Tag: movies

2014 Oscar Predictions: Todd’s FINAL Predictions

The time has come to make my FINAL predictions for the Oscars. Nominations will be out on Thursday and I’m predicting every category that involves feature films. Therefore, the animated and documentary short films will not be predicted. I have written extensively about why I’m predicting certain movies, performers, and so on. That time is over. Here is my final listing of what and who I believe will be honored. The predictions are written by order of chances of nomination and I am listing runner-ups for each race in case some of my picks don’t pan out (which is guaranteed to happen). And here we go:

BEST PICTURE

1. 12 Years a Slave

2. Gravity

3. American Hustle

4. Nebraska

5. Inside Llewyn Davis

6. Her

7. Captain Phillips

8. The Wolf of Wall Street

9. Dallas Buyer’s Club

Runner-Ups:

10. Saving Mr. Banks

11. Philomena

12. Blue Jasmine

13. Lee Daniels’ The Butler

14. August: Osage County

15. Lone Survivor

16. Fruitvale Station

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

2. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

3. David O. Russell, American Hustle

4. Alexander Payne, Nebraska

5. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Runner-Ups:

6. Spike Jonze, Her

7. Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips

8. Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis

BEST ACTOR

1. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

2. Bruce Dern, Nebraska

3. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer’s Club

4. Robert Redford, All is Lost

5. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Runner-Ups:

6. Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

7. Christian Bale, American Hustle

8. Joaquin Phoenix, Her

9. Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels’ The Butler

BEST ACTRESS

1. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

2. Sandra Bullock, Gravity

3. Judi Dench, Philomena

4. Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

5. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Runner-Ups:

6. Amy Adams, American Hustle

7. Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Colour

8. Brie Larson, Short Term 12

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer’s Club

2. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

3. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

4. Daniel Bruhl, Rush

5. Will Forte, Nebraska

Runner-Ups:

6. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

7. Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks

8. James Gandolfini, Enough Said

9. Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

2. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

3. June Squibb, Nebraska

4. Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels’ The Butler

5. Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

Runner-Ups:

6. Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

7. Margo Martindale, August: Osage County

8. Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. American Hustle

2. Nebraska

3. Inside Llewyn Davis

4. Her

5. Blue Jasmine

Runner-Ups:

6. Dallas Buyer’s Club

7. Gravity

8. Fruitvale Station

9. Lee Daniels’ The Butler

10. Saving Mr. Banks

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. 12 Years a Slave

2. Philomena

3. Before Midnight

4. The Wolf of Wall Street

5. Captain Phillips

Runner-Ups:

6. August: Osage County

7. The Book Thief

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1. Frozen

2. The Wind That Rises

3. Ernest&Celestine

4. Monsters University

5. Despicable Me 2

Runner-Ups:

6. The Croods

7. A Letter to Mono

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. 12 Years a Slave

2. The Great Gatsby

3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

4. Gravity

5. The Invisible Woman

Runner-Ups:

6. Saving Mr. Banks

7. Inside Llewyn Davis

8. Oz the Great and Powerful

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Gravity

2. 12 Years a Slave

3. Rush

4. Inside Llewyn Davis

5. Captain Phillips

Runner-Ups:

6. Nebraska

7. All is Lost

8. Prisoners

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. The Great Gatsby

2. American Hustle

3. 12 Years a Slave

4. The Invisible Woman

5. The Book Thief

Runner-Ups:

6. Saving Mr. Banks

7. Oz the Great and Powerful

BEST FILM EDITING

1. Gravity

2. 12 Years a Slave

3. American Hustle

4. Captain Phillips

5. Rush

Runner-Ups:

6. The Wolf of Wall Street

7. Inside Llewyn Davis

8. Lone Survivor

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

1. American Hustle

2. The Lone Ranger

3. The Great Gatsby

Runner-Ups:

4. Dallas Buyer’s Club

5. Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Gravity

2. Rush

3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

4. Captain Phillips

5. Lone Survivor

Runner-Ups:

6. All is Lost

7. Inside Llewyn Davis

8. 12 Years a Slave

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Gravity

2. Captain Phillips

3. Rush

4. Pacific Rim

5. All is Lost

Runner-Ups:

6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

7. Lone Survivor

8. Man of Steel

9. World War Z

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Gravity

2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

3. Pacific Rim

4. Iron Man 3

5. World War Z

Runner-Ups:

