Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Straitlaced Princeton University admissions officer Portia Nathan is caught off-guard when she makes a recruiting visit to an alternative high school overseen by her former classmate, the freewheeling John Pressman. Pressman has surmised that Jeremiah, his gifted yet very unconventional student, might well be the son that Portia secretly gave up for adoption many years ago.
Admission is a middling romantic dramedy that squanders an intriguing premise. The adoption storyline and college admissions backdrop offer some potential, but the script struggles to balance tones, veering awkwardly between light comedy and earnest drama without fully succeeding at either. Tina Fey and Paul Rudd are likable and elevate the material somewhat, but their chemistry is understated and the romantic arc feels underdeveloped. Visually it is workmanlike network-TV-level filmmaking with no distinctive cinematographic choices. The premise of reconnecting with a biological child through elite admissions is somewhat fresh on paper but the execution relies on familiar romantic dramedy beats. The resolution feels rushed and unsatisfying, failing to pay off the emotional weight the story needed to earn.