Let the record be shown that high school was not an ideal time of my life. As a socially awkward nerd with virtually no stock in that most prized adolescent possession-- popularity-- the majority of my teenage years clearly did not serve as my glory days. Bitter, jaded, and swearing revenge, I spent the rest of my life in my dank, ominous cave which reeked of Cheetos and Shasta cola, plotting my earth-shattering vengeance against the jocks and prom queens who reaped the benefits of being pretty, socially acceptable, and hygienic.
Okay, the second half of that paragraph wasn't exactly true (except for maybe the Cheetos thing, but really, can you blame me?). But high school definitely served as a major catalyst of change for me and probably everybody else who was unfortunate to experience it. After all, social politics superseded education in importance during those days, and many teenagers (and still some adults) believe high school to be the ultimate arbiter in cementing one's emotional and social destiny.
Or is it? After all, the miracle of social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace have allowed us to witness how much our former classmates have changed. Some personalities may have matured. Some folks got married and had kids (or the other way around). Some went on to great collegiate and/or professional careers. And some, unfortunately, wallowed in the selfish, hard-partying mindset that was oh-so-cool back in the day, and refused (either consciously or subconsciously) to grow up.
That's the dilemma that fuels Young Adult, a bleak yet satisfyingly dark dramedy from the Juno team of director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody.
37-year-old Mavis Gary is a Minneapolis-based ghostwriter for the once-successful young adult book series Waverly Prep, and is racing towards a deadline with her editor (voice of J.K. Simmons) to send in the manuscript for the series' last installment. Living alone with only her dog as a companion, Mavis one day receives an e-mail celebrating the birth of her old high school flame Buddy's (Patrick Wilson) daughter.
Still pining for Buddy after all these years, and incensed that she isn't still with him as she believes it should be, Mavis decides to drive back to her hometown of Mercury, Minnesota and take Buddy back for herself. Under the pretenses of overseeing a real estate deal, Mavis manages to set up a reunion with Buddy at a dive bar for the next night, but while waiting in the meantime, she unexpectedly reunites with former classmate Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), who's still suffering from a limp and lower-body mutilation caused by being brutally tortured by bullies years earlier because they thought he was gay.
Matt learns of Mavis' selfish plan, and despite warning against her trying to destroy Buddy's blissful marriage with his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser), he and Mavis form an unlikely friendship. As Mavis continues on with her brazen goal to seduce and regain Buddy and relive her high school glory days, she must confront not only a town that's changed greatly since she abandoned it, but also her own self and the arrested emotional development that seemingly everybody but her seems to notice.
It's very rare to go into a movie and openly despise a protagonist even though they're... well, the protagonist. Sure, it's common and even pleasing to have a character with flaws that grounds them and makes them relatable to the audience, but that clearly wasn't enough for director Reitman and scribe Cody, whose work here is probably her most mature and well-thought-out to date, most likely due to the virtual lack of the "quirky hipster" talk that permeated Juno (which was good despite it) and Jennifer's Body (which was bad because of it).
It's also a testament to the acting skills of Charlize Theron, seeing how an incredibly gorgeous actress like herself is able to make Mavis completely unattractive by virtue of heavy personality flaws alone. Her Mavis is clearly stuck in her late teens despite pushing 40, and even though she's carved out a successful living for herself professionally, her personal live is a shambles, flooded with booze, one-night-stands, and a clear disdain for life and people in general.
It's a fascinating character study, and despite having probably no redeeming qualities whatsoever (or perhaps because of it), the character is a good examination on the themes of growing up, the inability for some to overcome psychological damages, and moving on with one's life after failing in one's goals or dreams.
Even better (and more pleasantly surprising) is comedian Patton Oswalt as Mavis' old classmate and polar opposite. His character Matt went through hell in high school (where Mavis was at her best), but is now at peace with where life brought him (again, vice versa). Possessing the conscience and humility that Mavis sacrificed to retain her social status, Oswalt serves as the film's heart and soul. Despite admonishing Mavis for living in the past and plotting to destroy a marriage, Matt clearly has wounds (physical and emotional) that don't seem to have healed.
Quite frankly, Young Adult will not be for everyone. Many might be turned off by the rampant unpleasantness of Theron's character, as well as the bleak, misanthropic tone in general (indeed, the black comedy factor could stand to kick up several notches in some parts), but the overall themes of clinging to adolescence, confronting one's past, and learning to move on still ring true, and thus makes Young Adult an engaging (if not decidedly entertaining) watch.
Letter Grade: "B"
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