Review of Young Adult (2011) by Jason E — 06 Jun 2012

Here's a movie that you won't enjoy unless you like Charlize Theron and/or Patton Oswalt. They're excellent, as usual, although they didn't have much to work with. This is the usual Hollywood perspective on how awful the midwest is, and how the only way to be happy there is to be complacent. Misery, then, is more noble than happiness. Reitman paints in drab, washed-out colors, delivers angst via slow pacing, and serves up easy-to-read symbols so we all "get it.".

A ghostwriter in her hotel at a literal crossroad plots her return to happiness via her small town highschool sweetheart, with a crippled man as her conscious riding shotgun. With writing like that, who needs character development.

Don't get me wrong; this is not an unwatchable film. There are a few gags, a "big reveal," and tiny slice of hope. And as I said, Theron and Oswalt are, simply, very good at what they do, and it's always satisfying to watch them at work. But if you're hoping for anything you haven't see before, don't hold your breath.