Young Adult

Plot synopsis:
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a divorced, alcoholic 37-year-old ghost writer of a series of young adult novels, who is on deadline with her editor to finish the last book of the soon-to-be-cancelled series. Mavis receives an e-mail with a picture of the newborn daughter of her high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser). Believing this to be a sign she and Buddy are meant to be together, Mavis leaves Minneapolis and returns to her hometown of Mercury, Minnesota, to reclaim her life with Buddy, under the pretext of overseeing a real estate deal.
Upon arriving after listening to "The Concept" by Teenage Fanclub on repeat from an old mixtape Buddy gave her in high school, Mavis arranges to meet him the next day at a local sports bar, for old times' sake. In the interim, she goes alone to a different bar, Woody's. There she reconnects with a former classmate she barely remembers, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), who became disabled after being beaten by jocks who erroneously assumed he was gay. Matt tells Mavis that her plan to destroy Buddy's marriage is irrational and selfish, but she ignores him.
The following day, Mavis meets Buddy at the sports bar, where they run into Matt, the bar's bookkeeper. On their way out, Buddy invites Mavis to a performance of Beth's "mom rock band". In the interim, Mavis spends another night getting drunk with Matt, who distills homemade bourbon in the garage of the house he shares with his sister Sandra. When Mavis attends the concert of Beth's band, the other moms are resentful of Mavis, whom they remember as the "psychotic prom queen bitch". When Beth's band performs, the lead singer dedicates their opening song to Buddy from Beth; much to Mavis's dismay, it is "The Concept".
Beth wants to stay out longer, so Mavis offers to drive the drunk Buddy home. On the lawn they share a kiss that is quickly broken up when the babysitter opens the front door to greet them. The next day, after an awkward encounter with her parents, Mavis is invited to Buddy's daughter's naming ceremony. She later goes out drinking with Matt again, during which Matt tells Mavis to grow up. The following day, Mavis attends the party, where she declares her love for Buddy, but he rebuffs her. Everyone at the party is called out to the lawn to await a surprise Buddy has prepared for Beth. Mavis, who has been drinking at the party, collides with Beth, who accidentally spills punch on Mavis's dress. Mavis insults her, and in a profanity-laced tirade tearfully reveals she became pregnant with Buddy's baby years ago, but had a miscarriage after three months.
Buddy, who has been preparing a drum-set gift for Beth in the garage, opens the garage door and belatedly learns what has transpired. Mavis asks him why he invited her. He reveals it was Beth's idea, as she feels sorry for Mavis. Humiliated, Mavis leaves the party and visits Matt, where she breaks down in tears and, later, initiates sex. The following morning, while Matt sleeps, Mavis has coffee in the kitchen with Sandra, who still idolizes her. Mavis talks about needing to change herself, but Sandra says Mavis is better than the rest of Mercury and should not change. Mavis says she agrees, and prepares to return to Minneapolis. Sandra asks to go with her but Mavis declines and leaves alone.
In a diner on her way home, Mavis writes the last chapter of the book, in which the main character graduates high school, quickly leaves her past behind and looks forward to the future. Afterward, in the parking lot, Mavis contemplates her crumpled car.

Tags: dramatic, comedy, satire, dark, depressing

Review:
Without an iota of irony, Charlize Theron finally uses her intimidating beauty for pure Machiavellian evil, and the results are fortuitous in this dark-hued 2011 comedy, the latest collaboration of director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno").
Normally, this would be an excuse for broad comedy machinations, but Theron is so gorgeous that it makes her shameless attempts at seduction all the more edgily desperate.It's a narrowly developed plot for sure, but surprisingly, what enriches the proceedings is the unexpected relationship Mavis develops with Matt Freehauf, a sad-sack former classmate whose sole claim to notoriety was being the victim of a hate crime when he was beaten up and left for dead by a group of jocks who assumed he was gay.
The story evolves in the direction you would expect but not before certain revelations come to light in a tortuous scene at the baby-naming party Buddy and his sensible wife Beth have with all their relatives and close friends in attendance.Beyond Theron's fearless work and intentionally deadpan line delivery, there is comedian Patton Oswalt's surprisingly affecting performance as Matt.
