Young Adult (2011)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Jason Reitman's latest has Charlize Theron turning in yet another great performance. This time she plays Mavis Gary, an alcoholic, somewhat mentally disturbed writer of young adult books who gets the notion of returning to her hometown so that she can steal her former love (Patrick Wilson) from his wife and newborn baby. Along the way she ends up striking up a friendship with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who was left cripple after being beaten in a hate crime. YOUNG ADULT is sadly being sold off as some sort of silly comedy and while there are some major laughs to be had, there's no question the majority of Diablo Cody's screenplay is full of darker edged moments and some pretty serious looks at depression and mental illness. I must say that I was really shocked to see how different the film was from the actual trailer and perhaps this has kept a few people away but the writer, director and star have all turned in another very impressive film. What I liked most about the film, other than the performances, was the way the screenplay really wasn't afraid to be rather edgy. There are some pretty politically incorrect jokes about the hate crime issue and the entire way this was used in the film was quite daring. Consider that this here gets many of the comedy bits was a little surprising but it worked so effectively that when the tender, more quiet moments came along it also helped them. The screenplay never goes for flat out laughs and it also doesn't go for boring melodrama. Instead the film really comes across as a slice of life drama that has just about every type of emotion you'd expect to get from life. I thought director Reitman did a very good job at keeping the film moving at a nice pace and there's no question that he handles both the comedy and drama extremely well. The main attraction here is without question the performance of Theron. This is a pretty rough character to play because she's quite the bitch and yet you're supposed to feel sorry for her at times. No matter how many dumb things she does the actress manages to make you feel for her character even if you can't stand what she's doing. The actress handles the drama so well that it's rather amazing to see how well she handles the comedy too. Hopefully Patton Oswalt will get some attention for his performance because he too really helps get not only the comedy across but he's in some way the one character you can like for all the right reasons. Patton is so believable in the part that you can't help but feel as if you've known the guy your entire life. Wilson is also very good in his scenes as are Elizabeth Reaser and Collette Wolfe. I think there are a few problems with the film including the first ten or so minutes, which seems to only be in the movie so that they could get as much product placement as possible. I've written over seven thousand reviews and this is the first time I've ever complained about product placement but it was just so annoying here. I'd also say the final speech at the very end of the movie really didn't come off in a good way. Those two issues are so minor that it's hard to fault the film too much and what's in between is certainly something very charming and touching.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Jason Reitman's latest has Charlize Theron turning in yet another great performance. This time she plays Mavis Gary, an alcoholic, somewhat mentally disturbed writer of young adult books who gets the notion of returning to her hometown so that she can steal her former love (Patrick Wilson) from his wife and newborn baby. Along the way she ends up striking up a friendship with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who was left cripple after being beaten in a hate crime. YOUNG ADULT is sadly being sold off as some sort of silly comedy and while there are some major laughs to be had, there's no question the majority of Diablo Cody's screenplay is full of darker edged moments and some pretty serious looks at depression and mental illness. I must say that I was really shocked to see how different the film was from the actual trailer and perhaps this has kept a few people away but the writer, director and star have all turned in another very impressive film. What I liked most about the film, other than the performances, was the way the screenplay really wasn't afraid to be rather edgy. There are some pretty politically incorrect jokes about the hate crime issue and the entire way this was used in the film was quite daring. Consider that this here gets many of the comedy bits was a little surprising but it worked so effectively that when the tender, more quiet moments came along it also helped them. The screenplay never goes for flat out laughs and it also doesn't go for boring melodrama. Instead the film really comes across as a slice of life drama that has just about every type of emotion you'd expect to get from life. I thought director Reitman did a very good job at keeping the film moving at a nice pace and there's no question that he handles both the comedy and drama extremely well. The main attraction here is without question the performance of Theron. This is a pretty rough character to play because she's quite the bitch and yet you're supposed to feel sorry for her at times. No matter how many dumb things she does the actress manages to make you feel for her character even if you can't stand what she's doing. The actress handles the drama so well that it's rather amazing to see how well she handles the comedy too. Hopefully Patton Oswalt will get some attention for his performance because he too really helps get not only the comedy across but he's in some way the one character you can like for all the right reasons. Patton is so believable in the part that you can't help but feel as if you've known the guy your entire life. Wilson is also very good in his scenes as are Elizabeth Reaser and Collette Wolfe. I think there are a few problems with the film including the first ten or so minutes, which seems to only be in the movie so that they could get as much product placement as possible. I've written over seven thousand reviews and this is the first time I've ever complained about product placement but it was just so annoying here. I'd also say the final speech at the very end of the movie really didn't come off in a good way. Those two issues are so minor that it's hard to fault the film too much and what's in between is certainly something very charming and touching.