Young Adult

In 2007, director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody teamed up to bring us the delightfully funny 'Juno'. Now they team up again to bring us a film that is far from delightful.

Diablo Cody is a very clever writer and has come up with some really interesting characters. I'm a big fan of hers because of this. This is probably one of her more interesting characters. Up until now she has created characters that are likable but she has now given us Mavis Gary. Even her name is not that nice. No offense to other women called Mavis but it is not a name you expect to be given to a good looking woman like this. Her actions in this film do not make here terribly likable either. I can understand how people can find her unappealing. But I think that you don't always need to have a protagonist who is likable if you understand why they are the way they are. This is a woman who has been living vicariously through the characters that she writes in her books. Mavis was popular in school and so she has managed to keep this good feeling going with the books. But now it looks like that good feeling is coming to an end so she must try to find a way to keep it going and resorts to a desperate measure. Because of this the film is very much a black comedy. You are laughing at things that you know you shouldn't. I'm a huge fan of black comedies and comedy that is a bit dark. Which is why this film appealed to me so much.

It is great to see Charlize Theron back on the big screen again. I think she is an excellent actress and it is good to see her doing a comedy. It is also brave of her to do a role where she plays someone so nasty. But she does such a good job of it that you don't care. Patton Oswalt is one of those actors that we see quite a lot of in supporting roles. While he is excellent in all of them, I think that this is by far his best. He is so wonderful in this role and plays his character brilliantly. He is the only one who I think understands Mavis and what has happened to her. Patrick Wilson is very good as the object of Mavis's affection. But he is not given much to do except look good. Elizabeth Reaser who most of you know from the 'Twilight Saga' does a very good job as the woman standing in Mavis's way.

This is not a very appealing film in a nice way. If you like dark comedies and something a bit different, then you should check this out.