Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 3, 2013 Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in ‘Admission’ by Dennis Seuling “Admission” is a movie that takes viewers behind closed doors for a look at the admissions process of a highly competitive Ivy League college. Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is one of several admissions officials at Princeton University and she takes her job seriously, poring over hundreds of applications, reading essays, evaluating SAT scores, and attempting to figure which applicants have the best chance of success. The process of selection, of course, is secretive, and the school is neither obliged nor willing to explain its decisions. Portia’s duties include visiting high schools to drum up applications, even though most applicants will be rejected. Princeton had prided itself on being Number 1 in college applications, but recently slipped to second place. The director of admissions (Wallace Shawn) has announced his imminent retirement, and Portia and fellow admissions officer Corinne (Gloria Reuben) are the frontrunners to succeed him. Portia is invited to visit an experimental high school in New Hampshire run by John Pressman (Paul Rudd). John introduces her to Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), his prize student. John believes Jeremiah would flourish at Princeton. The problem: He has a C average and lacks the roster of extracurricular activities and leadership involvement usually Tina Fey, Nat Wolff, and Paul Rudd in ‘Admission.’ found on Ivy League applications. “Admission” is a smart film that leans more toward romantic comedy than a satirical skewering of the college application process. The early scenes are excellent, show- ing Portia in her element as an efficient woman who fully understands the responsibilities and limitations of her job. She avoids getting personally involved with applicants and their families. However, when John presents her with certain information about Jeremiah that she finds impossible to ignore, she feels torn between her professional duty and her growing emotional involvement. Fey is the best thing about “Admission.” Playing a more grounded, less frenetic version of her Liz Lemon character from “30 Rock,” she conveys intelligence and hits the right balance of comedy and drama. The problem is that the movie is short on laughs. Most of the big laughs are initiated by Lily Tomlin, who plays Portia’s outspoken, feminist mother. Rudd’s John Pressman is a likable guy who has spent his adult life traveling the world, involving himself in a series of projects to help underprivileged people in Third World countries live better lives. He is the father of an adopted Ugandan boy (Travaris Spears). As the film progresses, he becomes predictably more attracted to Portia. Director Paul Weitz (“About a Boy”) alternates between scenes of Portia at work and Portia’s private life in a long-term relationship with an annoyingly arrogant college instructor (Michael Sheen). The result is a carefully nuanced movie that gives Fey a solid, well defined (continued on Crossword page)