6. Star Trek Into Darkness

7. Elysium

8. Oblivion

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1. 12 Years a Slave

2. Gravity

3. The Book Thief

4. Saving Mr. Banks

5. Her

Runner-Ups:

6. Monsters University

7. All is Lost

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1. “Let It Go” from Frozen

2. “Ordinary Love” from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

3. “Young and Beautiful” from The Great Gatsby

4. “In the Middle of the Night” from Lee Daniels’ The Butler

5. “The Moon Song” from Her

Runner-Ups:

6. “So You Know What It’s Like” from Short Term 12

7. “Rise Up” from Epic

8. “Sweeter than Fiction” from One Chance

I’m not listing alternates for the final two predicted categories, mostly because I’m supremely not confident with my limited knowledge for these races.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The Broken Circle Breakdown

The Grandmaster

The Great Beauty

The Hunt

Omar

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Act of Killing

Blackfish

The Square

Stories We Tell

20 Feet from Stardom

This means my predictions would garner the following number of nominations for these pictures:

10 Nominations – 12 Years a Slave, Gravity

8 Nominations – American Hustle

6 Nominations – Captain Phillips, Nebraska

5 Nominations – Rush

4 Nominations – The Great Gatsby, Her, The Wolf of Wall Street

3 Nominations – Dallas Buyer’s Club, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Inside Llewyn Davis

2 Nominations – All is Lost, August: Osage County, Blue Jasmine, The Book Thief, Frozen, The Invisible Woman, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, Pacific Rim, Philomena, Saving Mr. Banks

1 Nomination – Iron Man 3, The Lone Ranger, Lone Survivor, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, World War Z

And there you have Todd’s final Oscar predictions. I will have reaction in a blog post Thursday once nominations are released and include a tally of how I did!

This Day in Movie History: January 11

29 years ago today in Movie History – January 11 – Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy would top the box office in its sixth weekend while on its way to breaking various records. Cop was released at the height of Murphy’s super stardom. He’d already had significant successes with 48 HRS. and Trading Places, but Beverly Hills Cop turned him into the biggest movie star in America. The film would end up grossing $234 million domestically, making it 1984’s highest domestic grosser and the biggest earning R-rated picture of all time. That record would stand for almost two decades until 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded. The inevitable sequel in 1987 would post solid numbers with $153 million. By the time part 3 came out in 1994, Murphy’s career was on the downslide and a meager $42 million domestic gross would result. The actor’s inability to turn the third installment into a hit and the following year’s bomb Vampire in Brooklyn had some wondering if Murphy’s career was over, but 1996’s The Nutty Professor would revive his standing with audiences.

As for birthdays, Rod Taylor turns 84 today. He is best known for his leading man roles in 1960’s The Time Machine and especially in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1963 pic The Birds. He would continue to work in movies and TV for decades. Recently, Quentin Tarantino was able to coax him out of retirement to play Winston Churchill in an important sequence alongside Mike Myers and Michael Fassbender in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds.

Amanda Peet is 42 today. She first became known to moviegoers as Matthew Perry’s dental assistant turned aspiring hit woman in The Whole Nine Yards. Since then, she’s appeared in various pics from Saving Silverman to Changing Lanes to Igby Goes Down to Something’s Gotta Give to Syriana to 2012.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between the two:

Rod Taylor was in Inglourious Basterds with Brad Pitt

Brad Pit was in 12 Monkeys with Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis was in The Whole Nine Yards with Amanda Peet

And that’s today – January 11 – in Movie History!

This Day in Movie History: January 10

22 years ago today in Movie History – January 10 – marked the release of Curtis Hanson’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, starring Rebecca De Mornay and Annabella Sciorra. The film followed the tenants of a subgenre best described as “the BLANK from Hell” in which this one could be described as “The Nanny from Hell”. De Mornay portrayed that nanny and Sciorra was her tormentee. 1992 was a popular year for such titles including “The Teenager From Hell” (Poison Ivy), “The Cop From Hell” (Unlawful Entry), and “The Roommate From Hell” (Single White Female). Cradle was an unexpected box office smash, grossing $88 million domestically. De Mornay would go onto less regarded thrillers such as Guilty as Sin and Never Talk to Strangers. Her most notable film appearance in recent years was alongside Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and Dwight Yoakam in the opening sequence to Wedding Crashers. Sciorra’s film career would fizzle as well but she did have a significant stint playing Tony’s mistress on “The Sopranos”. In fact, it’s some other females in the cast who would go onto bigger things. Playing Sciorra’s friend who met a rather ghastly demise at the hands of De Mornay was an actress in just her second film role named Julianne Moore. Playing Sciorra’s daugheter was Madeline Zima, just six years old at the time. Soon aftewards she would be cast in the popular Fran Drescher sitcom “The Nanny” and recently was in a much more adult role on Showtime’s “Californication”. And Ernie Hudson played a mentally challenged house worker, giving him at least one memorable role other than being the Ghostbuster nobody talks about. Finally, the director Curtis Hanson would move to directing such noteworthy pictures as The River Wild, L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, and 8 Mile.

