| Photos (See all 97 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 19) |
| 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 | |
| John Forest | ... | Wheelchair Mike | |
| Rightor Doyle | ... | Babysitter | |
| Brady Smith | ... | Date Man | |
| Timothy Young | ... | Champions Server | |
| Erin Darke | ... | Teen Employee | |
| Jee Young Han | ... | Teen Employee | |
| Ella Rae Peck | ... | Girl | |
| Aleisha Allen | ... | Girl (as Aleisha Lanae Allen) | |
| Matt Wilson | ... | Teenage Clerk | |
| Orlagh Cassidy | ... | Party Guest | |
| Charles Techman | ... | Parking Attendant | |
| Emily Meade | ... | Denny's Waitress | |
| Neil Hellegers | ... | Young Dad | |
| Michael Nathanson | ... | Champions Greeter | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Landyn Banx | ... | Business Person (uncredited) | |
| Julie E. Davis | ... | Shopper (uncredited) | |
| Fredrika Dukes | ... | Business Person (uncredited) | |
| Devon A Early | ... | Denny's Customer (uncredited) | |
| John Edel | ... | Businessman in Skyway (uncredited) | |
| Kirsten Gregerson | ... | Business Person (uncredited) | |
| Rosemary Howard | ... | Guest at Baby Naming Party (uncredited) | |
| Eric Jon Pierson | ... | Restaurant Patron (uncredited) | |
| J.K. Simmons | ... | Mavis's Publisher (uncredited) | |
| Joel Thingvall | ... | Businessman in Skyway (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Jason Reitman | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| Diablo Cody | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Brian Bell | .... | line producer | |
| Jason Blumenfeld | .... | associate producer (as Jason A. Blumenfeld) | |
| Diablo Cody | .... | producer | |
| Helen Estabrook | .... | executive producer | |
| Lianne Halfon | .... | producer | |
| Nathan Kahane | .... | executive producer | |
| Beth Kono | .... | co-producer | |
| Kelli Konop | .... | co-producer | |
| Mary Lee | .... | co-producer | |
| John Malkovich | .... | executive producer | |
| Mason Novick | .... | producer | |
| Steven M. Rales | .... | executive producer (as Steven Rales) | |
| Jason Reitman | .... | producer | |
| Russell Smith | .... | producer | |
| Charlize Theron | .... | producer (uncredited) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Rolfe Kent | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Eric Steelberg | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Dana E. Glauberman | |||
Casting by | |||
| Jessica Kelly | |||
| Suzanne Smith | (as Susanne Smith Crowley) | ||
Production Design by | |||
| Kevin Thompson | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Michael Ahern | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Carrie Stewart | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| David C. Robinson | (as David Robinson) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Mary Aaron | .... | key makeup artist (as Mary R. Aaron) | |
| Deanna Johnson | .... | hair assistant: Minneapolis (as Deanna L. Johnson) | |
| Maureen Landa | .... | makeup assistant: Minneapolis (as Maureen Landa McGavin) | |
| Mandy Lyons | .... | hair department head | |
| Mia Neal | .... | key hair stylist (as Mia M. Neal) | |
| Nuria Sitja | .... | makeup department head | |
| Jonathan Gording | .... | contact lenses: special (uncredited) | |
Production Management | |||
| Brian Bell | .... | unit production manager | |
| Luca Borghese | .... | post-production supervisor | |
| Frank Murray | .... | production supervisor (as Fran¸ois Murray) | |
| Jillian Nodland | .... | production supervisor: Minneapolis | |
| Jennifer Scudder Trent | .... | post-production executive (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| Glen Aldous | .... | scenic | |
| Michael Boucher | .... | set dresser | |
| Peter Bundrick | .... | key carpenter | |
| Terrence Burke | .... | construction grip | |
| James Dewolf | .... | construction grip (as Jim DeWolf) | |
| Daniel Dietrich | .... | carpenter (as Dan Dietrich) | |
| Faith Farrell | .... | scenic artist: Minneapolis | |
