Review: Liberal Arts

Josh Radnor stars as a Liberal Arts graduate in his 30s who goes back to his old college to attend the retirement dinner of his favourite professor, played by Richard Jenkins. While there he strikes up a relationship with supposedly intelligent 19 year-old student Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), who is into classical music and ‘improv theatre’. Even after Radnor goes back home, they continue a pen pal (in 2012?) relationship, despite wise Jenkins warning him that such an endeavour is a no-go zone. Allison Janney plays an embittered professor of Romantic Literature, whose class Radnor used to love, John Magaro plays a deeply troubled and lonely student Radnor tries to keep alive, Zac Efron plays a laidback student who is always hanging around for some reason, and Elizabeth Reaser...well, she’s just plain lovely (and plays a NY bookstore owner).

 

Josh Radnor is immensely likeable on “How I Met Your Mother” (a perfectly fine show I don’t get to watch much simply because there’s always something better on), but this 2012 effort from the director/writer/star (his second directorial effort) is supremely underwhelming, borderline pointless. It tries to create a supposed controversial and interesting romance where no such controversy  or interest really exists, beyond the charismatic appeal of Elizabeth Olsen. If Radnor were a college professor and Olsen his student, then that relationship might be frowned upon, but even then, it’s also old-hat. It’s been happening for a very, very long time. And since that isn’t what’s going on here, all we have is a 16 year age gap between two consenting adults. Where’s the story in that? Is it something I would do? Likely not (where would the shared frame of cultural references be? That’s a big deal to me), but that doesn’t make it controversial or interesting. Given Radnor looks younger than he is (and looks younger than the character), and Olsen is clearly younger than her character, it would make the whole thing more palatable if there were any controversy to it, but since there isn’t, it just makes it even less awkward. She’s 19, and virgin or not, she’s still a damn adult (though what she is and isn’t permitted to do may depend on where you live). Neither clever, shocking, nor interesting, this is much ado about nothing but with an air of pretence about it that I found off-putting as well. Also off-putting? Who the fuck named Elizabeth would then willingly shorten their name to ‘Zibby’? A moron, that’s who.

 

As appealing and talented as Olsen is (Easily the most talented person in her family. Yes, she’s an Olsen sister, just not a twin), her character doesn’t remotely convince. She’s your typical drunken college twat and she loves to read dopey “Twilight”-esque novels for no decent reason given, and yet...has a supposedly cultured, worldly aspect to her. No way can it be both. It’s not like someone who can enjoy a good blockbuster as well as foreign language cinema, or someone who can enjoy classical music and hippity hop. It’s asking us to believe that someone can love fine dining, but also enjoy watching someone poop themselves. I refuse to believe that anyone who likes “Twilight” novels could ever possibly be a lover of classical music as well. If you like the “Twilight” novels, you’re unlikely to enjoy any music not released in the last 15 minutes. And she says the books are at least better than TV? No fucking way. In fact, I hate anti-TV snobs. They’re the true idiots, even some reality TV is fine by me, and I’m no troglodyte. This seemed more like Radnor’s “Ruby Sparks” fantasy. I might be wrong on this, but this film absolutely, unquestionably fails to convince me of the possibility, through no fault of Olsen’s. She’s gonna be a star one day, I believe, but it won’t be from this turkey. The Olsen character’s more typical, college drunk qualities would be more palatable if Radnor were just looking for a quickie, but this is supposed to be a very real relationship and a PG-rated movie anyway. I just don’t see what he could see in her, especially if you take out Olsen’s appeal (The appeal comes from the actress, not the character who is a tool).

 

I think the film would’ve been much better if the Olsen character were a year or two out of college, so that she would be more credibly mature and cultured. Actually, one look at the lovely Elizabeth Reaser, and you know she’d make a much better partner for Radnor than ‘ol Zibzy Wibzy (Ironic that Reaser actually is an alum of the “Twilight” films- See, it’s a cultural affront in two separate mediums!). ***** SPOILER WARNING ***** And yet, when the end comes and he chooses Reaser over Ziggy Wiggy Zub Zub, I felt the film became completely pointless. Some have suggested the film is about Radnor’s eventual acceptance that he needs to grow up and have an adult relationship, but for fuck’s sake, did it have to take 90 minutes for him to realise this? It’s obvious from the start, and instead we’re left spending about 90 minutes with the wrong girl, and leave the right girl an underdeveloped character so that even though she’s clearly the right girl, we don’t care much because we haven’t gotten to know her. How is that supposed to satisfy anyone? That’s like making a crap movie when you’ve got a perfectly good script you’re choosing not to make because the crap movie can be done in totally wicked cool 3D. The film should’ve started with Radnor and Zibby Wibby Doo Da  having a fling for five minutes, before Radnor realises she’s hot but not right for him, and then he meets Reaser and we follow their ups and downs. To do the reverse is just fucking stupid. ***** END SPOILER ***** Oh, and by the way, Mr. Radnor: No one writes hand-written letters anymore. Not even Gen-Xers like yourself (I’m supposedly Gen-Y by the way, born in 1980, but I share much more in common with Gen X). I used to work for Australia Post a few years ago, and even then letters (not even just handwritten ones) were on a rapid decline.

 

Zac Efron makes an appearance here, and frankly I wish he wouldn’t. His character didn’t seem organic, his performance wasn’t convincing, and watching Efron drinking was frankly uncomfortable if you know anything about the guy’s recent troubles. The character is likely meant to be funny, but Efron doesn’t know what funny is, and isn’t really an actor, either. At one point Radnor tells him ‘I’m not even sure you’re real’, and that’s the damn problem. The character doesn’t belong.

 

There were two or three minor things I did like about this film in addition to Olsen’s appeal. Richard Jenkins is an overrated actor, but he’s absolutely perfectly cast here. He also gives one of the all-time worst retirement speeches ever, and that’s a compliment. It’s brilliantly bad. I also thought that Allison Janney provided the only other comedic value as a literary Mrs. Robinson. She’s genuinely funny and has a great line about Byron. She’s also the only one speaking any (seriously embittered) truths in this fanciful piffle that uncomfortably blends would-be insight and wishful thinking. The subplot involving a disturbed young student played by John Magaro is probably an irrelevant sidetrack, but is interesting and sad.

 

I was bitterly disappointed, given all the good word I had heard about it, and if the scene where Radnor calculates their age difference throughout various age points in their life is supposed to be witty...It ain’t. In fact, it just makes Radnor look bad at maths, since he can’t work out a 16 year age difference in his head. I’m sure it’s Woody Allen’s favourite film of all-time, though, and Mr. Radnor is clearly a fan of Mr. Allen on evidence here.

 

There’s not much going on here, and most of it fails to ring true. Nicely performed for the most part, but uninteresting, and I’m not sure there’s a complete movie plot here. No, I just didn’t get this one, despite being only two years younger than the main character myself. It was a pointless, aimless waste of two hours and Elizabeth Olsen.

 

Rating: C-