Review! Young Adult

In the midst of the bustling holiday film season, Young Adult – a dour, dry comedy – peaks its head out over the other feel good films. TV spots and trailers for the film promise a lot of uncomfortable moments, stemming from Charlize Theron’s character Mavis’ ineptitude at being an adult. I’m both happy and sad to report that those trailers are an accurate representation of the film.

Quick plot rundown: Mavis (Theron) is a young adult ghost writer living away from her small home town in what she glamorizes to be the big city. But her life is far from fancy as she lives in a mediocre hotel room, eats nothing but fast food, styles herself in sweatpants and watches the E! channel on a loop. She is coming to terms with the fact that the book series she is writing is now at a close, when she gets an email baby announcement from her old high school boyfriend. She takes a trip back home to try and rekindle a romance with her old beau and while in her pursuit she develops an odd companionship with a former high school classmate Matt (Patton Oswalt.) The character of Mavis is fully fleshed out on screen, but still hard to get a handle on. Writer Diablo Cody does a nice job creating a character that is over the top yet still grounded in reality. Reitman also proves to be the perfect collaborator here, bringing the story to screen with real ease and patience. But some of the biggest players in this project turn out to be the stars, Theron and Oswalt. They are perfect casting, especially Charlize, who truly cements a spot on realization of a character that otherwise would have been just a one-note bitch if it had been played by anyone else.

With all the good ingredients mixing around in the film, I was surprised I didn’t come away from the movie liking it more. The movie is overall filled with uncomfortable humor and awkward revelations, which will turn off some movie goers, but it isn’t the film’s main issue. I myself enjoyed the movie’s dark dry humor, even laughing out loud quite a few times. No, what the film is missing is…something. Not that I don’t know what that ‘something‘ is, I just can’t really delve into it without giving away some spoilers. This is a film I think is worth the watch simply to find out for yourself how you feel about it, but don’t be too taken aback if you are left with less than expected. It’s a snapshot movie, only focusing on a small portion of someone’s existence, which leaves a lot unsaid and unresolved. I don’t fault films for taking that approach, but Young Adult in particular is a movie that feels like it needed some resolve on a minor level. Not even with Mavis’ character, but maybe one of the supporting characters. For a film that is so stern for most of it’s running time, it would have benefited with some growth. In the end, that makes the film feel underwhelming, and certainly not as memorable as it could have been.