Young Adult
2011
****
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe, Hettienne Park, J. K. Simmons, Louisa Krause
Mavis Gary, an aimless, alcoholic divorcee who writes fiction for young adults, decides to travel back to her home town of Mercury, Minnesota to woo back her high school sweetheart who is happily married with a young baby. Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody broke to the scene with Juno, a refreshing drama comedy about a precocious teenager. Now Cody flips this scenario around by giving us a deluded 37-year-old protagonist who feels nostalgic about her time in high school. Stories about going back home to recover from current crisis or to face past demons are familiar Hollywood material, but Cody puts a fresh twist on the formula. Her characters are full of surprises and Mavis' trip is in turn funny, poignant, cringe-inducing, and sad. The performances are great.
