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 | |
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Rebecca Hart | ... | Nipple Confusion Guitarist |
Louisa Krause | ... | Front Desk Girl | |
Elizabeth Ward Land | ... | Sales Lady | |
Brian McElhaney | ... | Book Associate | |
Hettienne Park | ... | Vicki |
Thirty-seven year old Mavis Gary seems incapable of happiness. She has had one failed marriage with no romance in her immediate horizon. She ghosts writes a young adult series of books, which has just been canceled due to low sales. She is in the process of writing the last book, with which she is having a mental block. She lives vicariously through Kendall Strickland, the teenaged female heroine in her books, as like Kendall she believes her high school years were the best years of her life when she was the prom queen. When she receives news that her high school beau, Buddy Slade, and his wife, Beth Slade, have just had their first child, Mavis takes it as a sign that she and Buddy are meant to be together. As such, she devises a false pretense to travel from her Minneapolis home back her her old hometown of Mercury, Minnesota to reclaim Buddy from Beth. As Mavis slyly or not so slyly does whatever she can to hang out with Buddy, even in Beth's company if need be, she also runs into ... Written by Huggo
Young Adult is a very un-Hollywood comedy and a good thing it is too. I won't detail the plot as you can read this elsewhere but just to say that the writing is sharp and intelligent, the comedy nice and dark, the direction unfussy (so you don't notice it) and the running time just long enough so the movie doesn't run out of steam. There is no cute fluffiness (is that a word?) in this movie.
Charlize Theron is quite brilliant (as she usually is) playing a very self centred character who is borderline stalker. Co-star Patton Oswalt is very good as the guy who had a bad break when younger who has had to learn to live with the life changing consequences. The rest of the supporting cast are great playing a mix of small town America characters.
I seem to have a habit of watching movies in packed cinemas, no exception here as it was almost standing room only. This always helps with a comedy because once the laughing starts it spreads and continues throughout the whole movie. Highly recommended.