Young Adult

Charlize Theron is great as Mavis, a depressed, narcissistic beauty who thinks she can cure her loneliness by returning to the small town she grew up and hook up with her old high school boyfriend. The boyfriend, unfortunately for her, is happily married and a new father. Once back in town she runs into another high school alum Matt, played by Patton Oswald, who is an equally big loser but in a very different way. The two, form a strange duo with Patton’s character acting as advisor to the willowy, stupid Mavis. There’s a feeling of unease that descended upon me as the movie moved toward its ending. Surely one of those cringe worthy painfully embarrassing moments was lurking around the corner. Some people can’t stand this movie recipe: lots of character study, only a dash of plot, a soupcon of humor, and some naked realism. I am not one of those people. I liked the mixture.