pictures), but do nevertheless expect a good-looking film that absorbs crisp definition from the color, and, here and there, finds a magic moment in lighting that surprisingly provides a visual piece that all but takes your breath away, while the very underused, but very surprisingly commendable soundtrack turns in some lively tunes, from a few contemporary indie songs that I hate... admitting aren't too bad, to exceptional classical pieces that are introduced and heavily focused upon in a lengthy scene that is, albeit slightly focally jarring in its incorporation, but upstanding, not simply in its sophisticated writing, but in its flaunting musical masterpieces that, entertain as thoroughly as they always do, reflect subtleties in this film's thematic weight, and can be found here and there from then on as particular heights in the all too underused musical compliments to this film. The film is stronger than I expected technically, and is darn sure better than I expected musically (Sorry, Josh Radnor, but contemporary indie music isn't quite exceedingly better than contemporary pop swill), and these two factors color up the film, though most definately not as much as Josh Radnor's script, which is conventional and a touch draggy at times, but, on the whole, very strong, delivering on colorful dialogue and humor that charms considerably as quite clever, though isn't quite as clever as Radnor's tackling of this film's subject matter. Josh Radnor is clearly very intelligent, and if no other effort of his reflects that, then it is this film's script, which is very adult and sophisticated without getting overbearing, consistently breathing life into near-brilliantly subtle touches in characterization that thoroughly and gracefully play with this film's layered thematic depths, which explore everything from themes on the value of celebration of academia, and how such celebration can go a touch too far at times, to themes on the overambition by budding adults and desperate nostalgia for the simplicity and warmth of youth by aging adults. This film's subject matter tackles a range of worthy themes that Radnor, at least as writer, explores uniquely, subtly, audaciously and all around intelligently enough to give this film quite a bit of thought-provoking thematic weight, though not without doing about as much as it can to flesh out this film's more human touches, which go truly brought to life, not simply by Radnor's writing, but by Radnor's direction, which also has its flaws, but generally delivers on quite a bit of lively charm, complimented by some witty stylistic touches, that powers this film's engagement value until Radnor delivers on dramatic notes that prove to be moving, if not genuinely powerful. Whether it be through his strong storytelling or through his excellent script, Radnor further flaunts considerable potential, being not so sharp in his offscreen efforts that he carries this film into excellence, or at least out of missteps that Radnor himself often makes, but strong enough to make this film more than it would have been in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, which isn't to say that this film's compellingness isn't augmented by a myriad of colorful performances, from the underused Zac Efron, who charms as the groovy college beatnik intellectual, to Richard Jenkins, who initially charms as the lovably spry elder, but eventually steals the show when dramatic material falls into play and leaves Jenkins to deliver on emotional range and a firm atmosphere that make him a compelling human and living reflection of this film's thematic weight, much like the emotional effectiveness of the also underused, but worth waiting for John Magaro, who, like other show-stealers such as Jenkins, doesn't take away from your enjoyment in the other charismatic performances, particularly those by our leads. If Josh Radnor is nothing else, he is remarkably charismatic, so of course I want him to get out there and play someone other than Ted Mosby, no matter how charming the character may be, but the fact of the matter is that Radnor is remarkably charismatic in a role of this type, and sure enough, he charms as firmly as always as the clever and flawed, yet more ordinary than he would like to be intellectual, and when he is joined by the lovely Elizabeth Olsen, - who, by her own right, charms as the young intellectual, and, at least towards the end, delivers on engrossing emotional range that particularly defines the human depth within her character - effective chemistry is established to sell you on this film's central unusual relationship and help in carrying much of this film's charm. With all of my praise, this film is what it is, so there's not a whole lot of room for our performers to deliver immensely, nor is there a lot of room for Radnor's directorial and writing performances to really kick hard, but at the end of the day, this film intelligently, charmingly and even poignantly compels through all of its shortcomings, until a rewarding final product is produced.

When you leave school-I mean, this film, you'll walk away a bit thrown off by the film's atmospherically bland spells and often draggy, if not slightly uneven story structure, which give you time to meditate upon the conventionalism that further thins out this sometimes somewhat shallow story, whose natural and consequential shortcomings leave a bit to be desired within the final product, but do not take away from the effectiveness behind the strengths that make this film ultimately rewarding, with handsome cinematography, a surprisingly strong soundtrack and a charming, when not adultly sophisticated and thematically heavy script, whose depths go brought to life by the lively and sometimes emotionally resonant direction, and myriad of colorful performances that go into making "Liberal Arts" a thoroughly charming, sometimes moving and consistently intelligent portrait on youth, aging and nostalgia that rewards both by its own right and as yet another testment to the potential within Josh Radnor as a filmmaker.

3/5 - Good.