Our past shockingly has an effect on our future. Those mistakes and mishaps don’t stay buried even if we pretend they’re gone. But there are other options … finding purpose and improvement. For those able to, attending higher education might help stave off the problems of the future. College has a high importance in our culture, theoretically indicating what will become of us. Perhaps. It’s not always so simple, especially when the past comes back to haunt us.

Admission, from director Paul Weitz (nice guy), is about Princeton admissions officer Portia (Tina Fey) during the high stress admissions time of the year. Highly competent, she constantly worries about her competitive colleague Corrine (Gloria Reuben) going for the same position when Dean of Admissions (Wallace Shawn) retires. And then her long time boyfriend (Michael Sheen) leaves her, right before Portia is about to travel to the top high schools in the North East. But then she meets John (Paul Rudd), who runs an experimental, if academically challenging, school — he in turn wants her to meet special student Jeremiah (Nat Wolff) who wants to go to Princeton but is a little … unusual. So Portia and John end up getting closer, although it’s highly inappropriate … right? Will Portia manage to get over her lifelong annoyance at her militantly feminist mother (Lily Tomlin)? And what will happen with John and his son, who has his own parent issues? Probably some sort of happy ending, bittersweet in some way, right?

So the movie is funny, with many great lines and two enjoyable performances from Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, helped by a very good supporting cast (Lily Tomlin is an especially excellent standout). There’s sincerity and realness in the characters’ motivations, with arcs that make sense. But sometimes those “heart-tugging” scenes don’t really work; instead they just act as placeholders until something more interesting happens. However, any movie with this many legitimate laughs is pretty rare these days. It’s not a stupid comedy with nonsense or too many contrivances, although there are a few problematic elements here and there. You could argue about the specific decisions Portia makes at certain points and whether or not they are rational, reasonable, or acceptable.

But the heart of the movie is in the honest care they have in others — shocking, right?

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