Reel Review Roundup

Young Adult (M)

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt

Four stars

Review by: Julian Wright

Remember that hot girl at high school who every guy wanted to date and every girl wanted to emulate? Well, according to Young Adult, she turns into the kind of girl you glad you lost touch with and should avoid at the reunion. According to this film, she became a hateful, spiteful witch. We know that doesn’t always happen, but let’s be honest, it is the most interesting scenario.

While no one really wants to see a film about the hot high school cheerleader who got married, had a successful career and popped out 2.5 gorgeous children, it is almost as unbearable to watch her carry on the way she does in this movie. Almost.

Former high school beauty turned professional ghost writer Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) has hit rock bottom. She is divorced, the once popular teen series she writes is coming to an end and her so-called glamorous big city life consists of little more than drinking herself into a stupor on a regular basis. Not exactly the way she thought her life would pan out.

Out of the blue, she receives an email of a new-born baby that belongs to her old high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson).  She promptly packs up some clothes into a suitcase and her cute little puppy into her handbag Paris Hilton style and heads back to the dreary small town she came from (leaving her one night stand still asleep in her bed).

Mavis’ goal is to win buddy back so they can have the life together that she believes they were supposed to have back in the city and to hell with his wife and baby. Oh yeah, this one is a real charmer.

Everything that Mavis does from here on in is rude, selfish and downright despicable. Why would we want to sit through her hurtful shenanigans? We are given more than what just appears on the surface. We might not like what she does but the writer, director and actor make sure they give her enough reasons for it to be believable.

Theron turns in another layered performance, once again, never afraid to look and be ugly on film for the purpose of creating a challenging character who is clinging desperately to her past. But it is not all doom and gloom with some comedic relief with a handful of lighter moments, particularly in scenes with her physically disabled former school mate Matt (Patton Oswalt). One thing is for sure, you wont look at that hot chick you went to school with the same way again.

This entry was posted on January 17, 2012 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.