I Used To Go Here (2020) ***

 

I recently re-watched “Old School,” a goofy comedy about some older guys getting back in touch with their college experience. “I Used To Go Here” is a less-goofy comedy about a woman (Gillian Jacobs) doing the same thing.

Kate (Jacobs) is having a rough time. In her mid-30s, she has broken up with her fiance. Worse, her first novel, which seemed so promising, is not selling well. We meet her as she gets the call that her publisher has canceled her book tour; they no longer consider her a good investment. The one bright spot in her week is a planned appearance at her alma mater, arranged by her creative writing mentor, Professor Kirkpatrick (Jemaine Clement). It's one last chance to promote her book and bask in the glow of being a published writer. Plus, Kate had a crush on Kirkpatrick in college, so that's in the back of her mind as well.

If Kate thought she would just slip back into college life as a more mature, successful version of herself, it doesn't work out that way. Kirkpatrick is married now, although he's not above a little flirting. The B&B booked for Kate is run by a strict, inflexible older lady (your standard B&B owner), so Kate winds up wandering over to the house she and her college friends once shared, meeting the students living there now, and getting sucked into their world for a couple days.

Kate's attraction to the adventure is understandable. Adult life is boooooooring, and in Kate's case, it is disappointing. How nice would it be to slip back into a time when you and your friends were just pure potential, when your future was so bright, you had to wear shades?

Gillian Jacobs is great casting as someone who almost looks young enough to hang out with a college crowd, but is still clearly a fish out of water. Kate's journey is ripe for comedy, and this is a funny movie, but her story also rings true. We all look forward to a future that is uncertain, and we look back on a past that seems clear in retrospect, no matter how confusing it was when we lived it. Kate simply gives in to the most common mental illness of all, nostalgia.

3 stars out of 5