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Young Adult (2011)

Like an episode of Curb on crack, Young Adult will test your tolerance for uncomfortable comedy. Charlize Theron plays the bat shit crazy lead absolutely perfectly and deserves all the acclaim she's received. See it if you think you can stomach it.

Comments (14)

  1. wintermayer Totally agree. Charlize and Patton Oswalt were great. I never really get the Diablo Cody hate when movies like this and Juno come from her pen.
    October 30, 2012
  2. MikkoP I think its the dialogue...She always makes it fun to listen to, but the phrasing of things is usually quirky, or awkward (in a good way) with more enigmatic and expressive words, and it seems a bit like something a self-proclaimed intellectual would write, but it works and is still entertaining.
    October 30, 2012
  3. wintermayer The things that make her writing quirky are the things that make her writing unique are the things that make her writing interesting are the things that make her writing difficult for some to enjoy. I enjoy that there's someone with a unique voice out there.
    October 30, 2012
  4. ross I can understand the hate for Juno with all the dialogue (as mentioned by Mikko), but you can tell she's got talent with this one. Also: How about that Jason Reitman? The man is easily one of the best directors working today.
    October 30, 2012
  5. wintermayer Agreed, although I have yet to watch Up In The Air I have few doubts it will be good. However this, Juno and Thank You For Smoking are all really well done.
    October 30, 2012
  6. ross Oh man, it's good. Like really good.
    October 31, 2012
  7. jilka I think Diablo Cody missed a really important part of storytelling, and that is THE ENDING. I wanted to like this film a lot, and despite the dog in the purse scene, and Patton Oswald, I came out of it feeling like there was no real story. She starts out narcissistic, selfish and alone, and she ends up in the same place. That's not a journey. She didn't even positively impact anyone around her. They all hate her, and if she wasn't played by the ultra sexy/mostly likeable Charlize Theron I think this film would have tanked.
    October 31, 2012
  8. jilka That's just my $4 though :P
    October 31, 2012
  9. ross I think you're right about there being no story, but did she need to change? I got the feeling at the end she sort of chose not to change, that she had the opportunity to, but chose instead to accept the delusion that everyone else was the problem, not her and run back to the city. Side note: I generally don't like Charlize Theron.
    October 31, 2012
  10. MikkoP I thought that it was never about her getting better or about you liking her, that it was just about getting some perspective on a person like her.
    October 31, 2012
  11. MikkoP Because she is designed to be the kind of person that we generally pass off doing the things she does as "being a bitch" and this movie has some cool insights on to how people like "her" actually function.
    October 31, 2012
  12. wintermayer Also in a way I felt the movie was meant to buck the conventions of the journey because it seemed the whole way through that she would eventually come to appreciate others a little more because isn't that what always happens....and then she doesn't. In a way someone not changing who they are, particularly someone like her character, is far more realistic. I'm with you on the decision aspect Ross. It seemed there was a moment where she felt like she might start to become someone else and caught herself. Essentially she sabotaged her journey as soon as she realized that she was at the point that if she didn't get out of dodge she might lose herself and that despite all her problems she has with herself, she still sees it as being a better alternative than being like the people she left behind.
    October 31, 2012
  13. jilka I understand that in real life people like her wouldn't necessarily change, but then again, I wouldnt find them interesting enough to write a film about. And in terms of "getting some perspective on a person like her", can't we get that from any show on TLC?
    October 31, 2012
  14. wintermayer I think the point I was trying to make was the fact that a well written and acted movie that doesn't end up with some journey taken by the character to be different is in itself different from everything else out there. That unique quality serves as something to help this movie stand apart from the rest. As to your TLC point...none of those shows are anywhere near as interesting. Just because Young Adult and some reality show have an unlikeable lead who doesn't change in common, that doesn't automatically put them on equal ground in any other way. It's one factor in common out of dozens to be taken into consideration. That reasoning might fly from a sociological standpoint, but no other metric people tend to use to watch or critique films would hold that up as there being any other equivalency between the two examples.
    October 31, 2012

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