Comwayon
A Disappointing Continuation
Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Deanna
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
vchimpanzee
This was described as a comedy. I didn't see many laughs. Overall, this movie was actually quite depressing, but because Charlize Theron is such a good actress, it wasn't all that bad. And Patton Oswalt added a lot as a likeable loser. I know him best as the "Goldbergs" narrator but I may soon see much more of him as a loser of a principal in "A.P. Bio". I liked him there too. Yes, he plays losers very well.One example of how good Charlize Theron is in this movie is the fact that, to me, she seemed sane but troubled. Could she have been mentally ill? Possibly. Really going off the deep end might have been another way to go, and she's good enough as an actress that would have worked. That's just not how this movie was done, and it may have been more enjoyable for me personally as a result. What appealed to me most was how good-looking she is. It is true that in the early, depressing scenes in the Minneapolis high-rise, with the Kardashians (I know this from the credits) on the TV, I didn't know who she was since I hadn't seen the credits, and I didn't think she was pretty either. Later, when she made an effort to look good and put on a sexy dress, Mavis looked amazing.It added something to hear Mavis narrate her book. And we could see her writing process as she listened to actual girls talk and started typing. For a mentally unbalanced girl going after her ex, though, you can't do better than the CW series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", and that show is actually funny.Let me add more about Matt. He was sort of the voice of reason here. He had many logical things to say, and despite Mavis' reaction to him, he was actually doing pretty well with his life. Not a success by most definitions, but he wasn't really using his disabilities to keep from facing life either.On the other hand, I found his sister's behavior surprising at the end.The actors playing the Slades also did a good job and their characters reacted well to the presence of this possible troublemaker. They could have acted in the expected way but didn't. Buddy was generally pleasant to Mavis.I suppose it goes without saying this isn't family-friendly. The language was obviously cleaned up in several scenes and I was grateful.I find it curious that Hampton Inn was willing to be identified by name and yet be represented by a clerk with the attitude "What-EVER. I'm just here until I get through with college and then I'm OUTTA here." Not a good image for a real hotel chain, but a good if brief performance.The music must have been what Charlize Theron liked, or possibly her fans. It did not appeal to me, and that's probably to be expected. That's not to say all the music was bad. There was a girl singing "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters. And my favorite music was played on acoustic guitar. It was simply background music used several times with the action going from one location to another with no dialogue. Each time, Mavis was having her nails done at one point, although the third time, a stand-up bass was playing in the nail salon and a piano was added after that.There are plenty of people, I'm sure, who would enjoy this type of movie. It just wasn't as good for someone with my taste as other movies.
meerac
Dark comedy with charm and a modern story line. In this day and age its impossible to find a movie that captures modern issues with satirical comedy and this movie does it! I saw Young Adult in theaters a couple years out of college and still refer to it as one of my favorite movies a decade later. Charlize Theron is spectacular at capturing the realistic dilemma that young women go through when they finish college in a big city and re visit their home towns. Some men have mid life crises and some women have quarter life cries... this movie depicts just that.
marianaramos-17919
Spoiler warning! This movie was actually really entertaining. The characters and dialogue are really well written and feel real, while its themes of nostalgia and obsession with the past are greatly presented. I liked that the character of the friend and the whole town where also obsessed with the past and high school popularity. It also showcased the writing process really well, and it was cool to see how it was a parallel to her life while also being an example of her inability to move on. Definitely left me thinking a lot even though I did not like the ending, I felt as if all she "grew" or learned through the movie was erased as if her behavior was all right. Overall it makes for an interesting viewing.
phoenix 2
A writer of a young adult book series comes back to her old town to find her old boyfriend. I really didn't get this film. First I though it was about a woman with depression. Then that Mavis was just stuck to her past as a popular girl. In the end, the movie left me with mixed feelings. Did Mavis grow up? Was she really depressed? And if so, did she get help? The trigger for her break down is her ex boyfriend's newborn baby. Mavis is walking around with the photo of the baby before she rushes back convinced that she and him are meant to be together. There are some sparks of depth, like when Mavis admits that she is an alcoholic or when she starts pulling off her own hair, but it never gets deep enough. Her book heroin is Mavis herself, that's obvious enough, but who was really Mavis? And what was the point of this film? So 2 out of 10 only because of the performances.
