''The Best and the Brightest'' is a 2010 American independent film. Directed by Josh Shelov, the film stars

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

and

Bonnie Somerville Bonnie Somerville (born February 24, 1974) is an American actress and singer. She has had roles in a number of movies and television series, most notably as Mona in ''Friends'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''Grosse Pointe'', '' The O.C.'', ''Cashmere Mafia ...

as Jeff and Sam respectively, a young couple that moves into New York City. The film centers around the effort they have to put in to get their five-year-old daughter Beatrice ( Amelia Talbot) into an elite private kindergarten. This is director Josh Shelov's debut feature-film, co-written with Michael Jaeger.

Plot

The film opens with Jeff (

) and Sam (

) moving from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

into New York City with their five-year-old daughter Beatrice. Sam takes Beatrice on visit to several schools in the city to get Beatrice admitted for the current session, only to realize that there is very little prospect in such short period. After losing hope, she enlists help of Sue Lemon (

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Most recently, she has appeared in both ''The Mandalorian'' (2019–2020) and '' The Book of Boba Fett'' (2022) as Peli Motto. She played Jerri Blank in the ...

), a consultant who helps couples in getting their kids admitted into schools. Though first Sue declines to help them for citing short notice, later she agrees after seeing Sam's stubborn determination. Sue asks Jeff, who is a

software programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/create ...

, to mention poetry as his profession. Jeff initially declines, however, Sam convinces him. On the day of first interview, Jeff and Sam asks Clark (

Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...

), Jeff's college mate, to baby-sit Beatrice and leave her with him. During the visit, Clark shares a copy of sex chat he had with a prostitute with Jeff. Later at school, the couple is interviewed by Katharine Heilmann (

Jenna Stern Jenna Stern is an American actress who appeared in the play "Skyscraper". Stern is the daughter of actress Samantha Eggar and actor and producer Tom Stern. Her brothers are Nicolas Stern and Cameron Cash. Stern is married to actor Brennan Brow ...

) who mistakes Clark's sex chat print copy for a poem written by Jeff and is visibly impressed. However, a freak incident involving Clark makes her decline Jeff and Sam's application. Upon failing to impress Katharine, Sam and Sue decide and plan to befriend The Player ( Christopher McDonald), a rich guy who is also chairman of school committee. Thus begins a series of comic plays and lies that the couple has to go through to get approval of The Player, The Player's wife (

Kate Mulgrew Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red on ''Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...

), and Katharine. Sam is forced to choose between living the life she has dreamed of – but lying in order to do so – or going back to Delaware as herself.

Cast

as Jeff *

as Sam * Amelia Talbot as Beatrice *

as Sue Lemon *

as Katharine Heilmann *

as Clark * Christopher McDonald as The Player *

as The Player's Wife *

Bridget Regan Bridget Catherine Regan (born February 3, 1982) is an American actress known for portrayals such as Kahlan Amnell in the television series '' Legend of the Seeker'', Rebecca Lowe / Rachel Turner in '' White Collar'', Rose Solano in '' Jane th ...

as Robin, Jeff's college crush

Production

Film's casting was done by Jessica Kelly and Suzzane Smith (credited as Suzanne Smith Crowley). Several scenes were filmed in the historic

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

in Bryn Mawr,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

the film has a score of 26% based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Best And The Brightest, The 2010 films American comedy films American independent films 2010 comedy films 2010s English-language films Films set in New York City Films shot in Philadelphia 2010 independent films 2010s American films