• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
  • Join
Northeastern University's Film Enthusiasts Club
.

Meghan Murphy on At Middleton

1/31/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture

At Middleton
, the feature-length film debut of writer/director Adam Rodgers, stars Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia as two parents who meet and fall in love while accompanying their respective children on a college campus tour. The film is an innocent and pleasant romantic comedy, but often falls victim to the clichés and shortcomings of its script.

The film follows the “opposites-attract” formula, as many movies of this genre do. Things don’t start out well between Edith (Farmiga) and George (Garcia)--he thinks she’s eccentric, and she thinks he’s uptight. But the two begin to bond when they are separated from the rest of their tour group and decide to embark on their own adventure, reliving their college years. Meanwhile, Edith’s ambitious daughter Audrey, who has her sights set on nothing but studying at Middleton under one of the nation’s most distinguished professors, is left to tour the school with George’s son Conrad, who is unwilling to even consider a school like Middleton. Neither George nor Edith is able to get through to the kids, but by the end of the day, Conrad and Audrey learn a life lesson or two from one another.

We find out early on that both Edith and George are married, but that their respective spouses could not be present for the campus tour. Beyond this, the movie really doesn’t tell us much else about them. Are they unhappy with their home lives? Why are they so quick to fall in love with someone else? If not for the brief mention of their absent spouses, I probably would have assumed both were single parents. Here, the film missed an opportunity to really flesh out and explore its lead characters. By the end, we know more about Audrey and Conrad, whose storylines are meant to be secondary to that of their parents.

Even though it’s often formulaic and rather forgettable, At Middleton is an enjoyable enough romantic comedy that comes in time for Valentine’s Day.

Grade: B

           

           

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC President Ian Wolff at nufecblog@gmail.com if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.