There are bitches. And then there are Hollywood bitches. We prefer the latter because, well, we can get away from them without scratch marks, a deflated ego and three flat tires.
So when we heard about the new film, Young Adult, from one of our favorite screenwriters, Diablo Cody (Juno), we could hardly wait to see what Charlize Theron did with the lead role.
As Mavis, she’s seemingly got it all. Great looks. A successful career ghostwriting a popular tween series of novels. And life in the big city of Minneapolis, a major shift from the small town of Mercury, Minnesota, where she grew up.
Yet on the inside, she’s a twisted, bitter, sarcastic shell of a woman who’s so self-centered it’s almost funny. Scratch that, it’s very funny.
When she decides to return to her hometown to steal her high-school boyfriend (the super-hot Patrick Wilson) away from his wife (who’s just given birth, FYI), it’s the start of a journey of self-discovery that includes reconnecting with old acquaintances who worshiped her, but whom she hardly knew existed. (Like “Hate Crime Boy,” a pudgy man (Patton Oswalt) who’s grown up with the stigma of being beaten into disability because his tormenters thought he was gay.)
Funny stuff, right?
But in the hands of Cody and director Jason Reitman, Young Adult delivers a believable, heartfelt story that never allows Mavis to veer into caricature (like say, Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher).
Admittedly, if we’re comparing Diablo Cody films, we like Juno better, but this one is a very close second.
And Theron remains a solid 10.
Opens today in theaters everywhere
Rated R
www.youngadultmovie.com
