Admission parents guide

Admission Parent Guide

To be truthful, it's hard to feel empathy for anyone in this story. And even the occasional laughs don't make up for these namby-pamby characters.

Overall C

Portia (Tina Fey) is a university admissions officer who usually doesn't have any trouble saying, "No." But when she is asked to consider a student with substandard grades (who might be the baby she secretly gave up for adoption years ago), she admits she wants to say, "Yes."

Release date March 22, 2013

Violence B-
Sexual Content C
Profanity D+
Substance Use B+

Why is Admission rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Admission PG-13 for language and some sexual material.

Run Time: 107 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Getting into Princeton University apparently depends on a good advocate in the Admission Office as much as a great academic record—although a spot on a sailing team doesn’t hurt. Unfortunately Jeremiah Balakian (Nat Wolff), an unconventional student from an alternative high school located in the backwoods, has terrible grades, a blotched school record and, for all we know, an aversion to water.

Still his teacher, John Pressman (Paul Rudd), thinks this voracious reader and self-taught scientist might just flourish in Princeton’s academic environment if he can only get in. To help with the process, John makes a special call to the prestigious university and invites one of their employees to visit for a first hand look at his Quest program, that includes constructing water purification systems and playing midwife to a cow.

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) gets the assignment.

For Portia, life is neat, tidy and nice. Her job serves her well. She peruses applications all day without ever having to interact with actual students. She reads poetry at night, lives with her boyfriend (Michael Sheen) who pats her on the head like a dog, and has a terrible relationship with her mother (Lily Tomlin). Her college recruitment speeches are as rote and rigid as she is. But things start to unravel when she steps into the dusty barn that houses the Quest classrooms.

Amazingly John finds Portia attractive, although it’s difficult to see why, other than her obvious influence in the admission’s process. She meanwhile seems content to slap a big red DENY stamp on anything that pushes her outside her comfort zone and real life does just that. But Portia is not the only character in this story that teeters on the edge of the extreme. The perspective student Jeremiah has a brilliant mind, but one has to wonder how well he would fare in a rigorous academic setting. John would rather traipse around the world with his adopted son (Travaris Spears) in tow than create the kind of stable childhood he was raised in. Portia’s free-spirited mother gladly abandons her parental role in favor of pursuing her own interests. And even Portia’s decade-long lover weasels out of their relationship in a most unmanly manner.

To be truthful, it’s hard to feel empathy for anyone in this story. And even the occasional laughs don’t make up for these namby-pamby characters that whine their way through the film. However ethical issues (along with a sexual expletive and other profanities) may be the film’s biggest problem after Portia blatantly breaks school protocol in favor of a student she suspects may be the baby she gave up for adoption when she herself was in college.

While these university officials make fun of hovering parents and their extreme efforts to get their children into Princeton, it’s hard to believe those endeavors aren’t necessary after seeing the shenanigans that happen behind the closed doors of this Admission office.

Directed by Paul Weitz . Starring Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff, Gloria Reuben. Running time: 107 minutes. Theatrical release March 22, 2013. Updated

Admission
Rating & Content Info

Why is Admission rated PG-13? Admission is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for language and some sexual material.

Violence: A woman fires a gun at a man. Adults argue briefly. A woman runs into a parked car. Brief moments of peril occur.

Sexual Content: Characters breakup after living together for 10 years when the man gets another woman pregnant. Couples kiss and hug. A couple is shown in separate stalls in a large showering complex. Two different unmarried couples sleep together. One couple is shown in bed together. A woman makes a comment about “getting lucky”. A woman wears a low cut shirt.

Language: The script contains a strong sexual expletive, mild sexual comments, frequent profanities, vulgar comments and scatological slang along with terms of Deity.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters drink with dinner and at social gatherings. References to drugs and tobacco are included.

Other: Characters engage in unethical behavior that includes changing school records, failing to reveal conflicting interests and dishonesty. Characters help deliver a cow’s calf.

Page last updated

Admission Parents' Guide

How do you think the actual job of an admission officer compares with the depiction in this movie? How realistic do you think other careers are portrayed in films? How well do you think Jeremiah would do at Princeton considering his academic experience? What are the challenges he would face? Is the university route for everyone? In what other ways can a person gain career skills?

Do you think private or magnet schools prepare students better for a university experience than public schools? Why or why not? Should extracurricular activities be considered in an application? How involved should parents be in promoting their child?

Why does one of the characters in this movie believe it is not healthy to need other people? Do you agree?

Why are both Portia and John anxious to leave behind their childhood experiences? What do they each dislike about their upbringing? Would you want your children to have a similar or different childhood than you had?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Admission movie is July 9, 2013. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Admission

Release Date: 9 July 2013

Admission is releasing to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet Digital Copy) with the following bonus material:

- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

Related home video titles:

For the good of the child, a mother gives her up her baby in Like Dandelion Dust. A young woman discovers she was adopted after a failed abortion in October Baby. This theme is explored in a more lighthearted way in the animated films Kung Fu Panda 2 and Meet the Robinsons.