A Rather Mild Mannered RomCom
If you are looking for a comedy that will invoke belly laughs or anything stronger than a chuckle, you would do well to avoid Admission. If however, you want to be entertained in a steady, thoughtful manner, then the talented Tina Fey and amusing Paul Rudd may just be what you’re looking for. I have seen almost everything Tina Fey has appeared in, with my favourite being Date Night, where she starred alongside Steve Carell. Her performance in Admission is arguably her finest to date, as she plays a woman, who had given her newborn son up for adoption whilst very young, only to have him re-enter her life unexpectedly, years later. Tina doesn’t do a great deal of movies, for she has a flourishing TV career as a performer and writer, but I think she can act exceptionally well, and I would like to see her do more films.
Paul Rudd is always a pleasure to watch in this type of comedy and can do them with his eyes shut. Some actors would simply dial in their performances but not Mr Rudd. He is a very consistent type of actor who may not have mastered character acting, but when it’s time to be the affable on screen comedy companion, then he’s in his element. Not unlike Vince Vaughn or Seth Rogen, who are also better in a crowd, rather than trying to carry a movie solo, in my opinion.
The story itself pretty much sticks to the well maintained formula, with enough tweaks to the story for the sake of interest. Actually, we see Fey’s character Portia go through a trying and potentially heartbreaking situation, and besides the comedic spin on everything, she is very convincing, as is the young man who plays her son Jeremiah (Nat Wolff, New Year’s Day). Playing her mother was the brilliant Lily Tomlin and Michael Sheen played her ex boyfriend. Sheen (Unthinkable) appeared to have based his character loosely on a hairy Mr Bean.
Even though I enjoyed Admission it just isn’t a movie I could ever watch again. Once was enough, but I’m glad to have gotten it out of the way. Now it’s time to watch a funny comedy!
Recommended
Grade: C+
Review by Johnny Thomas