| Glenn Gatti | .... | on-set dresser | |
| Alex Gorodetsky | .... | charge scenic (as Alexander Gorodetsky) | |
| Sandy Hamilton | .... | property master | |
| Richard Hebrank | .... | construction coordinator (as Rich Hebrank) | |
| Colby Ippoliti | .... | set dresser | |
| Dan-ah Kim | .... | assistant art director | |
| Joe Kupillas | .... | carpenter (as Joseph Kupillas) | |
| Michael Leather | .... | leadperson | |
| Hank Liebeskind | .... | set dresser | |
| Eugene Melvin | .... | on-set dresser (as Eugene Melvin Jr.) | |
| Michael Miller | .... | key construction grip (as Mike Miller) | |
| Leann Murphy | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Bruce J. Paquette | .... | carpenter (as Bruce Paquette) | |
| Susan Perlman | .... | buyer | |
| Vinny Perrella | .... | scenic industrial (as Vincent J. Perrella III) | |
| Nicole Scoppa | .... | set dresser | |
| Theo Sena | .... | on-set dresser | |
| Lee Shevett | .... | construction grip | |
| Sha-Sha Shiau | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Brian J. Simpson | .... | set dresser: Minneapolis (as Brian Simpson) | |
| William Smith | .... | set dresser | |
| Gary Sommers | .... | set dresser | |
| Ryan Tallant | .... | on-set dresser: Minneapolis | |
| Susan Tatom | .... | set decorating coordinator | |
| Chris Thickins | .... | set dresser: Minneapolis (as Chris Thickens) | |
| Billy Vann | .... | construction grip | |
| James Wassmann | .... | carpenter | |
| Joel Weaver | .... | assistant property master | |
| Mark Wojahn | .... | leadperson: Minneapolis | |
| Gary Surber | .... | set dresser (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Drew Jiritano | .... | special effects coordinator (as Drew Jiritano Jr.) | |
| Mike Myers | .... | special effects technician | |
| Stephen Powers | .... | special effects technician | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Peter Amante | .... | lead digital compositor: Phosphene | |
| John Bair | .... | visual effects supervisor: Phosphene | |
| Vivian Connolly | .... | visual effects producer: Phosphene | |
| Constance Conrad | .... | digital compositor: Phosphene | |
| Chris MacKenzie | .... | smoke artist: Deluxe New York | |
| Thomas Panayiotou | .... | digital compositor: Phosphene | |
| Aaron Raff | .... | lead digital compositor: Phosphene | |
| Ariela Rotenberg | .... | visual effects assistant producer: Phosphene | |
| Scott Winston | .... | lead digital compositor: Phosphene | |
| Andrew Yates | .... | digital compositor: Phosphene | |
| Kevin Quinlan | .... | visual effects artist (uncredited) | |
| Mark Wilhelm | .... | digital compositor (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| Peter Bucossi | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Janet Paparazzo | .... | stunt double: Mavis | |
| Shawnna Thibodeau | .... | stunt double: Mavis | |
Casting Department | |||
| Diana Blue | .... | background casting assistant | |
| Erin Darke | .... | casting assistant | |
| Karen E. Etcoff | .... | background casting (as Karen Etcoff) | |
| Matthew Feeney | .... | background casting: Minneapolis | |
| Bill Tripician | .... | background casting assistant | |
| Dann Fink | .... | adr voice casting (uncredited) | |
| Jamie Jacobson | .... | child extras casting (uncredited) | |
| Bruce Winant | .... | adr voice casting (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Barbara Hause | .... | costume supervisor (as Barbara J. Hause) | |
| Cynthia Kurkowski | .... | seamstress: Minneapolis | |
| Penelope Laughman | .... | key set costumer (as Penelope L. Laughman) | |
| Crystal Thompson | .... | tailor/seamstress | |
| Cerah Tymoshuk | .... | wardrobe assistant: Minneapolis | |
| Laura Wehrman | .... | set costumer | |
| Tsigie White | .... | assistant costume designer (as Tsigie White Robinson) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Matt Breitenbach | .... | colorist assistant: dailies (as Matthew Breitenbach) | |
| Matt Breitenbach | .... | digital intermediate assist | |
