Waste of comedic talent

Despite the talent, Admission fails to make the grade as a comedy

You’d be hard-pressed to find two funnier people in show business than Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. Fey has earned much acclaim for her work on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, although her film career has been hit-and-miss. Rudd has been a go-to comedy actor for close to 20 years, starring in such films as Clueless, Anchorman and I Love You, Man.

So it was only a matter of time before this power duo got together. The only thing that couldn’t have been predicted was that once that union was achieved, the powers that be would neuter their comedy skills in a lackluster attempt at a dramedy.

That is what Admission really is, misleading TV commercials notwithstanding. Fey is Portia Nathan, an admissions officer at Princeton, and so a person with enormous power over the future of thousands of teenagers. Rudd is John Pressman, leader of an alternative school who has one promising student he really wants to bring to Portia’s attention — and not just for academic reasons.

Why put comedy legends like Tina Fey, Paul Rudd and Lily Tomlin together if you’re not going to let them cut loose now and again?

That’s the main thrust of the film, but it’s far from the only focus. Admission is based on the novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and it feels like director Paul Weitz and writer Karen Croner wanted to cram in every little subplot from the book, no matter how relevant to the overall structure of the film.

And so we’re treated to not just the ever-evolving complicated relationship between Portia, John and that student, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), but also Portia’s complicated relationship with her mother (Lily Tomlin), John’s complicated relationship with his adopted son, Portia’s complicated relationship with her ex-boyfriend and the woman for whom he left her, and, last but not least, Portia’s rivalry with a co-worker.

What Weitz and Croner fail to realize is that there's no way you can adequately pay off all of those stories over the course of a two-hour movie like you can in a 464-page book. Editing non-essential material is crucial when adapting a book to the screen, and not doing so ends up being the film’s biggest mistake.

Another mistake is tone. If all of this were madcap and zany, it’d be one thing — and a more entertaining one at that. But most of the stories are played if not straight up, then with a more dramatic tinge than most people might expect. It’s not as if people like Fey, Rudd and Tomlin can’t emote with the best of them, but why put comedy legends together if you’re not going to let them cut loose now and again?

Despite that lack, all of the main actors live up to their lofty standards, mostly because it’s impossible not to like them no matter what the film calls for them to do. Especially welcome is Tomlin, who steals every scene she’s in thanks to her wry wit and skill at nailing just the right facial expression for a particular moment.

But Admission doesn’t reach its full potential due to its scattershot approach to storytelling, where everything is treated as important, and therefore nothing is. Although the final product isn’t terrible, it’s still a waste of talent.

Admission is far from a romantic comedy, this picture notwithstanding.

Admission, movie review

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

Admission is far from a romantic comedy, this picture notwithstanding.

Movie Review

Marty Supreme cements Timothée Chalamet as his generation's movie star

Timothée Chalamet

Courtesy

Timothée Chalamet

In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also got nominated for an Oscar for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).

Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.

Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.

Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.

Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.

Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.

Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.

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Marty Supreme opens in theaters on December 25.

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