This time around we get the caustic, childlike self-centeredness of a mid-30's alcoholic sadly trying to recapture the magic of her high school years as the prom queen dating the coolest guy.Ms. Cody and Mr. Reitman deserve much credit for steering clear of the Hollywood traditions of redemption, remorse, and turning over a new leaf.
In fact, we probably dislike Mavis (Charlize Theron) even more as the movie ends than we did in the film's first 5 minutes, if that's even possible.
This film is highly recommended.Finally a holiday movie comes along that dares to ask, " Can a high school prom queen steal her happily married ex-boyfriend from his wife and newborn child and find true love?
Cody's dialogue is much more restrained this time around; "Juno" is eons funnier as a result, but the sacrifice of laughs allows us to focus on the film as a character study of a woman who hasn't quite learned how to be an adult.
"Young Adult" deserves praise for being a film about living in the past that contains not a single flashback, but knowing more about Mavis' divorce and how she came to break up with Buddy the first time could have significantly informed the story, especially as to why Mavis willfully lives her life as the trainwreck it clearly is.The film's climax helps a bit in this regard, and Mavis' epiphany avoids being cliché despite the obvious "appreciate what you have" motif.
The renowned writer of Juno is making a entirely different attempt here by depicting a mid-life crisis of Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) and her return visit to her hometown where she lived when she was a teenager.Mavis hated the town, hated everything about it, hated all the people in it, that was, except Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), who used to be her boyfriend.
The movie was neither funny (I started to be amused by the guy in the theater who started heckling it, however) nor did it have any depth.The point seemed to ultimately celebrate the demise of one of the beautiful people who many love to hate in high school-- as young adults.
A movie for pseudo-intellectuals who think they are smarter than they really are.The main character is despicable, there are no funny moments in this crap, and I only wish she has committed suicide at the end of the film...She is only a pretty sick ans spoiled brat who thinks she can do anything she wants..In the end she is only one pathetic person, like the film itself...I'd rather hit a nail through my toe than watching something like that again....
I will start with the one and only positive to this movie; Charlize Theron portrays her character as a classical popular school girl who has no time for anyone except herself, who 20 years into the future ends up as a depressant alcoholic who lives purely in the past of her school glory days very well.
Depressed upon discovering that her former high school beau is happily married with an infant daughter, a young adult fiction writer sets out to win her old boyfriend back in this dark comedy from Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody.
It's more of a deluded fantasy because the viewer hears an occasional lofty narrative, but what plays out is a weird anti- fairy tale.The main character leaves her phony glamorous life as a young adult book writer due to a miserable existence and heads back to small town USA where she grew up.
So, although I had seen the trailer for "Young Adult" and did not really like the premise of the film (old flame returns to home town to win back ex-boyfriend from wife and child) - I thought, what the heck - there may be a few laughs.
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a recently divorced, writer of books for young adults (hence the title) who returns home from the "big" city of Minneapolis, to take back what was once hers - Buddy Sloan (Patrick Wilson) - her ex-high school boyfriend.
It tells the story about Mavis Gary-Crane, a 37-year-old female ghost writer for a young adult novel series called the Waverly Prep who lives in an apartment in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After receiving an e-mail from her high school boyfriend Buddy Slade and his wife Beth with pictures of their newborn daughter, Mavis interprets it as a sign that she and Buddy are meant to be together and decides to return to her hometown in Mercury, Minnesota with her dog Dolce.Finely and acutely directed by Canadian-American filmmaker Jason Reitman, this quietly paced and engaging fictional tale which is narrated mostly from the protagonist's point of view, draws an incisive portrayal of a somewhat conflicted woman's attempt to regain her first true love and her relationship with a bachelor who lives with his sister.
Robinson, this character-driven and dialog-driven comedy-drama depicts a nuanced study of character.This darkly humorous and somewhat romantic story is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, colorful characters, quick-witted dialog and the poignant acting performances by South-African-American actress Charlize Theron and American stand-up comedian, writer and actor Patton Oswalt.
Directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air), who has teamed up yet again with the award winning writer Diablo Cody (Juno), "Young Adult" is the story of, you guessed it, a woman named Mavis (played by Charlize Theron) who, despite being in her late thirties, can't seem to get out of the mindset of high school.
In the midst of working on the finale of a young adult book series, Mavis finds out that her high school sweetheart (played by Patrick Wilson) is married and has just had a baby.
