(Newser)
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Paul Rudd, funny. Tina Fey, very funny. And director Paul Weitz has made some excellent comedies. But Weitz, Rudd, and Fey together in Admission? Not funny at all, according to the roundup of opinions on Rotten Tomatoes—just 43% fresh, with top critics giving it a rough 31%. Among the opinions:
- "Though smarter than your average dramedy," Admission "feels forced as Fey works overtime to insert unnecessary zingers at the tail of every scene," writes Peter Debruge in Variety.
- "From moment to moment, Admission can be foolish, surreal, unpleasant," writes Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal, "or, as is most often the case, simply flat."
- "Likably breezy," says Owen Gleiberman in Entertainment Weekly, in one of the few positive reviews. He especially likes Lily Tomlin as the mother of Fey's character, calling her "brashly cutting and funny."
- Given that the director has made films like About a Boy and In Good Company, clearly "Weitz can do better than a lazy, rote, vaguely classist space-filler like Admission," writes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News. Admission "doesn’t ever challenge anyone, especially the audience, to apply themselves."
