Blu-ray Review: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd Can’t Save Awful Script For ‘Admission’

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CHICAGO – “Admission,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, contains a protagonist so generally unlikable that one has to assume that she was an engaging character on the page who just didn’t quite make the jump to the screen when this book was adapted. Tina Fey & Paul Rudd are two of the most likable actors in Hollywood. Which makes the absolute failure of “Admission” that much more remarkable.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

Fey plays an admissions officer at Princeton named Portia Nathan. In the opening scenes, she basically torments families of students trying to get into Princeton, seeming to almost relish in her role as gatekeeper to a more promising future. “Admission” puts itself in a very tough position almost immediately in that it seems to want to be a story of a woman who reassesses her priorities about the importance of where she works and higher education restrictions in general and then presents a story that hinges almost entirely on Portia’s possible son (Nat Wolff) getting into the school. There’s a poorly-developed and unbelievable romantic subplot with Rudd and some scene-stealing by Lily Tomlin as Portia’s mother but this dramedy doesn’t give us engaging characters nor enough actual humor to work. It’s a clunky script with leaden direction. You can almost see Rudd give up trying.

The Blu-ray from Universal does nothing to enhance the final product, presenting little more than a pre-release EPK sneak preview of the film, remarkably light on special features from a studio that typically rocks in this department.

Admission was released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 9, 2013
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy about the unexpected detours we encounter on the road to happiness. Year in and year out, Princeton admissions officer Portia Nathan (Fey) has lived her life by the book. But during her annual recruiting trip, she finds herself reconnecting with a former college classmate, free-spirited teacher John Pressman (Rudd). As she bends the entrance rules for one of his very unconventional students, Portia puts at risk the future she thought she always wanted, and finds her way to a surprising and exhilarating life she never dreamed of having. From director Paul Weitz (In Good Company), and co-starring Michael Sheen and Lily Tomlin, it’s the feel-good movie critics call “funny and fresh!” (Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies)

Special Features:
o Early Admission with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com