As for birthdays, today marks the 72nd birthday of director/screenwriter Walter Hill. Mr. Hill is known on the screenwriting side for working on Aliens and Alien 3 and the 1972 Steve McQueen hit The Getaway. His directing credits include hits like 48 HRS. and its sequel Another 48 HRS. and the 1979 cult classic The Warriors. He directed Richard Pryor in the comedy Brewster’s Millions, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi in Red Heat, and Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing. One of his lesser known features is 1992’s Trespass with Ice Cube, Bill Paxton, Ice-T, and William Sadler but it’s a solid B flick that is worth seeking out. His latest effort was the Sylvester Stallone disappointment Bullet to the Head.

Evan Handler is 53 today. He’s more known for his TV work, including appearing on “Californication” with Madeline Zima from The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. His best known TV role is as Charlotte’s husband Harry on “Sex and the City”. He would reprise that role in the hit Sex and the City movie and its less successful sequel. Other film roles include 1981’s Taps and 1996’s Ransom, in which he played one of the kidnappers.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between our birthdays subjects –

Walter Hill directed Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing

Bruce Willis was in Striking Distance with Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker was in Sex and the City with Evan Handler

And that’s today – January 10 – in Movie History!

August: Osage County Box Office Prediction

Opening tomorrow in approximately 900 theaters is August: Osage County, which is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning play and features a cast of acting heavyweights. For many months, John Wells’ drama/comedy from the Weinstein Company was looked at as a potential Oscar favorite. While it stands a remote shot at a Best Picture nomination, reviews have been mixed and it currently stands at 64% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Stars Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts stand better chances at Academy Award nominations. County‘s co-stars include Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, and Margo Martindale in this tale of a dysfunctional family and their secrets.

The picture has one thing in its favor: while Lone Survivor and The Legend of Hercules are more geared toward male viewers, this is hoping to bring out females. It has more things not in its favor: Oscar hopeful Her is also expanding this weekend and could nab a larger portion of the female crowd. It’s only opening on approximately 900 screens, which will diminish its gross. And, most importantly, the awards buzz never reached anywhere near the level that the studio was hoping for.

Add all that up and I expect August: Osage County to post an OK but rather unimpressive debut in its expansion.

August: Osage County opening weekend prediction: $5.8 million

Blogger’s Note: Followers of this site may know that my box office predictions for the following weekend’s films are always posted on the prior Sunday. August: Osage County is an exception because it wasn’t until today that I knew approximately how many theaters the picture was debuting in. My normal Sunday predictions will continue to be the always preferred method.

For my prediction on Lone Survivor, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/01/05/lone-survivor-box-office-prediction/

For my prediction on The Legend of Hercules, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/01/05/the-legend-of-hercules-box-office-prediction/

For my prediction on Her, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/01/05/her-box-office-prediction/

 

This Day in Movie History: January 9

This Day in Movie History – January 9 – Tim Burton’s Big Fish opened wide domestically and placed second at the box office behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The film was looked at as a potential Oscar contender, but it didn’t pan out. Still, Burton’s father/son tale with numerous fantasy elements managed a respectable $66 million domestic gross. It starred Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Billy Crudup, and Burton regulars Helena Bonham-Carter and Danny DeVito. Originally planned as a vehicle for Steven Spielberg, the project was transferred to Burton who at one time considered Jack Nicholson as the lead to play the roles both McGregor and Finney portrayed. That would’ve been done with some CGI magic. Obviously that plan was scrapped and since its release a decade ago, Fish has enhanced its reputation as one of the filmmaker’s better efforts in recent years.

