Adam Rogers's "At Middleton" (otherwise "Just One Day") tries to encapsulate - and build on - the feelings people have when their kids (in this case only children of 2 marriages) go on/off to university. Since a great many of us know that feeling, and all its emotional, practical and financial (!) nuances, there is a ready-made audience out there somewhere for Edith Martin taking daughter Audrey, and for George Hartman taking son Conrad, to a chocolate-box-looking place of learning (easy enough on the eye, certainly) but trying vaguely to make out it's Ivy League-ish, when actually it's far from it. If you're feeling the symmetry in the above description, you may not be surprised to learn that it's writ large in the film, given that Conrad (a competent-enough Spencer Lofranco) is the rather non-academic though likeable-enough son of a rather stiff and intense (heart-surgeon) father - played by Andy Garcia; while Audrey (an OK Taissa Farmiga) is the driven, bright, tetchy and intellectual daughter of a slightly off-the-rails and a little bit too uninihibited mother (Vera Farmiga - yes (and no) - this actress is the SISTER in real life).If you go on to imagine that the kids are going to help each other out, well that's so only partly; while if you think that George will help Edith get serious, while Edith assists George in lightening up, well you'd be more correct, but in fact this pair are both going to end up experiencing both bliss and extreme heartache in the course of "Just One Day".A big part of any enjoyment you're going to extract from this therefore lies in the plausibility of a romance that can grow in literally the space of hours. On the other hand, this may be a romance waiting to happen, propelled along by desperation (and the aforesaid emotions of that unique "kids leave the nest" moment), all the more so given that both George and Edith are only now really admitting to themselves that they are not happy in their marriages, and are not far from a conviction that they might actaully have wasted - or underlived - a major chunk of their lives.Those who have been through a bit of life are going to see that there is some mileage in this story. The young-cum-old and handsome/ordinary Garcia - whose input into this film goes beyond acting - has the potential to carry this off, while Vera Farmiga (rightly) looks a bit careworn by everything, but has a certain grace, and indeed a coquettish attractiveness she seems able to switch on and off as the mood takes her. They make a pretty enough couple, and at their most intensive moments (of which there are several) they are able to convince and even move us. Unfortunately, however, the makers' desire to persuade us that there are funny and even slapstick moments in all of this largely fail, and occasionally fall flat on their faces. This is not merely the case for the stars either - several other characters seem to switch from serious to silly to standup and back again in the space of a few lines, and this is jarringly non-cohesive.However, we out here in audience-land can "piece out their imperfections with our thoughts" if we so choose, I guess. (Though one is entitled to ask why we should have to do that!) And in so doing, we might put ourselves in the situation of attractive but somewhat subdued people who realise the wonderful time they might have together, but have only the briefest of brief encounters in which to experience that. Nobody who is not made of stone can ignore that entirely, though my choice of terms in the last sentence is of course non-random, and we have seen the odd (better) film resembling "At Middleton" before now. Anyway, if you've really got a spare 90 minutes or so, this film has a few better and more meaningful moments that it might be worth keeping faith for...

"At Middleton" is a mid-life romance that suffers from a terminal case of the cutes. Edith (Vera Farmiga) and George (Andy Garcia) meet while taking their respective children, Audrey (Taissa Farmiga) and Conrad (Spencer Lofranco), on a tour of a fictional college (their respective spouses are conveniently unable to attend the event). While the kids are going through the official orientation, the two parents break off and conduct a tour of their own, exploring the campus as well as each other.Despite the best of intentions, "At Middleton" feels phony from the get-go. We get the sense that Edith and George are unreasonably antagonistic towards one another at the beginning just so they can become an item by the end. And things don't get any better from there, as the parents proceed to make fun of the tour guide, steal bikes from some unsuspecting students on campus, horn in on an acting class, smooch in a projection booth, get stoned in a dorm room, and in general act superior to everyone they meet, with corn, affectation and heavy-handed life lessons the order of the day.Though the movie tries very hard to achieve moments of "little people" sentimental uplift, virtually every scene in "At Middleton" emerges as hopelessly contrived and calculated, a reflection more on the screenwriters Glenn German and Adam Rogers (who also directed the movie) than on the actors, who do their best under the circumstances. Farigna, so impressive in TV's "Bates Motel," comes across as unnecessarily grating at times, the result of a grown woman behaving in a less mature fashion than her teenaged daughter perhaps, her joie de vivre and truth-telling assertiveness, which might have seemed refreshing in small doses, ultimately falling over the edge into obnoxiousness (though she does well playing opposite her real life daughter). As the buttoned-down heart surgeon who really needs to loosen up and learn how to enjoy life, Garcia is constrained by having to embody a character with no truly interesting or compelling personal traits (the fact that he's supposed to be that way doesn't exactly make him any more interesting).I know we're supposed to be moved and inspired by what's happening between Edith and George, but all I could think about while watching their story unfold is how some parents just can't help making what is supposed to be a special day for their kids really all about themselves.

"By the time the afternoon bell rings you will have fallen in love. I guarantee it." George Hartman (Garcia) and his son arrive at Middleton College for a tour. While there he meets Edith Martin (Farmiga) who is doing the same with her daughter. The two begin talking and soon strike up a fast friendship that over the course of the day evolves into something that makes them question everything. I'll start by saying I wasn't really excited about watching this. I expected a basic love story with out much substance. What I did find was I liked it much more then I expected. While the movie is really nothing more then two people talking for an hour and a half it was actually entertaining to watch. The best way to really describe what happens in this is to compare it to the Before Sunrise trilogy. This has the same feel. Two people meet and we watch their relationship grow over a few hours. The most entertaining aspect of the movie is watching how the roles of the children and parents switch. The parents have the college experiences and the kids stress about everything else. Overall, if you liked the Before Sunrise movies then you will like this as well. Better then I expected, it was very romantic and a very real love story. I give this a B+.

I hesitate to review this movie because I was brought up to believe if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. I don't recall ever seeing a movie that was rated this high being such a disappointment. It's made up of contrived characters,dialogue and situations. I have always admired the actors who play the two main characters and feel this movie is way beneath their talents. The only redeeming quality of this movie that I can find is it features beautiful locations and fine cinematography. I usually like good romantic comedies and this is a romantic movie but as I write this I can't recall any comedic moments. Perhaps because it has little in the way of real drama someone decided it must be called a comedy. Obviously this is only one person's opinion so please read the other reviews before deciding whether to spend your time watching this or not.