Young Adult (2011)
Starring Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, and Elizabeth Reaser
Directed by Jason Reitman
Mavis Gary is a bitch. There's really no need to bite my tongue when saying that because it's true...and in her heart, she knows that's the case. She was the popular one in her high school in Mercury, Minnesota, a small town outside of Minneapolis, and nearly two decades removed from those days of making out with boys in the forest behind the school during lunch, Mavis, the now popular young adult novelist with a fondness for any kind of liquor (played brilliantly by Charlize Theron) is still as self-centered as ever living the big city life in Minneapolis. After receiving an e-mail announcing the birth of their baby from the wife of her former high school beau Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), Mavis gets the crazy idea to head back to Mercury and attempt to rekindle her relationship with Buddy. Yes, that's right...Buddy just had a kid and Mavis is trying to steal him away from his wife.
That's the kind of abhorrent character Charlize Theron is given here to portray in a screenplay from Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody. Mavis is unlikeable at the start of the film and she's no more appealing at the film's end which may explain why this flick has ultimately failed at the box office. We in the audience don't see a character arc from bad to good. Instead, thanks to a powerful scene at the film's end in which Mavis is actually encouraged to continue her uncouth ways, Mavis ends the film perhaps even worse than at the film's start. That isn't to say that Mavis doesn't have revelatory moments in which she realizes some of her faults, but she doesn't necessarily feel the need to change her actions...a ballsy move in which Up in the Air director Jason Reitman fully succeeds.
Mavis's brief moments of revelation often come courtesy of Mercury resident Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt). Although Matt and Mavis had lockers next to each other in high school, they barely spoke a word to one another. Matt has had his own share of troubles as the victim of a hate crime back in high school when a group of jocks mistook him for being gay and severely beat him. After that incident, he isn't afraid to tell Mavis his true thoughts as he finds her plan to reunite with her married ex-boyfriend a horrible idea. Oswalt, best known for his role in King of Queens, is allowed to be the voice of reason here as the conduit that makes a movie with a character as unlikeable as Mavis more watchable and relatable to the viewer.
The key to the film's success, however, is Charlize Theron. Even though a thirtysomething Mavis is childish in her actions, Theron's Mavis is always thinking and it shows courtesy of the slightest of eye movements or brow furrowing -- granted, her pondering may not necessarily be "correct" or "appropriate," but Mavis's mind is always whirring with ways to make things better for herself. It takes talent to make a reprehensible character desirable to spend 110 minutes with (those Hangover guys fail miserably in this department) and the beautiful Theron is fun to watch. As mentioned above, much credit also needs to be given to Diablo Cody who dropped the pop culture heaviness and catchphrases that proliferated her earlier films like Juno and Jennifer's Body and graduates to a much more adult theme here.
Cody has crafted a character most actresses would be too afraid to sink their teeth into -- one who hardly ever finds herself in the good graces of the viewing audience. Thankfully, Charlize Theron was more than willing to tackle the tricky Mavis Gary and has given one of the best performances of the year.
The RyMickey Rating: B+
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