Tina Fey stars in Admission, a new romantic comedy film in which she plays a disciplined, independent Princeton admissions officer named Portia whose life takes an unexpected turn when her longtime boyfriend leaves her for another woman and a school teacher reveals an important relationship between her and one of his students, Jeremiah.

After one of her routine informational visits to a small high school, the eccentric, humanitarian school teacher, John, introduces her to an unusual boy named Jeremiah who he later tells her is the son she gave up for adoption in college. Portia quickly feels compelled to help Jeremiah gain acceptance to Princeton, his newly declared “dream school,” putting her job of sixteen years and ethics into question.

All of the characters in the film, from Portia to her very feministic mother and to John’s adopted Ugandan son, were extremely likable and dynamic. Portia’s mother added a great deal of humor to the film by being over the top, going so far as to refuse to feed her dogs since she believed they were meant to be wild and feed themselves. Paul Rudd portrayed the teacher, John, as a helpful adventurer trying to find his way in the world by traveling, despite his adopted son’s frustration, and quickly became Portia’s love interest. Tina Fey, known for being a successful comedian, used her character’s quirkiness to make the audience laugh. There were many funny moments in the film, but the quirkiness occasionally became too unrealistic to be laughable. Despite all of the intriguing and entertaining characters, I didn’t think there was enough character development in the film to be satisfying.

For me, as a high school junior, it was very interesting to see the admissions process on screen as the fictional Princeton admissions committee mulled over accomplished potential students. The portrayal of it made the process seem as grueling and unpredictable as most college applicants fear.

Although the film was a romantic comedy, the focus was not on romantic love so much as Portia’s personal growth. Unfortunately, the main shortcoming of the film was its plot. The storyline was mediocre and didn’t end as satisfyingly as I would have liked. It didn’t really have a concluding message to take away from it either. I thought the plot could have gone much deeper, but it was still enjoyable. Overall the film was generally lighthearted and fun.

Aran Kirschenmann, 16, is a contributing writer for the Bellevue Reporter and a Junior at Bellevue High School. You may reach and connect with her on her Facebook page “The Young Critic.”