Liberal Arts

*This review was previously submitted as an assignment in my film class, which is the reason for its formality and structure.*

"Liberal Arts," written and directed by Josh Radnor, deals with the often-crushing reality of post-college life and the pedestal on which the seemingly idyllic college years are placed. Though the film often runs the risk of becoming an intellectually preachy vanity piece, its genuinely smart writing and relentlessly likable cast elevates it to an honest, enjoyable study of college and its aftermath.

Radnor stars as 35-year-old Jesse, a college recruiter with an unmarketable English/history degree who is nostalgic for his own days at a picturesque Ohio university. When an old professor (Richard Jenkins) invites him back to campus for his retirement dinner, Jesse finds himself drawn to smart, peppy student Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), despite his discomfort at the age difference between them. While exploring their latent relationship at his alma mater, Jesse encounters his most influential former professor (Allison Janney), a clinically depressed student (John Magaro), and some realizations about his own aims in life.

Given the subject matter and setting, it's expected that the characters will pride themselves on their intellect and sophistication, and this gives way to some contrived, artsy dialogue, such as a letter montage (never easy to pull off) between Jesse and Zibby in which they wax poetic about classical music, which sounds smart in writing but comes off as unconvincing and pretentious when spoken, accompanied heavy-handedly by poignant New York scenery. However, the witty, laugh-out-loud dialogue usually keeps the film and characters from feeling like they take themselves too seriously, making determinedly highbrow scenes like this clash uncomfortably with the generally self-aware tone.

Radnor writes his character into enough glamorous situations (all the significant female characters sleep with him or try to at some point) and makes him sound over-educated enough that the film could have easily felt like a shameless vanity piece, but he plays Jesse so affably that there's not much room to mind. It's quite believable that his character would attract even young girls, with his naturally youthful looks and self-deprecating charm. Olsen does well with an even more challenging character; Zibby comes dangerously close to the "manic pixie dream girl" archetype of indies, but Olsen plays her with a sweet innocence that never feels fake and, when called on for dramatic moments, she is every bit a real college girl – wounded, vulnerable, and ultimately clueless about where she's going in life. Zac Efron flits in and out as a wisdom-dispensing stoner who may or may not be a figment of Jesse's imagination, offering some of the best laughs in the film.

Arguably the best performances, though, are given by Jenkins and Magaro. Jenkins plays the professor every student wants; like the film itself, he doesn't take himself too seriously but is utterly devoted to the school. He delivers some of the best acting in the film when he pleads for his job back mere days after retiring. Magaro is strangely touching as a college student perhaps closer to the norm than the Zibbies of the world: miserable in school, there solely to please his family, and constantly on the brink of a mental breakdown. In his limited screen time, he creates an oddly heart-winning character despite his sullen demeanor.

"Liberal Arts" is an enjoyable, cleverly written film that should strike a note with college students current and former. The witty writing and earnest cast make its few pretentious missteps easy to brush off affectionately.

These days it is very rare to find a well rounded film with a good moral. While Josh Radnor is know for his raunchy sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," he has many hidden talents that the show does not utilize. As a writer, director, and actor he is superb, and he brings a refreshing change of pace to not only the drama industry, but the film industry in general. From the opening sequence to the credits the film is thoroughly entertaining, and intelligent. Elizabeth Olsen was enthusiastic and energetic, just as Zibby should have been portrayed. Zac Efron was surprisingly humorous, and his slightly off-key character adds a certain lightness to such a dramatic film. Every cast member was perfectly cast, the script is humor, entertaining, and charming. The most astonishing aspect of the film was the use of a classical soundtrack, a general push toward fine arts, great classic literature references, and the idea presented that love and music join us all together. No matter what your particular tastes in film in I urge you to take the time and watch 'Liberal Arts,' you will not be sorry.

I liked this warm hearted and intelligent comedy, written and directed by Josh Radnor, a lot more than his first film "Happythankyoumoreplease'.

Radnor also stars in the movie as Jesse Fisher, a 35 year old well read nice guy working as an admissions interviewer at a New York City college. He receives a call from his favorite former college professor, portrayed by the skilled veteran actor Richard Jenkins. Jenkins asks him if he can come to Ohio to attend his retirement party at his university, where he's stepping down after 37 years of teaching.

Radnor accepts and while there meets Zibby, played by the superbly talented Elizabeth Olsen. She's 19 years old and a student there, as well as the daughter of friends of Jenkins. They're attracted to each other but Radnor hesitates at starting a relationship with her due to the age difference.

Subsequently, what happens between them takes some unexpected twists and turns. I'll leave that to the viewer to see what happens.

There are some wonderful supporting performances as well. Allison Janney is a hoot as a jaded imperious former English Romantics professor of Radnor's. Zac Efron, in a small but important role, plays a Zen-like philosopher who proffers up some interesting advice. Plus, Elizabeth Reaser adds well to the mix as a bookstore employee who may be a potential love interest for Radnor.

All in all, not everything works in the film, sometimes going off the rails, but overall I enjoyed this quirky, intelligent comedy whose genre seems to be getting rarer and rarer in today's films.

I am not the type of guy who would watch this movie. In fact, I don't even really know why I did. It was just a tough day and I didn't want to watch a movie that was in the triple digit minutes, so I went with this one. Usually I watch action movies, or political dramas. I don't like to read books or romantic movies, even less I like Arts, hence there is nothing that would make me appreciate it, I thought. But I was wrong. This movie is surprisingly great. I caught myself laughing and thinking about life. It was just a beautiful piece of art. A piece of art even I appreciate. On top I never write reviews, but this was just extraordinary.

I am going to start out by saying that I loved this film. I think that Josh Radnor did an excellent job writing, directing and starring in this film. The film conveyed that no matter how old you get, you still have more growing to do. The film also demonstrated the hustle and bustle of city life and the calm, serene climate of the country. It also took me back to my years in college and how intense that part of your life really is and the influence that it has on you. There is always one or two instructors that makes an impression on you in college and for Jesse (Josh Radnor) it was Professor Judith Fairfield (Allison Janney) and Professor Peter Hoberg (Richard Jenkins). Judith was feisty and deliberate and had a no-holds-barred kind of attitude, while Peter was struggling with his decision-making skills. (By the way, my favorite professor was Dr. Spradley who taught me all about technical writing). The relationship that develops between Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen) and Jesse is educational in the fact that they both have something to learn from the other. I think that the lessons that they learned maybe even educated the audience a little (I know that is how I felt). The relationship between Jesse and Dean (John Magaro) was a heart-tugging event. Dean kind of reminded me of Will in Good Will Hunting. There are people in this world that are naturally talented in certain things and that is the one thing that they want to do the least. The only character that seemed to have everything pretty much figured out was Nat (Zac Efron). Out of all the characters in this film, I liked him the most. He was quirky, funny and surprisingly insightful. I remember thinking that as strange as he was; I could see myself hanging out with him. Every time he would appear on screen you just knew that he was going to put a smile on your face. I still have a couple of films to see during this film festival, but I have to say that so far this one is my favorite. I hope that when this film comes out to the general public that it does really well. Josh should be very proud of himself for putting together such an engaging piece of work. Pure entertainment! I am giving this film and A+ and a glaring green light.