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The last collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody was back in 2007 with the Oscar-winning Juno. Now, after the amazing Up in the Air, Reitman reunites again with Cody, and the result is Young Adult. It's definitely a far-cry from Juno, but Reitman and Cody handle the subject matter amazingly well. Starring Charlize Theron, Young Adult, at the heart of it, is a character study of prolonged adolescence with the character of Mavis Gary. The main challenge of the film is whether or not you can handle this character, and Reitman definitely does his best to paint her in a sympathetic way. There's so much depth to Young Adult, and with its clever dialogue and a fantastic performance from Theron in the lead role, it conveys a lot of themes about life as of now. Yes, it may be a comedy, but it's also extremely depressing.
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron), once the high school prom queen, now an alcoholic divorcée who writes a soon to be canceled young adult fiction series, makes the decision to return to her hometown Mercury in Minnesota. There she embarks on quest to win back her former sweetheart, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson). The fact that Buddy is now happily married to Beth (Elizabeth Reaser) with a baby doesn't dissuade her. Along the way, she forms a bond with Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), another former classmate, who has been left disabled by a beating he took from a bunch of jocks.
Like I said earlier, the main challenge is whether you can stomach a character like Mavis. She is simply putting it, a total bitch. She tries a steal a man away from his wife, and she doesn't see any wrong in it. She believes she is better than everyone who still lives in Mercury, and from time to time, she'll treat others like shit. Cody however ensures that the audience can feel sympathy for such a person, and she does it in the first 15 minutes of the film. This opening sequence is dialogue free, and it simply depicts what a mess Mavis is. It explains what she does everyday - what she gets from the fridge, how she treats her dog, what she does during the night. The film is literally honed in on this character, and plays the humour on her utter immaturity. She does essentially act like a teenager at all times. All this just adds to this notion that she is a person who needs help, and you spend most of the time just wanting to tell her to wake up and change her life. She's an incredibly damaged character, and in a way, she's pretty much the anit-Juno. The great thing is there's no holding back in how low Mavis goes. Cody pushes for this character to do toxic things - it's what Bad Teacher should've been like.
When she returns home, she bonds almost every night with Matt. There's something strangely sweet about this relationship the two form - Mavis never acknowledged Matt at all in high school, but now she confides in him as she embarks on this quest to win back her childhood sweetheart. Matt, meanwhile, is a lot like Mavis in ways. Like her, he's extremely damaged emotionally, having being severely beat up by a bunch of jocks back in high school because they thought he was gay. Since he is disabled, not a lot of women spend time with him, so it's nice to this bond he shares with Mavis. All the other characters are well established, but are more often used as plot-devices to show the miserable life Mavis lives - while those of Mercury are happy, she still can't seem to find that happiness she so desires. With a life like this, I did feel sympathetic for this character. There are times where it is evident that she needs help considering how damaged she is - every time she feels upset or depressed, she either drinks to the point of intoxication (she almost does this every night with Matt), or she eats junk food.
Cody dials down from hipster comedy in Juno to a much more dark and dry sense of humour. This is actually a lot more realistic than most screenplays we've seen from Cody. She really embraces the Ricky Gervais style of making things as cringe worthy as possible, particularly with Mavis' constant attempts of winning back Buddy. There's a constant rejection of traditional story-telling conventions, and it just adds a great momentum to this film. Mavis finds herself stuck in this quest she has embarked on, and things just get messier and messier and messier. There has been a lot of discussion about the last act of the film, which many people call 'depressing'. I won't lie, it is extremely depressing, and it all fits in with this realism the filmmakers are pushing for. This is, in many ways, a portrait of life as we know it today. There are no true character arcs in Young Adult, nothing is resolved, and the ending in particular will leave audiences divided. I'm not trying to give anything away here but the film does not have a happy ending - she learns nothing from her experience in the film, there's no great epiphany, she's as damaged as she was at the beginning, and it just plays again into what life is like for some of us. There also themes about happiness - what makes us happy, what some of us do to maintain a happy life, what we try to do to find happiness. There are complexities to Young Adult, and for me, repeated viewings would be rewarding. That, of course, doesn't necessarily apply to all audiences - Young Adult dares us to like it, and that's what I love so much about it. I'll admit, it is hard to spend time with a character like Mavis, but her interactions with Matt really show a soft side to this incredibly damaged and lonely woman.
Charlize Theron is jaw-droppingly good as Mavis. Nominated for an Golden Globe (which I still think she should have won), her performance is bold and convincing. How she wasn't nominated for an Oscar, I'll never know. Like in Monster, Theron tries to make herself as ugly as possible (not in a physical kind of way). You'll see moments where her character will doll herself up with make-up and hair extensions before she goes out to see Buddy, hiding the sad and lonely woman underneath - this alone says plenty. Theron also delivers Cody's dialogue brilliantly, with a mix of dead-pan and sarcasm. She handles both her comedic and dramatic moments beautifully. It's a truly nuanced performance she delivers, and one of her best if you ask me. Patton Oswalt meanwhile is just as good. He is an absolute delight to watch. The constant bicker he has with Theron is terrific, and the both work really well together. The moment the two share during the film's final act is heart-warming stuff. Patrick Wilson is charming as Buddy, as he has played this kind of a role a lot of times. That's not a criticism - I actually like him a lot in this film. Elizabeth Reaser has her moments as Buddy's wife, while Jill Eikenberry and Richard Bekins are touching as Mavis' parents.
Reitman is no stranger to dramedies. All his previous films have had a good mix of comedy and drama, and in Young Adult, he definitely pushes for the drama to outweigh the humour. I'm not saying that the film isn't funny at all, but there is great deal of emotion here that just resonates a lot more than the comedy. Reitman directs all the dramatic scenes beautifully, and since he has Theron to work with, each are successful. A memorable moment is when Mavis has an emotional breakdown at a party. Also, the editing at work in Young Adult is amazing, with a lot of jump cuts, and quick-timed edits. It all feels a lot like Up in the Air if you ask me. Reitman doesn't, however, decide to adopt a slick and visually impressive look. With Eric Steelberg behind the camera, the film looks the tone of the film - depressing. There's not a lot of colour. There's not a lot of brightness. Much of the film looks like the whole sky was covered in clouds, and it really worked for me. The music also captured the right mood for me, and Reitman's inclusion of many 90s hits will work well for those who grew up in that era.
Overall, Young Adult is an almost flawless dramedy. My only complaint with the film is its length. At 90 minutes, the film just felt like it should've gone on longer. I would've liked it to have been fleshed out a lot more, and the ending just feels abrupt although it is a fitting way to end the film. With the film gradually gaining momentum in the shocking things Mavis does, the abrupt ending feels way too quick. Still, I loved Young Adult. If you can spend 90 minutes with a character like Mavis, it'll be a rewarding watch. Yes, it is very depressing, but it's a sensational movie experience. I laughed out loud, I cried, I cringed. There's a diversity of emotions running in Young Adult, and with Theron giving one of the best performances of her career, it's an honest and brutal character study that does not hold back. Young Adult is definitely one of the best dramedies I've ever seen.
9/10
