Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, the duo behind 2007's hit
Juno, have teamed up again for
Young Adult. The film tells the story of Mavis Gary (
Charlize Theron), a ghostwriter for a young adult book series, who abandons her wrecked life in Minneapolis to travel back to her small hometown to win back her high school sweetheart, Billy Slade (Patrick Wilson). Foiling Mavis' plans; however, are Billy's loyalty to his wife, Beth (Elizabeth Reaser), and newborn daughter and Mavis' own compulsions, alcoholism and other self-destructive behavior. Still, Mavis finds herself in a burgeoning friendship with former classmate Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), left disabled by an unfounded gay bashing their senior year.
According to screenwriter
Diablo Cody,
Young Adult is her answer to the proliferation of the man-child in movies, such as
Knocked Up and other Judd Apatow vehicles. Although Mavis exemplifies the same type of arrested development as her male counterparts, she doesn't revel in it like they do. Mavis isn't allowed to enjoy her life, even when stripped of all responsibility to other people. When not disguising her insecurities through alcohol and loveless one-night stands, she blankly watches reality television, ignores her designer dog, and struggles to finish the last book in its series, which will effectively bring her thankless job to a close. When put in the context of her lonely, gray life in Minneapolis, her nostalgia-driven pursuit of her former love almost makes sense. But too little changes when she arrives back home to reclaim him.
Mavis' pursuit of Billy is single-minded and desperate. There's no joy or finesse in her attempted seduction, so there's very little entertainment value in watching it. It's too pathetic to be funny and too flip to expose a realistic vulnerability. Also, Mavis is incapable of controlling any situation to turn it to her advantage. Unlike Cameron Diaz's practiced narcissism in Bad Teacher, Mavis' bad behavior seems to come from a deeper, sadder place. She maneuvers, but doesn't get anywhere. Even after an implausible kiss, it doesn't feel as if there's any way for Mavis to triumph or even get out of her predicament unscathed.
Overall, I>Young Adult is bogged down with style over substance. Numerous details pull the viewer out of the story. For instance, how likely is it that a Mini Cooper would have a tape deck? Could it be possible that more than one person nearing 40 in a small Minnesota town would still be wearing their '90s-era indie rock T-shirts? The film is dripping in hipster nostalgia for Generation X that would better be satisfied with a repeat viewing of the classic
Beautiful Girls, in which Timothy Hutton and Matt Dillon better embody the wistful longing for halcyon days. Plus, the Minnesota in that film is more authentic, as well as less focused on product placement.
Despite all this, Charlize Theron still gives a memorable performance. From the way she frantically gulps Diet Coke to shamelessly eavesdropping on teen girls to steal their conversations for her book, her portrayal humanizes the parts of the character that aren't bogged down with stilted and overworked dialog and an unbending following of the film's flimsy premise. Theron is a natural for the exploration of beauty without personality or smarts. It's no small thing that this character who suffers from trichotillomania was once voted as having best hair.
In addition, Theron manages to create a unique chemistry with Patton Oswalt as Matt. Even though their friendship predictably ends in sex, their exchanges are the most real of the movie. Matt's own arrested development is a welcome contrast to Mavis' brash, unthinking prolonged adolescence, and Oswalt works well with the little substance he's given. The biggest surprise of the film comes from Matt's sister, Sandra (Collette Wolf), who gives Mavis the advice she's been needing throughout the movie. Unfortunately, it's too little too late.
