Movies like Poetic License are simultaneously easy to come by and in short supply–a film made by the child of a Hollywood icon (in this case, Judd Apatow) that showcases its ability to be a nepo baby vehicle (Cooper Hoffman is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Nico Parker is the daughter of Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker/screenwriter Ol Parker, Leslie Mann is, of course, the wife of Judd Apatow and the mother to this film’s director,  Maude Apatow). Here is an early 00’s feeling comedy with up-and-coming movie stars that is both entertaining and well constructed, a movie that exists in the realm of both!

Ari (Hoffman) and his best friend Sam (Andrew Barth Feldman) are starting a new term at college that includes a poetry class (taught by the incomparable Martha Kelly), a foreign subject to both. Ari is the outspoken, grab-life-by-the-wheel half of the friendship, while Sam is more drawn back, oftentimes approaching life from a more calculated angle. Sam has a job offer from Morgan Stanley on the table, and Ari is planless, unsure of where life will take him after college. In steps Liz (Mann), the class auditor whose sandy blonde hair and quirky laugh catch the eyes of both boys.

The only trouble? Liz is married to James (Method Man), who just took a high-ranking position at the college, and has a daughter, Dora (Parker). Thus kicks off an inspired “competition” between Ari and Same to court Liz the best way college boys know how–including her in their class group projects and inviting her to frat parties.

Leslie Mann is no stranger to Apatow-style comedy, having acted in her husband’s iconic The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and having a successful movie career since. She slides right into the hilarious story that Maude has constructed. 

Hoffman and Feldman have a striking energy as a pair, delightfully playing against each other’s competing interests that continue to elevate emotions, actions, and their own relationship as they both grow closer to Liz. Impressively, the story is able to squeeze enough juice out of the setup to bring forth prominent thematic ideas such as parental abandonment and the insecurity of both young and seasoned love.

Poetic License doesn’t all work at the end of the day, but in an ironic (or maybe non-ironic) way, that echoes the many challenges of growing up, being honest with those you hold closest, and discovering that temporary joys are perhaps not worth the long-term negative impacts they create. 

Nonetheless, the film brings forth enough verve and comedic wherewithal to justify its nepo-baby origins and Poetic License will likely find itself as a “comfort comedy” for many people not long after it releases.

Review Courtesy of Ethan Simmie

Feature Image Courtesy of TIFF