Casting Charlize Theron as female lead Mavis Gray in Young Adult was probably one of Jason Reitman’s best decisions for this film. I don’t think any other woman could have been simultaneously so unlikeable and so thoroughly loveable. Despite being a despicable, shallow, lazy, self centered alchoholic, Theron brings to Mavis and honesty and a pain that is palpable and you find yourself quietly rooting for her to find her way.
After Juno, Up In the Air, and Thank You for Not Smoking comes Young Adult. It is another Diablo Cody adapted film that presents a dark and depressing subject as its main plot line but it is delivered and acted with tenderness, vulnerability and humor.
After a failed marriage, Mavis finds herself schlepping through each day in her filthy apartment, drinking from morning until night as she puts forth little effort to finish the final book of a teenage novel series her publisher is demanding before he kills it off for good. Depressed and deflated at the state of her love life and career, she finds her happy place way back in her High School memories when she and Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) were the “it” couple and destined to be together. That never happened. She moved from their small town in Minnesota to the big city of Miineapolis and hadn’t looked back until now.
With the intention of getting Buddy back and finding the happiness she feels life owes her, Mavis heads back to her home town to steal him from his wife and brand new baby. What follows is the unintended journey Mavis takes to discover the truth of her own life, and of Buddy’s life, and it is difficult to watch at times. Reitman cast Patton Oswalt as Matt Frehauf; the stereotypical boy you’d never notice in High School that becomes Mavis’ closest friend and confidante. He , too is battling demons of his own and is also somewhat stuck in the High School mindset but for very different reasons. Their friendship fuels both of their as yet unmet needs and allows them to step out of their pasts and into their present lives.
The story is sad but it is hopeful, it is touching and it is very realistic. The characters were extreme in design but I believe it was necessary to drive home Cody’s story. The trailers persent it as a comedy but let’s be honest; it’s a dark comedy that not everyone will love. A reminder to us all that living in the past can be a prison that is difficult to break free from.
Our group was divided and rated this movie between a 1 and 4 out of 5.
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