Young Adult

Young Adult works because, and possibly only because, of Charlize Theron. She's is devilishly hilarious as Mavis Gary, the meanest mean girl you could possibly imagine from high school. One of the other characters calls her a "psycho prom queen bitch" at one point and, boy, ain't that the truth! Mavis is the kind of girl you love to hate. In high school she was prettier than everyone and dated the hottest jocks. After graduation, it was no surprise that she quickly moved to the city and got married and became an author (not writer) of a wildly popular Young Adult franchise. Everyone in her small Minnesota hometown envied her. But... that big city she lives in is... Minneapolis. Her marriage failed (but the Tiramisu was good!). Now her book series has been canceled and she's struggling to finish the final entry. And to top it all off, her high school boyfriend sends her an email announcing the arrival of his brand new baby. This inspires Mavis to grab her puppy, get in her car and drive home for a "real estate venture." Of course, she just wants to steal Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) away from his drummer / awesome wife (Elizabeth Reaser). So, while Mavis is doing generally despicable things, she is also forging an oddball friendship with the victim of a high school bullying gone way wrong, Matt (played perfectly with the right amounts of humor and heart by Patton Oswalt). Matt finds Mavis to be a generally bad person, but also can't help his attraction. At one point, he tells her, "Men like me were born to love women like you."
Mavis is not necessarily a terrible person, but she isn't likable either. She does a lot of really, really bad things, but ultimately, you feel sorry for her more than anything else. But Mavis is hysterically out of touch, living in her own little world. She is not a grown up, at all, still acting like a spoiled, little brat. There is one scene in which Mavis finally breaks down, but then another character talks some 'sense' into her. She is, indeed, a piece of work, as Matt says. (Her response? "You're a piece of s**t!"). And Theron nails this perfectly imperfect character. She breaths life into this awful person, the girl you were equally jealous of and wanted to be just like in high school. Her performance is one of the best of the year, possibly the best. She is remarkable in every single way, forging fearlessly through this murky, unlikeable character.
Oswalt is a joy to watch, as well. He plays Matt so well, that he might just ride Theron's coattails to an Oscar nomination himself. Wilson is great as the weathered remains of a one time jock. Reaser is gorgeous and glowing, although she surely looks plain next to Theron. The direction by Jason Reitman (who last directed the outstanding Up in the Air) is great. The script is written by Juno scribe Diablo Cody and, thankfully, it lacks the over the top feel of her debut. I loved Juno, but the script was not the thing I love about it. Here, Cody downplays the mile a minute, thinly veiled pop culture references and instead, writes a very real, funny, dark comedy.
Grade: B