As for birthdays, J.K Simmons turns 59 today. Known just as much for his television work on “Law&Order”, “Oz”, and “The Closer”, Simmons has also had a stellar career in film. He appeared in the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy as J. Jonah Jameson and had supporting roles in noteworthy pics such as The Cider House Rules, The Gift, Thank You For Smoking, Juno, Burn After Reading, I Love You Man, Up in the Air, and Jobs.

Joey Lauren Adams is 46 today. You may have first seen her in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused before she became a favorite of Kevin Smith, appearing in Mallrats and in the title role of his critically acclaimed Chasing Amy alongside Ben Affleck. Other roles include Big Daddy and The Break-Up.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between the two:

J.K. Simmons was in Juno with Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman was in The Break-Up with Joey Lauren Adams

And that’s today – January 9 – in Movie History!

2014 Golden Globe Awards: Todd’s Predicted Winners

In four days, we’ll have the Hollywood Foreign Press bestow their honors to the film and television world at the Golden Globe Awards with return hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Readers of my blog will note that I’ve extensively and frequently been posting my Oscar predictions. I don’t pay nearly as much attention to the Globes, but I did want to put my two cents in and predict the winners in the picture, directing, and acting categories.

The Globes are different from the Oscars because categories are divided between Drama and Musical/Comedy categories for Picture, Actor, and Actress. Director and Supporting Actor and Actress are awarded regardless of genre. If you would like to read my detailed analysis of awards contenders, I suggest you look on the blog for my Oscar predictions posts. For the purposes of this post, I’ll simply predict who I think will Globes this Sunday and note the other nominees. I am noting my second choice if my primary choice doesn’t win in bold. I am not predicting the TV categories except for one: it should be an interesting showdown in Best Drama between the final season of “Breaking Bad” and first season of “House of Cards”, but ultimately I think Walter White and company win out.

And with that, my predictions:

BEST DRAMA

Predicted Winner: 12 Years a Slave

Other Nominees: Captain Phillips, Gravity, Philomena, Rush

BEST MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Predicted Winner: American Hustle

Other Nominees: Her, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR

Predicted Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity

Other Nominees: Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Alexander Payne (Nebraska), David O. Russell (American Hustle)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA

Predicted Winner: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Other Nominees: Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyer’s Club), Robert Redford (All is Lost)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA

Predicted Winner: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Other Nominees: Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Judi Dench (Philomena), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks), Kate Winslet (Labor Day)

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Predicted Winner: Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Other Nominees: Christian Bale (American Hustle), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Joaquin Phoenix (Her)

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY

Predicted Winner: Amy Adams, American Hustle

Other Nominees: Julie Delpy (Before Midnight), Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Enough Said), Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Predicted Winner: Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer’s Club

Other Nominees: Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Bradley Cooper (American Hustle), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Predicted Winner: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Other Nominees: Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Julia Roberts (August: Osage County), June Squibb (Nebraska)

And there you have my predictions for your Golden Globe winners on Sunday!

This Day in Movie History: January 8

When we think of horror characters that have had legacies lasting over the past two decades, we think Freddy or Jason or Michael Myers. And yet – a green pint sized horror character made his debut in theaters twenty years ago Today in Movie History when Leprechaun opened domestically. It barely made a blip on the box office radar two decades ago, debuting at #8 with $2.4 million. And yet its staying power has been surprisingly lasting. It spawned five (yes five) sequels – Leprechaun 2, Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun 4: In Space (naturally), and who can forget Leprechaun: In the Hood and Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood? These sequels, with the exception of the second installment, were direct to video/DVD but the series longevity is nevertheless impressive. This February, we’ll see a reboot of the franchise with Leprechaun: Origins, coproduced by WWE Studios. Warwick Davis (who also appeared in Return of the Jedi and Willow) would play the title character and reprise the role in every subsequent follow-up. It’s Warwick’s costar in the original whose name you may also know – Jennifer Aniston, who I believe was on a TV show and in a few movies.

As for birthdays, we have two legendary musicians who also made their mark in film. Elvis Presley would have turned 79 today. His movie career mostly consisted of playing variations of himself in over 30 features. They included well-regarded hits such as Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, and Blue Hawaii. His biggest success was Viva Las Vegas with Ann-Margret from 1964. There was plenty of forgettable fare too.

