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ridiculous rating

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The premise is simple enough here. Follow 4 seniors as they go through the college application process. (I hardly think it counts as a spoiler to note they all get into good schools.) It is touching and moving as we see these young people in the process of making their lives, theirs. The kids portrayed are personable, verbal and attractive and it is easy to see why their parents like them. No doubt this movie will be a favorite of college counselors though I think a great deal has left out of the process. We see nothing of what schools the kids considered applying to or the process by which they chose which schools they would apply to. There is no real discussion of the pros and cons of visiting schools in advance of the application process. The financial considerations are only tangentially alluded to, the implication being that no matter what they charge, college is a good deal. (And people wonder why the cost of college has gone up faster than inflation ever since 1950.) The bottom line is these seniors make it through the admissions process with their sense of themselves still intact ... which I suppose is the minimum goal that a college counselor should have for her charges.