Young Adult (2011)

Soon after her divorce, a fiction writer returns to her home in small-town Minnesota, looking to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now happily married and has a newborn daughter.

Director:

Jason Reitman

Writer:

Diablo Cody

Stars:

Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlize Theron	...	Mavis Gary
Patton Oswalt	...	Matt Freehauf
Patrick Wilson	...	Buddy Slade
Elizabeth Reaser	...	Beth Slade
Collette Wolfe	...	Sandra Freehauf
Jill Eikenberry	...	Hedda Gary
Richard Bekins	...	David Gary
Mary Beth Hurt	...	Jan
Kate Nowlin	...	Mary Ellen Trantowski
Jenny Dare Paulin	...	Nipple Confusion Bassist
Rebecca Hart	...	Nipple Confusion Guitarist
Louisa Krause	...	Front Desk Girl
Elizabeth Ward Land	...	Sales Lady
Brian McElhaney	...	Book Associate
Hettienne Park	...	Vicki

Storyline

Mavis Gary, once the high school 'It Girl', now an alcoholic divorcée who writes a soon to be canceled young adult fiction series, makes the decision to return to her childhood home in Minnesota. There she embarks on a plan to win back her former sweetheart, Buddy. The fact that Buddy is now married with a baby doesn't dissuade her. Along the way, she forms a bond with Matt Freehauf, another former classmate, who has been left disabled by a beating he took from a bunch of jocks.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | minnesota | classmate | alcoholic | baby | 

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Taglines:

Everyone gets old. Not everyone grows up

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Adultos jóvenes

Filming Locations:

JC Studios, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$310,263 (USA) (9 December 2011)

Gross:

$16,300,302 (USA) (17 February 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Denver and Delilah Productions, Indian Paintbrush

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During a scene where Mavis (Charlize Theron) browses in a clothing store, an assistant offers to help, and Mavis asks if they have anything by Marc Jacobs. Theron is, in reality, a big fan of the New York designer's line of fashion.

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Goofs

The morning after Mavis' first night home she is walking down the street in a dark shirt, zipper hoodie, and jeans and is carrying a diet coke bottle. The next scene shows her sitting on a park bench typing on her lap top wearing a striped shirt, and next to her you see a shopping bag with half of a red star visible to viewers, indicating that she went to Macy's. Then in the next scene (which is presumably the same day and same trip, as she is getting ready to see Buddy for the first time that night) she is back in her dark colored shirt while she is getting a pedicure. She doesn't wear the striped shirt and go to Macy's until the following day (the day of Beth's concert when she goes to Macy's to buy her outfit). The scenes are out of sequence.

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Quotes

Mavis Gary: I've been seeing quite a bit of Buddy.
David Gary: The old beau, huh?
Hedda Gary: I remember you kids were so cute in high school.
Mavis Gary: It's funny how those initial instincts can be so right, you know? I mean, you make all these mistakes along the way, but the world will make sure you end up with the person you're meant to be with.
Hedda Gary: It's good to keep those people in your life. The people who really know you best.

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Connections

Features Kendra (2009)

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Soundtracks

"We've Only Just Begun"
Written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams

User Reviews

Feels genuine

Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody have been kind of hit or miss for me or at least that's what I like to think. I didn't enjoy Juno nearly as much as everyone else seemed to while Jennifer's Body, while not great, may have been better received on my end than what most give it credit for mostly because I have such a soft spot for horror. On the other hand though, Up in the Air was fairly fantastic all around. With that said, the main thing attracting me to Young Adult was the fact that Patton Oswalt had a rather big supporting role. Despite the fact that Charlize Theron has done so many things since and has won an Oscar, films like The Astronaut's Wife and The Devil's Advocate only come to mind whenever she's featured in anything which isn't flattering at all. So there was kind of this sense of dread going into Young Adult, but was it justified? The short answer is no, but it doesn't completely blow you away either.

There was an Entertainment Weekly article a few weeks ago where Theron said she aimed to not only be a mean-spirited individual, but also easily relatable as well. That's the trickiest part with a character like this. Anyone can be cold or act black hearted, but doing that while also displaying qualities that make you feel sorry for them and/or feel like something you went through in your life is something special. Imagining anyone else in this role is practically impossible, as well. The entire premise seems to be built around Theron. She seems to be playing herself or at least a slightly exaggerated version of how she is in real life. That more than likely contributes to the movie working as well as it does.

One of the other great things about the movie is that it's mostly unexpected. Young adult fiction writer Mavis Gary (Theron) currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota but decides to return to her small hometown of Mercury after receiving an email from her high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) welcoming his first child into the world. Mavis somehow thinks that her and Buddy are meant to be together and despite Buddy being happily married and having a daughter that he loves dearly, Mavis thinks they can work past that to make things right between them. The outcome of the events is probably pretty predictable, but the relationships in between unfold in a way that you probably don't see coming. I'm mostly referring to Mavis and Matt Freehauf's (Patton Oswalt) friendship as it goes in a direction that feels far too human for such a superficial individual like Mavis. Oswalt also seems to be playing an exaggerated version of himself as well as he makes full use of his geekiness. The Pixies shirt was also a nice touch. But Young Adult is mostly entertaining due to the way it feels genuine despite revolving around somebody who is as harsh and selfish as Mavis Gray is.

Young Adult is very dark and downright bleak at times, but that's one of its most distinguishing traits. You'll more than likely find something to relate to in Mavis Gray whether it was you who was the popular kid in school, are just as depressed as she is, think you may be an alcoholic, or you're a writer, Mavis isn't really in the right frame of mind and maybe that's the most relatable part of her character. Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt share a kind of twisted chemistry that involves some fairly witty dialogue at times, but is mostly them dragging the other one through the mud with their words, which strangely only illustrates how miserable and similar their two characters are. Young Adult is a very fascinating dark comedy that is laugh out loud funny at times due to its cruelness, but shines thanks to its authenticity.