David Bowie is 67 today. His storied musical career will be his lasting legacy, but he’s had a decent film career with titles such as the lead role in 1976’s The Man Who Fell to Earth, Tony Scott’s The Hunger, Labyrinth, Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between these musical legends:

Elvis Presley was in Viva Las Vegas with Ann-Margret

Ann-Margret was in Carnal Knowledge with Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson was in The Two Jakes with Harvey Keitel

Harvey Keitel was in The Last Temptation of Christ with David Bowie

And that’s today – January 8 – in Movie History!

This Day in Movie History: January 7

On this Day in Movie History – January 7 – the Coen brothers remake of True Grit would jump into the top spot at the box office in its third weekend. Budgeted at only $38 million, the Western (based on the 1969 John Wayne original) would end up grossing a fabulous $171 million domestically. Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, Grit would earn ten Oscar nominations including Picture, Director, Actor (Bridges), and Supporting Actress (Steinfeld), but would go home empty-handed. The Coen Bros, meanwhile, continue to make pictures that tend to garner Academy attention. Their latest is Inside Llewyn Davis.

The Coens comedy classic, 1987’s Raising Arizona, was only their second feature and it stars one of today’s birthday boys, Nicolas Cage. He turns 50 years old today. Delving into Cage’s filmography would take all day… pretty sure he’s appeared in about 487 movies over the past quarter century or so. To say the least, his catalog has been varied, interesting, and wildly inconsistent. Here’s a sampling: he won an Oscar for 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas and was nominated for 2002’s Adaptation. He’s starred in successful romantic comedies and dramas like Moonstruck alongside Cher, Honeymoon in Vegas, and City of Angels. He’s been a huge action star in hits like The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off, and the National Treasure franchise. There’s been critical favorites and cult flicks that run the gamut from Vampire’s Kiss to Wild at Heart to Red Rock West to Lord of War. He’s worked with his Uncle Francis Ford Coppola in Rumble Fish, The Cotton Club, and Peggy Sue Got Married. And he’s worked with Martin Scorsese (Bringing Out the Dead), Ridley Scott (Matchstick Men), and Oliver Stone (World Trade Center). He’s also been Ghost Rider in two moderately successful pics. And yet, there’s also been a bunch of junk: Bangkok Dangerous? Next? Season of the Witch? Snake Eyes? Drive Angry? And, of course, there’s his work in the so-bad-it’s-good remake of The Wicker Man where we all learned Cage’s aversion to “THE BEES”!!!!

Jeremy Renner is 43 today. He broke through in 2009’s The Hurt Locker, which won Best Picture and earned him a Best Actor nomination. The following year he received a Supporting Actor nod for Ben Affleck’s The Town. Since then, he’s immersed himself in successful franchises like the Mission: Impossible series, The Avengers, and as the new Jason Bourne. He can currently be seen in David O. Russell’s Oscar hopeful American Hustle.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between the birthday leading men:

Nicolas Cage in Kiss of Death with Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L Jackson was in The Avengers with Jeremy Renner

And that’s today – January 7 – in Movie History!

Admission Movie Review

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)

This Day in Movie History: January 6

On this day in Movie History – January 6 – Eli Roth’s Hostel opened domestically. The horror flick surprised box office prognosticators by taking in $19.5 million for its opening with an eventual gross of $47 million, against a meager $4.8 million budget. Hostel continued a genre that came to be known as “torture porn” in horror circles. That classification of film had started just three months before with megahit Saw and would continue with its many sequels, as well as two further sequels for Hostel.

As for birthdays, Rowan Atkinson is 59 today. The British comedian is best known for his TV work with “Mr. Bean” and “Blackadder”, but he translated that success with the film version of Bean (1997) and its sequel from 2007, Mr. Bean’s Holiday. He had another film franchise with Johnny English (2003) and Johnny English Reborn (2011). Other notable film appearances: Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Scooby Doo (2002), and Love Actually (2003).

Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi is 33 today. She broke through the American audiences in 2006 with her Oscar-nominated Supporting Actress turn in Babel and has continued to work stateside in The Brothers Bloom, Pacific Rim, and 47 Ronin.

As for Six Degrees of Separation between the two birthday performers:

Rowan Atkinson was in Love Actually with Chiwetel Ejiofer

Chiwetel Ejiofer was in 12 Years a Slave with Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt was in Babel with Rinko Kikuchi

And that’s today – January 6 – in Movie History!