| Tricia Chiarenza | .... | color timer | |
| Yanosh Cuglove | .... | editorial intern | |
| Shaina Holmes | .... | dailies project manager | |
| Oliver Horovitz | .... | editorial assistant | |
| Markus Janner | .... | digital intermediate recordist | |
| Brent Kleinman | .... | digital intermediate engineer | |
| Natasha Leonnet | .... | digital intermediate colorist | |
| Ryan Murphy | .... | first assistant editor | |
| David Pultz | .... | color timer | |
| Anthony Raffaele | .... | colorist: dailies | |
| Jonathan Sanden | .... | digital intermediate editor | |
| Robert Sirianni | .... | video data center technician | |
| Darrell R. Smith | .... | digital intermediate supervising producer | |
| Andrew Weisblum | .... | addtional editor | |
| Angel L. Acevedo III | .... | post-production technician: dailies (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Sterling Andrews | .... | assistant: Mr. Kent | |
| Linda Cohen | .... | music supervisor | |
| Stephen Coleman | .... | music programmer | |
| Jessica Dolinger | .... | music licensing | |
| Katherine Gordon Miller | .... | music editor (as Katherine Miller) | |
| Alistair South | .... | music assistant | |
| Nick South | .... | music editor | |
| Greg Townley | .... | scoring mixer | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Michael Arnold | .... | transportation captain: Minneapolis (as Michael Hallett-Arnold) | |
| Kenny Gaskins | .... | transportation captain | |
| James S. Keegan | .... | transportation captain | |
| Andrew Garski | .... | driver: mechanic (uncredited) | |
| Richard P. Pecora | .... | driver (uncredited) | |
| John 'Detroit' White | .... | driver: honeywagon (uncredited) | |
Thanks | |||
| Michael Boucher | .... | in memory of | |
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section |
If nothing else, 'Young Adult' is a breath of fresh air. Written by Juno creator Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman, YA is like a distant sequel - if Juno had moved to the city, got married and divorced and started drinking. 'Young Adult' is darkly funny, confronting, a bit depressing at times and has a refreshing sense of realism. It's not afraid to show broken characters battling their own demons and the mundane and sometimes bleak suburban existence.
Charlize Theron played Mavis, a relatively successful teen fiction author in Minneapolis who's reached a crossroads. Recently divorced and struggling to write her latest novel, she receives an email from her high school flame Buddy (Patrick Wilson) announcing his new baby. Mavis convinces herself that Buddy still loves her - despite being happily married to Beth (Elizabeth Reaser) and goes back to Minnesota to win him back. Along the way she meets Matt (Patton Oswalt), a short, fat, reclusive man still emotionally and physically scarred by a hate crime in high school, who was all but ignored by the younger Mavis despite being locker-mates. Despite her intentions for Buddy, Mavis and Matt bond.
The unlikely relationship between Mavis and Matt is, for me, is the highlight of the movie: Matt sees through Mavis' charade and isn't afraid to let her know about it, being downright rude at times, he's not the "Mr. Nice Guy" you may expect. The chemistry between Theron and Oswalt is brilliant. While they may be worlds apart socially and physically, their relationship is believable. After "uglying herself up" for 'Monster', Theron again eschews her glamorous image for the sake of a role. While Mavis is undoubtedly beautiful, she's clearly damaged and lonely, clinging onto an imagined ideal of happiness and completely ignoring reality. Her obsession with Buddy is demonstrated on her drive to Minnesota: playing an old mix tape in her car, she repeatedly plays the song that she and Buddy first made love to.
While 'Young Adult' may be a shock to some, that's what makes it so good. In a climate littered with clichéd, paint-by-numbers rom-coms with nauseatingly happy endings, its refreshing to see a movie which tackles the darker side of life.