Liberal Arts

The second film by writer/director Josh Radnor, the genial star of TV's How I Met Your Mother, is an unexpected delight, dealing with intergenerational relationships in a funny and unusual way. Radnor plays Jesse, a coasting, 30-something New York academic who goes back to his alma mater to catch up with his former tutor (Richard Jenkins) on the occasion of his retirement. While there, he meets Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), a pretty drama student 16 years his junior but surprisingly old for her age. Filled with a fresh spirit of adventure and inspired by the rules of improv, Jesse decides to stick around and see what happens. What follows is a refreshing, realistic and, for once, genuinely romantic comedy, with two adorable leads whose chemistry is authentic and charming. But it's the supporting performances that seal the deal here, and if a stoner Zac Efron weren't enough, Allison Janney brings the house down as the predatory professor who has an eye for a younger partner herself.