This is 40, Should be Called This is Messy and Disjointed

This is 40 (1 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed and Written by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Funny People)

Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, and Maude and Iris Apatow

If this is what 40 looks like count me out!  After recently watching Before Midnight, which is a beautiful look at what love can become in middle age, This is 40 pales in comparison.  Both have a darker impression about the way in which 40 effects people, Midnight is poetic in its realism, while 40 is a shrill look at whiny white middle class people.

This is 40 follows characters from another Apatow film, Knocked Up.  In Knocked Up Pete (Rudd) and Debbie (Mann) were examples of marriage to Deb's newly pregnant sister.  This film shows the couple five years later, and with each other them turning 40.  40 follows Pete as he has started his own record label, Debbie as a boutique owner, and their children Sadie (Maude Apatow) in her tween years, and Charlotte (Iris) still as a young 8 who is innocent, but not dumb to her parents and families changes based on age.  The film follows this family, their extended family, co-workers, and friends as they connect with or often pointlessly connect with the central characters.

Throughout the years Apatow has had this disjointed form of direction/storytelling.  In 40 Year Old Virgin there were the people who worked with Andy, they were relevant, had their mini side adventures, but Andy was the central focus, and the film was solid.  The same thing could be said Knocked Up, and Ben.  Ben's quirky friends were a bit off the wall, but they all tied into the story well enough to make sense.  Enter the downturn, with Funny People, Apatow continued these little side gags, pushing the envelope to create irrelevant side jokes, side characters and tangential moments which take away from the film.  40 has a solid message, but these tangential moments make this film lose the momentum of the emotional relevance.  

There is no point to Jason Segal, Melissa McCarthyor Charlene Yi within the context of this film.  Segal's "body by Jason" is pointless and off topic.  Yi's high satanic voice is funny, but what's the point?  McCarthy is also a riot, with her rant, but was there a point?  Without these characters there would have been no laughs.  Yet the film should, and could have focused on its intention marriage, partnership, family.  Most of these side characters never add to the plot, or help do what the movie should intend to do, define Debbie and Pete, or even make them like able.

The problem Apatow has is that on their own who wants to watch as defined in Virgin "An unfunny version of Everybody Loves Raymond?"  That's what this film presents, a story about to people who consistently belittle, bemoan, and shrilly attack one another.  On their own Pete and Debbie are terrible people who have created a vicious cycle within their children that was passed down from each of their dead beat dads.  The highlight of this film is the children Maude and Iris, they doe a fantastic job, and should be applauded for the realism within their roles.

At the end of the day 40, is film which is too long, a jumbled mess, and proves Apatow needs to change his formulaic tune to his films, because the formula is broken.  Go back to the drawing board, and bring audiences something more like 40 Year Old Virgin, or even Knocked Up, or better yet create something original once again proving you are as innovative as the film critics deemed you at their awards this past year.  This is a severe disappointment. 

Admission Fails to Make the Grade Despite Having Two Star Students, Fey and Rudd

Admission (2 1/2 stars out of 5)

Directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy, Little Fockers)

Written by Karen Croner (One True Thing)

Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff, and Lily Tomlin

Tina Fey and Paul Rudd are two of my favorite comedic people working today.  Fey was one of the best head writers at Saturday Night Live, produced, wrote, and starred in one of the best sitcoms 30 Rock, and she she host well!  Rudd is that everyman who play silly or dry from Clueless, 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and so much more this guy is beyond like able.  The combination of these two was inevitable, and should produce some of the best material, enter a poorly structured screenplay, which borders on contrived.

The film centers around Portia Nathan (Fey) an admissions officer at Princeton.  Portia is a pretty by the book person; she has had the job for 16 years, and she is often described as boring by one of the characters.  The process of admission to Princeton is not boring, the film explores the high stakes process of admission to a competitive higher education institution.  While involved in the latest round of reviewing applications Portia John Pressman (Rudd) who runs a new school called Quest, which has its first group of graduating seniors.  While interacting with this group John introduces Portia to Jeremiah (Wolff) whom John claims is her son.  Portia has claimed throughout the early stages of the film she is no good with kids, but as Jeremiah expresses interest in admission to Princeton Portia's maternal instincts kick into high gear.

Two things struck me at first with this film.  The first was a professional in higher education.  I work at Northeastern University in Boston, a somewhat competitive institution, and it's interesting to see who gets in, and how that creates a class dynamic.  I could talk about the higher education side of this film for days, the helicopter parents, the stress students face, the role bias plays (racial socio-economic etc) in an admission process.  I have to say that I admire the way this film covered the elements of higher education, the pain the pressure for both students and parents.  Croner whose son was in the film and has gone through the admission process on some level gets every little emotion right.

The second is also related to Croner's script, and the moments that were just missed or contrived.  In reading it seems as though Cronner strayed a bit from the book written by Jean Horiff Korelitz.  (Here is an interview from Vulture where the two talk about their collaboration http://www.vulture.com/2013/03/admission-novelist-first-reeled-at-film-version.html).  Koreliztz's book focuses mainly on the admission process, which as stated above is the most engaging piece of the movie, but makes up a small percentage.  Instead Croner focuses on this sappy rom-com-y type story, which, along with the gags like Portia constantly seeing her ex is a waste of screen time.

Weitz never succeeds with the material either, and his direction of both actors and the premise seem surface level.  The one aspect of the film, which I loved (and again related to the actual admissions process) was getting to see the actual image of student as Fey or others were reading their applications.  I thought this added depth and style to a shallow surface level film.

The film has its fun moments Fey and Rudd are charming, but I would have rather seen them in darker material together.  While I love Fey I want to see her challenge herself more as an actress and step outside of the Liz Lemon character; she carried that through this film, and while it did not hurt the film it did show she still has some growth within the film world.

The film is sappy, predictable, sometimes funny, and has a few moments which are endearing.  The pay off is not enough.  I would have liked to explore the complex struggle Portia faces at work, and through the concept of providing constant rejection to students as they apply to Princeton.  I am also a higher education dork, but when the script gets this right, and fails on the love story, what else would you want?