And although, "Young Adult" does have an ending that works to redeem the movie quite a bit, but due to Cody demonstrating her talent of accentuating the "real life"/documentarian feel of the movie with some of the most cringe inducing dialogue she has ever written, for almost the entirety of the movie, "Young Adult" comes off as a well structured but sloppily written, horribly dry and horribly vindictive "death to the popular kids" kind of film.I will say that there are some great performances here; most notable from Theron, as the all to conceited and mentally imbalanced Mavis and Patton Oswalt (doing his best work) representing the moral compass of the unpopular kids in high school.
The problem here is that while the acting is on point, Mavis is a character written to be so unlikable that audiences will be extremely hesitant to root for her, the dialogue (which seems to be purposefully awkward) is so blunt that even though the atmosphere of the film is suppose to be that of reality, every word spoken seems to ooze a pretentious and very self-aware cleverness which screams "You are watching a MOVIE!", and lastly the side characters (the heart throb, the loser, the cool kids, the parents, the posers) seem to be a slew of underdeveloped and unaware clichés, whose only purpose is to time and time again bombard the audiences with Cody's all to formulaic tagline of "Everyone gets old.
In one of the best films of 2011, Charlize Theron generates well-deserved Oscar Buzz for her believable performance as Mavis Gary, a tween-novel writer who comes to terms with her adulthood.
We assume that this kind of woman goes on to do great things, and becomes an amazing person who would have a whole new generation of people fearing her, but that is not always the case, and that is where we meet Mavis, in "Young Adult".Diablo Cody will forever be known for writing 2007's hip-dialogue laden and instantly memorable "Juno", a somewhat controversial teen comedy, which served as a star vehicle for Ellen Page, ensuring that she will play rebellious teenagers well into her thirties.
Diablo Cody's unique writing style combined with Jason Reitman's professional directing has successfully produced Young Adult, a film that while firmly holds its R rating, should be shown to women going through tough times in High School.
Of course, her rowdy and almost unforgivable behavior provide us with enough traditional laughs, but Diablo Cody firmly makes clear what is supposed to be funny and what isn't.Patton Oswalt does some fine work as Mavis's companion throughout the film, breaking the form and cookie cutter image of a fat friend.
I stand behind Young Adult as one of the better films of 2011 with some truly great performances by Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt.
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.
The movie starts well, and has a similar bitter-sweet comedy-drama feel as Juno and Up in the Air. However, from a point it loses direction and ultimately just fizzles out.Charlize Theron gives a solid performance in the lead role.
It's rare these days to find a film that is more focus on story and the art of making a motion picture.Lucky Young Adult is one of those rare films that delivers on both performance and story telling.The story centers around Mavis Gary (Played by Charlize Theron) who is Soon after her divorce, a fiction writer returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex- boyfriend, who is now happily married and has a newborn daughter.The film features a good cast with Charlize Theron as the lead character and I enjoy really enjoy her performance in this film.
Patrick Wilson playing Buddy, Elizabeth Reaser, Patton Oswalt, Collette Wolfe.It just has the feel of it being a independent film and if it is way to go because Independent films focus on story telling and character development.So Young Adult does really well on both accounts.The cast brought their best to the film where Charlize Theron showcase her performance and I enjoy her performance.The music helps move the story along as it play out in each scene.
She is the author of 'young adult' books, which in any other case is a perfectly fine job, except in hers it basically means she vicariously lives the life of her main character – a high school girl.
Theron plays Mavis, a former queen bee from high school, or as one of the characters call her, a "psychotic prom queen bitch," who ghostwrites a young adult fiction series.
Working as a ghost writer for 'young adult' books, Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) feels somewhat lost in purpose, despite seemingly being a success.
When her high-school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) sends her an invitation to a baby shower, Mavis becomes transfixed with the notion that this means he still cares, hence deciding to return back to her small town home and recapture the man from his current wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser).
Obsessed with reclaiming her 'one true love', simultaneously failing to meet writing deadlines and falling into drinking binges with semi-crippled Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), Mavis seems set for a head-on collision with disaster...Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody return to once again manage to pull off the feat of converging a wickedly funny script with some in-depth witty social commentary.
