{"id":1831,"date":"2012-02-02T14:59:31","date_gmt":"2012-02-02T14:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=1831"},"modified":"2012-02-02T14:59:31","modified_gmt":"2012-02-02T14:59:31","slug":"young-adult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/comedy\/young-adult\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Adult ****"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>High school reunion flicks are ten a penny, and play to our morose curiosity of what others are up now, and how better\/worse others have faired since leaving education. Up in the Air<\/a><\/em> director Jason Reitman<\/a> has teamed up with Academy Award-winning writer Diablo Cody<\/a> of his other hit teenage dramedy, Juno<\/a><\/em>, to take this \u2018home-coming\u2019 idea to depressing new levels of self reflection and blacken humour that the results of unregulated and misguided nostalgia can generate.<\/p>\n

Charlize Theron<\/a> is Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature that is going out of fashion who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart, Buddy (Patrick Wilson<\/a>). When returning home proves more difficult than she first thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate, Matt (Patton Oswalt<\/a>), who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.<\/p>\n

Cody is simply untouchable in this genre, exactly capturing in words and expressions the dormant demons of our youth and awakening them, so much so that the sheer honesty of her writing in this \u2013 minus the candid and sharp observations of Juno<\/em> \u2013 has an alarmingly bittersweet effect as we witness Mavis\u2019s delusions of grandeur, monumental indiscretions and cringeworthy mistakes. The truth is in the character detail, the fact that Mavis is far from happy and successful in life \u2013 aside from the obvious alcohol addiction, from the moment she replays the same old song of her youth in her car to recapture her lost self-esteem and school stature, to the tragic meltdown on a front lawn. The sobering fact this film emphasises is people don\u2019t change \u2013 circumstances do, and it\u2019s how we deal and grown with them that ultimately defines us in (hopefully) a better way.<\/p>\n

Theron is an absolute riot in this, despicable most of the time as troubled Mavis. She strips away any past glamour, and reiterates her award-winning Monster<\/a><\/em> star power by making Mavis a method-acted challenge, rather than falling into the genre stereotype. Her character\u2019s self-destructive patterns leave possibilities wide open for what transpires next, and highlights the irony that Mavis \u2013 against her will \u2013 is far more content without aspiring for the trappings of success she deems as necessary. Cody layers her main character with other personal issues that affect her behaviour, such as depilating depression that even the best cosmetic efforts cannot hide.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Theron\u2019s unusual but riveting partnership with Oswalt that provides some of the most memorable and poignant moments in the film. Far from being a pathetic man-child stuck in the past, Matt earns a respectful strength of character as the film progresses, which merely reflects Mavis\u2019s faults and inner ugliness. In fact, Mavis\u2019s actual problem with former school \u2018loser\u2019 Matt isn\u2019t his lack of ambition and drive to reinvent himself by escaping small-town living, but her own shocking realisation that her chance has been and gone, and any way of getting out of the mire is being hindered by her own personality and self-inflicted issues.<\/p>\n

As coming-of-age stories go, Reitman and Cody\u2019s Young Adult<\/em><\/a> is a stone-cold sobering one of sheer brilliance, packed with ironic laughs and painful honesty and observations. Theron is in finest form yet, giving a courageous mixed portrayal of immaturity and enlightenment as one lost soul searching for purpose.<\/p>\n

4\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

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