"Young Adult"

I saw "Young Adult" last night. My impression is that it was a good, but not completely satisfying, movie.

"Young Adult" is the story of Mavis Gary, a Minneapolis-based author (please don't call her a writer) of "Sweet Valley High"-type novels. Upon her receipt of a mass e-mail announcing the birth of her high school boyfriend's daughter, Mavis' already disorderly life goes into a tailspin. Heedless of the fact that he seems happily married, she takes it upon herself to "save" him from what she perceives to be a dull and humdrum life and returns to the small Minnesota town where she was raised to win him back.

First, Charlize Theron's performance as Mavis was excellent. Mavis is rude, childish, self-centered and an alcoholic. In short, she is completely unlovable. But thanks to Theron, she's also entirely watchable and lifelike. Theron seems to have no ego and goes about depicting Mavis at her worst with gusto.

I also liked that this movie had the courage to present the sort of average existence most of us live as something worth having. Mavis' world of  catty gossip, Marc Jacobs dresses and long nights at bars that turn into bleary-eyed mornings is clearly shown to be empty and unfulfilling, while the unglamorous world of raising a child in a small town with only the occasional outing at Buffalo Wild Wings is presented as a comfortable and satisfying way to live. "Young Adult" doesn't preach as to which way of living is preferable, but it's nice to see a movie that doesn't deride everyday life as boring and unsatisfying.

My problem with this movie is with a few of its gaps. The boyfriend Mavis has made up her mind to win back (played by Patrick Wilson) is not enough of a character. We know Mavis has an infantile and self-centered view of the world, but why has she picked him as her most recent target? He's nice and attractive, but it isn't quite clear why he is worthy of her fixation. And while it's obvious that Mavis has never really moved on since high school and is emotionally stunted, something about where the story of "Young Adult" picks up and, ultimately, drops off the story of her life felt incomplete.

All in all, though, those complaints are things that could be said about most movies. Thanks to an interesting take on an interesting person, "Young Adult" felt like an interesting and out-of-the-ordinary movie.