Tina Fey has been one of the most important figures in American comedy in the 21st century and yet her latest film Admission gives her an opportunity to delve into sometimes more dramatic territory. While she passes the test with flying colors, the script doesn’t come close to matching her fine performance.

Director Paul Weitz has had an up and down directorial career from high points like 1999’s American Pie, 2002’s About a Boy, and the underrated In Good Company from 2004. Low points include American Dreamz and Little Fockers. Those titles alone show Weitz is capable of directing both raunchy comedies and those more grounded in reality. Admission falls more on the “serious comedy” side like In Good Company, but with a strange mix of supporting characters who are caricatures and the occasional raunchy gag that seems out of place.

Fey plays tightly wound Princeton admissions officer Portia, who thinks her life is going just fine with her snooty professor boyfriend (Michael Sheen) and a valued job in which only .01 of applicant students get through to the prestigious school. Her world is turned upside down when her relationship ends and she gets a call from John (Paul Rudd), who runs an unconventional high school. John is looking for his child prodigy student Jeremiah (Nat Wolff) to gain acceptance to the Ivy Leagues… but oh there’s more! He also believes Jeremiah is the son that Portia gave up for adoption when she was in college.

This leads Portia, who has her own parental issues due to her eccentric mother (Lily Tomlin), to a journey of self-discovery about the joys of parenthood… and, well, you get it. Of course, Portia and John begin to fall for one another, too. A lot of my problems with Admission is that we often see where it’s going and it follows Screenplay 101 to get there. While the screenplay from Karen Cromer attempts to make Fey’s character fairly multi-dimensional, the same cannot be said for the rest of the characters. We’ve seen Rudd play this type of role before (the somewhat flaky but ultimately likable chap) and he is pleasant in the part, but has little character to play with. Tomlin’s role could best be described as cartoonish and slightly annoying. Sheen, such a talented actor, is wasted. And Nat Wolff’s character isn’t particularly memorable either. We’re told he’s a child prodigy, but don’t get any true sense of why except that he reads a lot.

The positive aspect of Admission is Fey and really Fey alone. We know she’s funny, but there are scenes in which we glimpse just how great she might be with a well-written dramatic role. It would help if that role doesn’t come in an uncomfortable mix of drama and comedy where a comic “highlight” involves a cow giving birth.

** (out of four)