The synopsis of this movie, 35-year old returns to his alma mater and falls for a 19-year old, would probably draw in the wrong sort of audience. At its base, this story is about the fear of growing old, as well as also about connecting with people and experiencing life instead of sequestering oneself in books or nostalgia.
A New York college advisor Jesse (actor, director and writer Josh Radnor) is invited by an old professor (Richard Jenkins) to speak at his farewell dinner. This gives Jesse the opportunity to visit the campus of his alma mater in Ohio, where he feels nostalgic for what he considers were good times there—where once he could allow his thinking to be free and not be shackled by what he now sees are adult cares and worries and closemindedness. He meets a young woman, Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen) who is the daughter of his professor’s friends. They get to talking about books, and Zibby’s studies in improvisation and music theory shows she has an open mind to these liberal discussions about literature. The two begin to bond through discussion of books. At first everything seems innocent, but soon Jesse feels a little out of touch and even a little old as he observes Zibby with her friends and her casual and friendly manner toward him, despite their age difference. She makes an honest play for him romantically which unnerves him and he escapes back to NYC.
At the same time, Jesse sees another old professor (Allison Janney), whom he also admired as someone who opened his mind to classic romantic novelists. But she is now jaded. Jenkins’ character also feels as if he made a mistake in choosing to retire, and wants to return to his job. Jesse also meets another student, Dean, an outsider genius type who suffered a breakdown the previous year. Jesse can understand Dean’s standoffishness with other “normal” students, in his own attitude about being a bit snobby about literature, which is tested when he finds Zibby reads trashy vampire novels. Zac Efron also has a role as a non-student, an atypical character who offers weird but sage advice that Jesse takes.
So you can see there are several characters who feel as if they think they know what they want, but really don’t. I don’t know if Jesse realizes the double standard of his relationships—the age difference between him and Zibby is equal to that between him and the romantics professor, so why is one so easy to consummate and not the other? Similarly he and his old professor have the same views of the school—they both think they had wanted to leave but realize they cannot; yet only Jesse is apparently able to break free.
While the supporting characters such as Janney and Jenkins and even Olsen offer portrayals that are expected and I don’t think much of a stretch for them, as a whole the film is well-characterized and acted. Some bits, as when Jesse meets a bookshop owner (Elizabeth Reaser), falls more into a romantic comedy montage kind of vein, but other bits, such as the encounters with Zac Efron's character and the student Dean, are more unexpected. A sequence where Jesse and Zibby write letters to each other feel and sound as if they could have come from the times of Jane Austen.
A New York college advisor Jesse (actor, director and writer Josh Radnor) is invited by an old professor (Richard Jenkins) to speak at his farewell dinner. This gives Jesse the opportunity to visit the campus of his alma mater in Ohio, where he feels nostalgic for what he considers were good times there—where once he could allow his thinking to be free and not be shackled by what he now sees are adult cares and worries and closemindedness. He meets a young woman, Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen) who is the daughter of his professor’s friends. They get to talking about books, and Zibby’s studies in improvisation and music theory shows she has an open mind to these liberal discussions about literature. The two begin to bond through discussion of books. At first everything seems innocent, but soon Jesse feels a little out of touch and even a little old as he observes Zibby with her friends and her casual and friendly manner toward him, despite their age difference. She makes an honest play for him romantically which unnerves him and he escapes back to NYC.
At the same time, Jesse sees another old professor (Allison Janney), whom he also admired as someone who opened his mind to classic romantic novelists. But she is now jaded. Jenkins’ character also feels as if he made a mistake in choosing to retire, and wants to return to his job. Jesse also meets another student, Dean, an outsider genius type who suffered a breakdown the previous year. Jesse can understand Dean’s standoffishness with other “normal” students, in his own attitude about being a bit snobby about literature, which is tested when he finds Zibby reads trashy vampire novels. Zac Efron also has a role as a non-student, an atypical character who offers weird but sage advice that Jesse takes.
So you can see there are several characters who feel as if they think they know what they want, but really don’t. I don’t know if Jesse realizes the double standard of his relationships—the age difference between him and Zibby is equal to that between him and the romantics professor, so why is one so easy to consummate and not the other? Similarly he and his old professor have the same views of the school—they both think they had wanted to leave but realize they cannot; yet only Jesse is apparently able to break free.
While the supporting characters such as Janney and Jenkins and even Olsen offer portrayals that are expected and I don’t think much of a stretch for them, as a whole the film is well-characterized and acted. Some bits, as when Jesse meets a bookshop owner (Elizabeth Reaser), falls more into a romantic comedy montage kind of vein, but other bits, such as the encounters with Zac Efron's character and the student Dean, are more unexpected. A sequence where Jesse and Zibby write letters to each other feel and sound as if they could have come from the times of Jane Austen.
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