Nursery University (2008) User Reviews

Creepy Dressed Up As Cute

[ptcan · 7/10 · 15 May 2009]

Fascinating look at a very alien world, parents in NYC frantic trying to get their kids in the "right" nursery school. The film is light in tone, and a few of the parents actually seem like sane individuals with good intentions. A few of the parents really need therapy which they can apparently afford if they are willing to fork over that kind of money.

Although a few of the educators in the process stress that the process is over wrought, they clearly buy into it. I wonder if the kids all of whom are uniformly cute and charming will turn into unbearable brats washed in a steady bath of entitlement after a few years of going through the application process for kindergarten, then grade school and so on.

Good primer for the upper class folks who have yet to subject their child to this sort of insanity and eagerly await the opportunity. Also a good primer for those of us who have less than gigantic incomes, less than perfect though perfectly decent nice and smart kids, we can say hey we aren't as messed up as we thought.

Well-Made, Highly Disturbing Film

[DrGerbil · 7/10 · 19 May 2009]

This movie takes what appears to be an honest look at the enrollment process for upscale preschools in Manhattan. The parents display a crazed desperation similar to what is seen in child beauty pageants.

The entire process, unfortunately, brings out the worst in both the parents and the school administrators. The administrators enjoy the benefit of a "seller's market." This appears to have gone to their heads, as often happens when people have too much power. It's not pretty to watch--rather sad, actually, as these people revel in their ability to make petty life-or-death decisions.

On a larger scale, this film seems to be about greed, self-delusion, entitlement, and having to have the "best" at all costs. An unflinching commentary on how competitiveness brings out our lowest, animal instincts.

Education has changed

[lambiepie-2 · 9/10 · 4 December 2009]

This is an eye opening documentary about children under five competing to get into a few of New York City's best Nursery Schools. Competiting. 3 and 4 year olds. Yikes! You'd wonder why would a parent put themselves and a child through such a process all for the benefit of a good education? Because they feel this is all for the benefit of a good education. You decide.

This documentary gives you a peek into five families and the competitive process to get into the best nursery schools in Manhattan. Some parents feel entitled while other parents work at the process. It's a grueling process that reminds you of adult interviewing for a job or a teen trying to get into a top 25 college. And it's only Nursery School. That's what will disturb you the most and get you to think about how education began with you.

Why is this so important? Is it because these parents want their toddlers to be thinking about Harvard, Princeston and Yale at 3 years old?!? Is it for status bragging rights to the parent to show they gave birth to a gifted child? Or is it for the best education and environment for the child in a crowded city? Nursey Univeristy makes you wonder about all of these.

The filmmakers give you an overall view of the process, the parents (and you will dislike a few of them!), the children and the schools and administrators (and you will dislike a few of them too!). After this documentary, I hope parents with babies & toddlers decide its just better to have them finger paint and run around in circles at the playground meeting new children from diverse backgrounds than starting their anxiety ulcers with this kind of pressures.

Certainly one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a long time...

[zacharymgreen · 10/10 · 1 May 2008]

This film is incredibly entertaining. I was it at a screening last night and was blown away, as was the entire audience. The film profiles 5 different New York City families each from varied socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, and each attempting to navigate through the ultra-competitive world of getting their 3 year old into an elite Manhattan nursery school. The steps each well-meaning (but desperate) parent goes through lends itself to many many laughs but has many heartfelt and poignant moments as well. The film really takes the viewer through an intense emotional ride that is very rewarding and interesting. The subject matter is quite original, I know of no other movie that has tackled this topic in the past. It works very well as a date movie but just as well as a movie for families and friends to enjoy whether or not they have children. It has true universal appeal. I highly recommend it.