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

On October 18, 2011, George Stroumboulopoulos, along with director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, hosted the first public screening/"sneak peek" of the film at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. The screening was followed by a brief Q&A session for attendees with Reitman and Cody. The screening was promoted as a secret with nothing about the film revealed. Comedic trailers also played on The Hour.

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Goofs

When Charlize Theron is sitting in KFC, the cup says KGC from one angle and then KFC from another. While thought to be a mistake, the cup reads "KGC" because for a short while, Kentucky Fried Chicken tried to rebrand itself as Kentucky Grilled Chicken, offering a healthier option to their original fried chicken. The cup bears the new, short-lived KGC logo.

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Quotes

Matt Freehauf: Mavis, I would keep all of this to yourself. I would find a therapist.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #20.54 (2011)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Theron Delivers the Goods as the Unrepentant Queen of Small-Town Mean

Without an iota of irony, Charlize Theron finally uses her intimidating beauty for pure Machiavellian evil, and the results are fortuitous in this dark-hued 2011 comedy, the latest collaboration of director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno"). She's absolutely spot-on terrific playing Mavis Gary, the condescending, hateful high school girl who comes back to Mercury, her podunk hometown nearly two decades later. Mavis is no Blanche Dubois-type character whose ladylike beauty has faded into a gauzy romantic delusion. No, Mavis is still one hot babe and very much the complete narcissist she was as a teenager, emotionally stunted despite her relative worldliness having moved to Minneapolis to become a ghostwriter of a series of teen novels.

It's not surprising she finds success writing for an adolescent audience since she still defines her life with teenage-level priorities and fantasies. As she has proved with "Juno", Cody is thoroughly fluent with this perspective, but the twist is that this time, it's coming from a jaded 37-year-old woman. Even though Mavis is a divorcée who lives in a high-rise apartment with a toy dog and can easily get any man she wants, she is triggered by a birth announcement email she receives from her high school sweetheart Buddy Slade and becomes fixated on getting him back all these years later. It doesn't matter that he's happily married and perfectly content living in Mercury. She concocts a scheme to make herself so alluring that he will want to run away with her. Normally, this would be an excuse for broad comedy machinations, but Theron is so gorgeous that it makes her shameless attempts at seduction all the more edgily desperate.

It's a narrowly developed plot for sure, but surprisingly, what enriches the proceedings is the unexpected relationship Mavis develops with Matt Freehauf, a sad-sack former classmate whose sole claim to notoriety was being the victim of a hate crime when he was beaten up and left for dead by a group of jocks who assumed he was gay. He has been left crippled, living in Mercury with his sister making his own home-brewed bourbon and putting together mix-and-match action figures. That Mavis and Matt connect is all the more intriguing since they were at opposite ends of the social spectrum back in school, and their present-day bond is also fueled by her obvious alcoholism, a point that is overlooked by her befuddled parents who wish to think of Mavis as the flawless pretty daughter of their own deluded fantasies. The story evolves in the direction you would expect but not before certain revelations come to light in a tortuous scene at the baby-naming party Buddy and his sensible wife Beth have with all their relatives and close friends in attendance.

Beyond Theron's fearless work and intentionally deadpan line delivery, there is comedian Patton Oswalt's surprisingly affecting performance as Matt. I only know him from his recurring role as a comical sad-sack on the sitcom "King of Queens", so it's surprising to see the amount of texture he brings to this role. As Buddy, Patrick Wilson once again plays the sought-after himbo, but this time, his character's unshaven, small-town modesty comes across as more contrite with his character's feelings toward Mavis left quite elliptical. Elizabeth Reaser ("Sweet Land") isn't given that much to do as Beth, probably by intention, but Collette Wolf has a few impactful moments as Matt's insulated sister still idolizing Mavis after all these years. As he showed with "Juno" and "Up in the Air", Reitman shows a deft hand with actors playing flawed characters who try to manipulate their circumstances but fall short of their vaunted expectations.