‘Poetic License’ Review: Maude Apatow’s Delightful Directorial Debut is a New Coming-of-Age Classic [B+] TIFF
Maude Apatow is no stranger to cross-generational coming-of-age stories. Growing up, she had minor roles in her father Judd Apatow’s comedic films (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Funny People) before starring in the provocative HBO teen drama, Euphoria. In Euphoria, Apatow plays Lexi, a straitlaced (and by comparison, very normal) high school student who is such a keen observer of the wild antics of her sister Cassie and her friends that she eventually decides to write a play about their lives. While Apatow’s delightful directorial debut, Poetic License, isn’t inspired by the events in her own life, it’s clear that she’s been an observer, too, and a lifelong student of situational comedy. With her first feature in the director’s chair, she has crafted a film that feels inspired by the genre’s classics, while also being refreshingly her own.
Poetic License begins on an important day for the Cassidy family. Liz (Apatow’s mother, a terrific Leslie Mann) seems a bit more enthusiastic than her husband and teenage daughter, though, as she excitedly startles them awake with the news that it’s the last first day of high school. She’s trying to embrace the change that their family is going through with positivity, masking the fact that she’s not quite sure how she feels about their new environment. Her husband James (Method Man) has just been appointed Department Chair of Economics at the fictional Braddock University, so they’ve left their beloved Chicago behind for a quaint, idyllic college town. James’ new job also means a brand new school for Dora (Nico Parker), where she’ll have to try to settle in before inevitably uprooting herself in a year for college. It’s even trickier for Liz, though, as she doesn’t have the structure of a new job or a new school to help her get settled in. Once a therapist, Liz no longer practices and has instead dedicated herself entirely to being a mom to Dora, which proves to be a bit difficult now that her teenage daughter craves her independence. Feeling a bit untethered, Liz decides to audit a poetry class at Braddock, where she meets two college seniors, Ari (Cooper Hoffman) and Sam (Andrew Barth Feldman).
When Apatow and screenwriter Raffi Donatich (also her feature film debut) introduce us to Ari and Sam, it’s clear that the two couldn’t be more different, with a friendship that was naturally the result of a random freshman year roommate assignment. Ari is a gregarious, born-rich New Yorker with an off-campus apartment that feels more like a city loft than a fraternity house. He greets Sam with an espresso martini and an offer to stay in the guest bedroom, complete with a towel swan that he hired a TaskRabbit to complete. Sam has other plans, though, and intends to live on campus as an RA while he waits for his offer for a junior analyst position at Morgan Stanley (or “Tracy Morgan,” as Ari quips). Is this really what Sam wants, or does he just think that it’s what he’s supposed to do with his college education? He’s a great student, but undoubtedly a people pleaser, from his pre-determined career path to his relationship with his girlfriend, Grace (Maisy Stella), whom he knows he should break up with. With very different academic goals, Ari and Sam have class schedules that would never overlap; however, they decide that, since it’s their senior year, they should at least have one class together.
The sharpness of the film’s script first comes to life in the poetry seminar, which is full of hilarious college student stereotypes and subtle topical humor, including a deadpan professor (Martha Kelly of Euphoria) and a perfectly deployed Sylvia Plath joke. When Liz enters the classroom, surrounded by the small cast of characters, she quietly shuffles to the back, where she sits in a single chair away from the rest of the college seniors. She knows she sticks out like a sore thumb, yet also might be invisible to all of the twenty-somethings in her orbit. Soon, Professor Ellis, distracted by her nasty divorce and a custody battle over the dog, assigns a group chain poem assignment to keep the class occupied. Immediately intrigued by Liz, Ari invites her to join his group with Sam, and the three strike up an unlikely friendship. Liz is just looking for a connection, while Ari and Sam find something exciting about her, as she’s completely different from the other women at Braddock. Distracted by her daughter’s impending college search and her own empty nest, Liz is completely oblivious to the growing, confusing feelings that Ari and Sam develop for her.
As Liz, Ari, and Sam start spending more time together outside of class, things become even more complicated for the trio. First, Liz runs into Sam as he’s working one of his shifts as a cater waiter at one of her husband’s stuffy work events. Liz can’t seem to fake it around the other Deans and their wives, but conversation with Sam is much easier. Similarly, when she’s bored one evening and James and Dora are preoccupied with their own social calendars, Liz decides to hang out with Ari instead. Donatich’s screenplay always makes it clear that there aren’t any lines being crossed between Liz, Sam, and Ari, and instead opts for a much sweeter and deeper exploration of the myriad ways that people can feel a bit lost when they know they’re on the precipice of change. It’s also here that the performances from Feldman and Hoffman in particular really shine. As Sam, Feldman nails the character’s neurotic humor and the complex self-doubt felt when you’ve only ever made decisions with others in mind. Hoffman, who made his breakthrough in Paul Thomas Anderson’s sour and sweet coming-of-age tale Licorice Pizza, is the standout of the film, creating a character that hides his loneliness with an over-the-top, affable charm. In another actor’s hands, Ari could come off as an obnoxious, frustrating character, but Hoffman’s nuanced performance conjures up complete empathy.
The film is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Liz, Ari, and Sam, and less on what inevitably feel like subplots with Dora and James. While Parker is strong in the role, Dora’s moments of trying to fit in with the wrong friend group and attempting to brush off her clingy mom feel more like a series of unchecked boxes needed to make it a true coming-of-age story. Similarly, James’ role is essentially reduced to being the voice of reason for Liz and Dora, without ever connecting to the story’s emotional core. However, in the film’s strongest moments, Donatitch and Apatow blend comedy and sadness so well that it’s impossible not to think of the works of Greta Gerwig and Nicole Holofcener. It’s in the simple yet specific details, too, that Poetic License separates itself from the slew of films in the same genre. Moments like Ari dressing up as Burt Reynolds (not Glen Powell in Twisters) for a costume party or Dora falling asleep to “My Favorite Murder” illustrate the film’s sense of humor that feels more natural to the characters and less forced than other college-set comedies (yes, even those penned and produced by Apatow’s father).
Even with a few minor stumbles in the storytelling, Poetic License has the bones of a new comedy classic and establishes Apatow as a filmmaker to watch. On its surface, this film is a coming-of-age story that centers on the lives of high school and college students as they approach the final year in a structured environment that guides their decision-making. However, by casting her own mother as Liz and centering her character’s story, Apatow makes it clear that the best coming-of-age movies are, in fact, those about the mother. What really makes a film in this genre great is the focus on the character who has already come of age, only to find themselves unsure of who they are and where they should be. In Poetic License, Apatow allows Liz’s (and Mann’s) charm and warmth to shine, and despite all of her mistakes and indecision, her wisdom and experience still manage to inspire her new, unlikely friends and her daughter.
Grade: B+
This review is from the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where Poetic License had its world premiere. There is no U.S. distribution at this time.
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