Young Adult

Starring: Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe, Jill Eikenberry
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A writer (Charlize Theron) returns to her hometown to win back her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson).

Review:

Tim: I'm still a bit perplexed as to what to think about Young Adult. This is a completely unconventional movie. At first, this departure from the norm is a bit of a turn off. I wasn't sure how I felt about this movie, but it certainly didn't leave me feeling very good. However, as I thought about it more, I realized that this is a pretty brave portrait of an unlikable, bad person. It's rare for a movie to give us a protagonist who we're not supposed to like, and whose journey during the film isn't one of redemption. Those aspects make this movie unique, and I appreciated that.

This is a hard movie to watch because our protagonist, played by Charlize Theron, is just so unlikable. She's a terribly selfish person, and the entirety of the film is her trying to win back her high school boyfriend, who is happily married and just had a baby. It doesn't get much lower than that. She's a disturbed, broken, sad person, and all of her flaws are put right out there for us to see. That doesn't happen often in movies. Theron should be applauded for embracing this tough role.

Patton Oswalt really makes this movie, though. His supporting performance is so sad, yet uplifting at the same time. He's similarly a broken individual, haunted by his past and uses that pain as an excuse to not reach his full potential. The relationship between Theron and Oswalt is so unlikely, but they sell it and I believed in it. They both worked extremely well together, and this odd dynamic was the main selling point of the movie for me. Patrick Wilson was good, too, but he didn't effect the overall movie as much as Theron and Oswalt did. I found their relationship fascinating, and it kept me interested in the film.

I've been thinking, what is the difference between this movie and one like Bad Teacher, which also features an actress in an unlikable leading role. I hated that movie, while I think this one is decent. There's a lot of factors involved, but the main one is that while Cameron Diaz was a bad person in that movie, we were supposed to care about her and believe in her quasi-redemption at the end. Please, that's just absurd and I hated the movie for trying to make me feel like that. Young Adult features a similar selfish, self-absorbed individual. However, it takes a much more realistic approach. At the end of the movie, she hasn't undergone a massive transformation. She's still not a likable character. It just felt much more real to me.

This isn't to say I particularly liked Young Adult. I appreciated what it was, but this is not an enjoyable movie to watch. We have absolutely no one to care about or root for in the entire film. This makes it hard to be invested in anything that happens. The movie is awkward and occasionally painful to watch. I felt like I had to look away from the screen a few times because it was like watching a trainwreck. I love that the movie created those emotions in me, but I disliked the experience of watching this movie. That might have been the point, and I realize that. I applaud this film for creating such an uncomfortable viewing experience, but I wouldn't exactly call this realistic film a good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Juno, Up in the Air