# ADMISSION (Blu-ray Disc; Universal)



## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

[img]http://images4.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/72364_large.jpg[/img]*Releasing/Participating Studio(s): Universal Studios
Disc/Transfer Information: Region A; 2.35:1 (Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1); 50GB 1080p High Definition Blu-ray Disc
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Tested Audio Track: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring Cast: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen, Wallace Shawn, Lily Tomlin, Gloria Reuben

PLOT ANALYSIS:*

My wife ultimately enjoyed this Paul Weitz quasi-comedy romp more than I did – despite the fact that I think Tina Fey is just oh-so-cute and has become the poster chick for understated beauty. I don’t know; to me, this was lacking comedic energy, synergy or any kind of romantic electricity between the two leads, played by Fey and the normally great Paul Rudd. I just didn’t find it that funny, despite the myriad of trailers and commercials that seemed to promise laughs from beginning to end. Fey portrays Portia Nathan, a Princeton University admissions officer due for a promotion by her boss, admissions dean Clarence (Wallace Shawn) but which is ultimately held back when she stumbles upon a dilemma regarding a possible new student that just may be her own son she put up for adoption years ago. The notion was ill-fitting in the scope of _Admission_’s plot and the film in my opinion suffers for it; in fact, if there was one eye-opening quality about _Admission_ I would have to say at least it put a light on the in’s and out’s of an Ivy League school and their admissions process…boy, if it’s really, truly like this, it’s _brutal_. I mean, the number of possible students these schools _reject_ is bewildering, making for a selection regiment that defies belief.

At any rate, Portia’s (Fey) life is far from exciting – outside of her good job at Princeton, she lives with a rather odd, offputting bearded freak she met in her scholarly circles (always stay away from those if you’re single), a relationship that seems to be going nowhere while also dealing with an absolute nutjob of a mother (played by a horrifically aging Lily Tomlin). We then meet Paul Rudd’s character, John Pressman, who runs a rather odd specialty school that appears to be located on some kind of farm land; here, quite eccentric and mouthy kids are taught a variety of weird disciplines in equally odd environments, including inside barns. John calls Portia so she can stop during her tour of schools thinking of sending their kids to colleges such as Princeton at his school, and though reluctant, she agrees and finds herself amongst pregnant cows and cultivating land courses. Thinking this is strange enough, she wants to leave but agrees to speak to John’s “students” – one of which is his own adoptive son Nelson (Travaris Spears) – about Princeton via a slideshow presentation. When she receives offputting, smug commentary about going to a school like Princeton from the group of kids before her prior to even beginning the slideshow, she realizes she has come to the wrong school. Making things even more complicated is the fact that John is falling in love with Portia – yes, already! – and informs her he has a kid who he really wants her to consider for her university, one Jeremiah (Nat Wolff). But there’s more to John’s “plan” than meets the eye…

Back in her own world, Portia then deals with mounting pressures at her job as dictated by boss Clarence so Princeton can regain their number one designation in American colleges, in addition to the slap across the face that comes in the form of her live-in lover cheating on her with a blonde colleague of theirs and whom he has made pregnant. If that wasn’t enough, she also learns from John – now constantly haranguing her about Jeremiah’s entry into Princeton – that this boy is her actual son, given up for adoption years ago and which he traced back after doing some investigative work. At this point, _Admission_ goes from unfunny to sloppy, as Fey’s Portia character goes to varying lengths to get to know Jeremiah as he spends time on the Princeton campus, even going so far as to dress like what she thinks a Princeton student would look like to infiltrate a “get-to-know-you” mixer party of sorts, leading to embarrassing moments for the middle-aged admittance counselor. All the while, the idiotic ex keeps running into her, along with his new blonde trophy, making her feel even worse about herself than she already does.

Where is all this leading? Eventually, Portia learns that Jeremiah is actually not her son – a mistake discovered when he informs her that the birth certificate copy she has been viewing courtesy of John was depicting a rubbed-out birth date error – yet still fights to get him into Princeton when the daunting selection process begins for the incoming freshman class. Though giving all she’s got, the vote from the remainder of her admissions colleagues indicates Jeremiah is not “Princeton material” (give me a break) and he’s ultimately rejected for admission to the dismay of a teary-eyed Portia. She devises a scheme that involves swapping another Princeton applicant’s records with Jeremiah’s, thus indicating and offering an opening to Jeremiah for admittance to the school – but this costs her the job she has been enjoying at Princeton all this time when Clarence (Shawn) finds out what happened. I don’t understand it, but none of these elements are really tied up at the end of _Admission_ – we don’t see Portia looking for new work, we don’t understand why she ultimately forgives Rudd’s John character for this bad mistake that basically changed her whole life and we don’t really know why she has, still, so much invested in this Jeremiah kid. At the end of the day, _Admission_ was disappointing in my opinion, not really utilizing the normally extensive talents of the likes of Rudd and Fey. Further, there was little to no chemistry between them onscreen, I thought, which the plots of these films always lead to. 

[img]http://www.connectsavannah.com/binary/0a87/screenshots-admission.jpg[/img]*VIDEO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC LOOK?*

Normally delivering outstanding Blu-ray transfers in terms of picture quality, Universal’s _Admission_ seemed a tad less so in this regard; though colors popped and outdoor sequences sizzled with high definition-like detail, the transfer didn’t really make my jaw drop like, say, _The Host_ did. Some scenes fell a bit flat, and even elements that are normally dripping with detail and dimension, such as foliage/leaves/grass, kind of lacked that “ultimate pizzazz.” 

[img]http://static.yify-torrents.com/attachments/Admission_2013/Screenshot_016_large.png[/img]*AUDIO QUALITY ANALYSIS: HOW DID THE DISC SOUND?*

The sound mix here wasn’t that impressive either; there was nothing going on in the surrounds (mildly expected that) and all sonic energy was limited to the front three channels – in fact, at times, it seemed like _Admission_’s entire delivery was coming from the center channel position. A sheer lack of energy and even mastering volume was on clear display here, requiring me to crank my receiver’s volume way up to make the dialogue comfortable and somewhat clear; this was an average DTS-HD Master Audio track at best. 














*FINAL THOUGHTS:*

If there’s nothing else out there (but isn’t there always?), this can be a rental…or, if the missus is twisting your arm to pick it up. Summary? This wasn’t one of Paul Weitz’s better comedies.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Some nips and tucks made to review; thank you...


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## ericzim (Jun 24, 2012)

Thanks for the heads up on this one Osage. Hmmm, usually anytime Paul Rudd or Tina fey is in a comedy its a win. So I won't be reminding my wife that this is available now.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Hey Eric,

As always, thanks for reading and commenting; indeed, this could have been better, given Rudd and Fey, but this one was far from an outrageous laughfest...rent it only if there's nothing else...:yikes:


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