Judd Apatow is quite possibly the king of the 2000/2010s comedy. His wife Leslie Mann is one of the funniest actresses from the same time. So naturally, their daughter Maude Apatow has some great genes when it comes to making people laugh. She has shone on the small and big screen with Euphoria, One of them Days and small parts in plenty of her dad's films, but now it's her turn in the director's seat with her feature debut Poetic License.
Poetic License stars Leslie Mann as Liz, a mom and former therapist enrolling as an auditor for a college poetry workshop after her husband's work moved them to a new city. In the class are two best friends Sam (Andrew Barth Feldman) and Ari (Cooper Hoffman). The two immediately take a liking to Liz, starting an unlikely friendship where both of them are clearly head over heels for her. Complicating the matter are Sam's girlfriend Grace who Ari hates, and Liz's husband adjusting to a new job and daughter trying to make friends at a new school.
This isn't the kind of comedy that will blow you away and leave you thinking about it for days on end, but what it will do is make you laugh. Raffi Donatitch's script is a bit uneven but the dialogue is brilliantly written and Apatow directs it with a ton of confidence. It certainly helps that the cast is very clearly full of actors who all enjoying working together and help bring this hilarious dialogue to life.
Cooper Hoffman and Andrew Barth Feldman are just perfect together. Their dynamic and its ebbs and flows are pretty standard, if you've seen Booksmart or damn near any movie with two best friends you know the beats their relationship will take, but the two sell themselves as best friends remarkably well. During the q&a they talked about their real life friendship and it really shows on screen. Hoffman in particular is hilarious, elevating already great dialogue to laugh out loud levels. Barth Feldman is kind of the straight man to Hoffman's eccentricity, but he's also trying to get with a woman twice his age and getting into hijinks so he has plenty of funny moments. Leslie Mann ultimately feels like she's just playing herself, but I really loved the way she was portrayed as a mother with it being her daughter behind the camera. She's funny and easy to love as always.
The main player of the supporting cast is probably Nico Parker as Liz's daughter Dora. As the daughter of Thandiwe Newton she adds another nepo baby to the fold (not to mention Cooper Hoffman being Philip Seymour Hoffman's son) while also driving a lot of Liz's emotions. I wouldn't say she's a standout but she does a good job with what she's given. If there's one performer really playing it straight it's Method Man a Liz's husband. His character is very serious and scholarly, but that makes the contrast of the more over the top Sam and Ari even funnier. If there's a standout supporting actor though it has to be Martha Kelly, delivering a similar performance to what she did in Marriage Story but with a lot more to work with, nailing it every time she's on screen.
I was really impressed with Apatow's direction. As I mentioned before, there's a comfort and confidence behind the camera that really shines through, and while the script does feel uneven in terms of the pacing I think the way she brings scenes to life makes up for that. She also captures a very cozy autumn vibe that feels perfect for this back to school time of year. Can't wait to see what Maude does next. 3.5/5
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