Short Takes: Princeton’s in the Mix (2024)

Parenting is hard, but “Princeton’s in the Mix” proves managing perceptions in a world where status is everything is a recipe for horror.

Most parents only want the best for their children. But it can be stressful trying to make all the right decisions and ensure your child is happy and well-adjusted while positioned for the most future success.

Push too hard, and you risk pushing them away—suffocating them under the weight of impossible expectations. Push too little, and you may keep them from reaching their potential or seizing every opportunity.

When Princeton’s in the Mix begins, we are introduced to an anxious Beth (Heather Burns), presumed loving mother to Teddy (Charlie Besso). He’s a good kid, a strong student with a passion for piano. But his SAT scores are only adequate.

With one final chance to retake the test and improve his score, Beth increases the pressure, insisting his road to acceptance at the best schools is rocky given his demographic: an affluent white male attending an elite prep school.

With every advantage in the world, Beth fears the cards are stacked against him.

As a more complete picture takes shape, it becomes clear that Beth may be more concerned with how she will be perceived among her well-to-do social circle than with Teddy’s future.

When commiserating with other parents, she bemoans the difficulty she’s having buying her way out of this SAT predicament, a sentiment shared by a fellow “concerned” parent, Simon (Nate Duncan).

Then another parent, Jane (Syra McCarthy), gleefully reveals a loophole in the system: an extra seventeen minutes of test-taking time for students with a disability. After her son accidentally slices a tendon in his hand while juggling knives, he qualifies for the extension.

Suddenly, the sinister wheels start turning.

Written and directed by Jonathan DiMaio, Princeton’s in the Mix is fifteen minutes of excruciating tension and abject horror as we wonder how far a desperate mom will go to continue her family’s elite legacy.

She will give her son the world… even if it means taking everything from him.

Though it goes to some nasty and dark places, earning its horror credentials (though it’s labeled a thriller), it feels chillingly accurate in its unnerving portrayal of privilege and the pursuit of excellence at any cost.