Reitman and writer Diablo Cody have done some interesting work here and they get a real standing ovation performance from Theron who, in the end, IS the film.
Young Adult is a story written by Diablo Cody (Juno) and directed by Jason Reitman (Up In The Air) about a 37-year old woman, Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), who still has a crush on her high school sweetheart, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson).
As young people flock to line up for such films as 'The Hunger Game' opening, attempting to get a view of how rage is OK under given circumstances, along comes another little film from the pen of Diablo Cody (Juno, Jennifer's Body, United States of Tara) and under the direction of Jason Reitman (Juno, Up in the Air, Thank you for Smoking) that is so unsettling in its message that it makes other make-believe story movies pale in comparison.
Add to this combination an actress of the caliber of Charlize Theron and you end up with one disturbing but excellent film.Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), left her high school popularity in Mercury, MN to move on to Minneapolis to become a famous ghost writer of Young Adult romances.
That being said, don't go into this one expecting a laugh-out-loud comedy with some serious tones to it.On with my review, this film centers around Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), a depressed, lonely ghostwriter of a series of young adult novels that is facing cancellation.
To be honest, I didn't feel like I was watching a Jason Reitman film at different points in the movie.
'YOUNG ADULT': Four Stars (Out of Five) The writer and director team that brought us 'JUNO' (Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman) now bring us this dark comedy drama about a woman in her thirties who refuses to grow up.
The film is still definitely one not to be missed for fans of Cody, Reitman or Theron.Theron plays Mavis Gary, a 37-year-old recent divorcée who is the ghost writer for a popular young adult novel series that is now fading in popularity.
She thinks that her life would be fixed if she got back together with her high school sweetheart.Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) has had a failed marriage and drinks too much.
Charlize Theron has never been better as Mavis Gary, a depressed alcoholic ghost writer of a young adult book series who finds her career opportunities drying up as the end of the series draws near.
Mavis (Charlize Theron) is a successful author of young adult novels who hears her old high school squeeze is happily married with a baby, so she decides she wants to get him back.Its a riff on My Best Friend's Wedding, a riff on fame and the classic fish out of water story, but I love it.
Even at ninety minutes long, it doesn't rush things.But what really centers this movie is the impressive performance of Charlize Theron and her character Mavis Gary.
"Young Adult" is one comedy drama filled film that entertains and learns you a little life lesson that things aren't always fair and one can grow and look back at their beginning and accept who they have became as a person.
It's all to common people come and people go.Set in Minnesota a young lady Mavis Gary(in one of Charlize Theron's best roles)now living the big city life of Minneapolis is a lady stuck in a lonely dead end world of writing a small time love and romance book series.
Luckily for us, director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have reconnected (they first worked together on Juno) to let us know exactly what happened to that girl from high school.Mavis (Charlize Theron) is now 37, lives in Minneapolis, and is a ghostwriter for a young adult series (think Sweet Valley High) whose popularity is in severe decline.
It's a grown up, adult drama and a fascinating character study of a truly disturbed woman.Charlize Theron (one of our most fearless actresses working today) brilliantly portrays Mavis, a ghostwriter for a popular series of young adult books who, after hearing news of her ex flame having a baby with his new wife, heads back to her provincial hometown to see what she can do to win him back.
People coming out the theater were saying to each other, "are you kidding?" Sorry for all the people who went in thinking it was something different than it is.Patton Oswald and certainly Charlize Theron deliver good performances, and Patrick Wilson as well, and perhaps because Oswald is a well known comic actor from TV, one might thinks he's getting his big movie break, but nothing is really played for laughs.Had I known going in the dark nature of this drama, I might have come away with a different review, but it's like being blindfolded and tasting chocolate when expecting vanilla..
The film stars Charlize Theron as Mavis Gray, a divorced, 37-year-old writer, on the edge of finishing her last book in a soon-to-be-canceled series of young adult novels.
In "Young Adult" Charlize Theron plays a shallow and self centered but emotionally damaged teen novel writer, who goes back to her old home town to get back together with her old high school sweetheart who is happily married and just became a father.
LOGLINE: Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), an alcoholic and washed up Young Adult genre ghost writer who heads out of the city into her rural Minnesota hometown with plans to steal former high school boyfriend (Patrick Wilson) away from his happy home with wife and new baby.