Synopsis
A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.
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Cast
- Charlize TheronMavis Gary
- Patton OswaltMatt Freehauf
- Patrick WilsonBuddy Slade
- Elizabeth ReaserBeth Slade
- Collette WolfeSandra Freehauf
- Jill EikenberryHedda Gary
- Richard BekinsDavid Gary
- Mary Beth HurtJan
- Kate NowlinMary Ellen Trantowski
- Jenny Dare PaulinNipple Confusion Bassist
Recommendations
- 91
Entertainment Weekly
Young Adult bumps along with nasty swerves, middle finger proudly in the air, toward an ending blessedly free of anything warm, fuzzy, or optimistic. Now that's adult entertainment. - 90
Variety
Reteaming pop-savvy scribe Diablo Cody with "Juno" director Jason Reitman, Young Adult revels in breaking the rules of safe Hollywood storytelling. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
Patton Oswalt is, in a way, the key to the film's success. Theron is flawless at playing a cringe-inducing monster and Wilson touching as a nice guy who hates to offend her, but the audience needs a point of entry, a character we can identify with, and Oswalt's Matt is human, realistic, sardonic and self-deprecating. He speaks truth to Mavis. - 83
The A.V. Club
Reitman lets the pop-culture references (oh hi, 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up") accessorize the story rather than guide it, and in its uncompromising treatment of a character who's troubled but also a stone-cold bitch, Young Adult offers compassion for rather than revenge on the "psycho prom queen" who has nothing left in life but a warped mix-tape from an ex who moved on long ago. - 80
Village Voice
Young Adult might be brushed off as curdled rom-com were it not for two things. The first is the depth of Theron's performance...The second, less predictable aspect is the utter absence of the corny rehabilitation found in "Juno" and Reitman's glib, downsizing dramedy "Up in the Air." - 75
IndieWire
With self destruction as destiny, Reitman has made the equivalent of a Roland Emmerich disaster movie writ small, an apocalyptic scenario internalized by a single person. - 70
Boxoffice Magazine
Cody's snappy, spot-on writing and Reitman's clear-eyed direction should suit audiences looking for a black-as-night dramedy with bite. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Their scenes together are the film's best, with Theron and Oswalt, who have very different tempi and temperatures as performers, parrying and thrusting with great expertise.
