So, we rented our usual pile of movies last weekend. We try to choose a variety – ones we know we’ll love or hate and ones we have no idea about. Young Adult was one of the latter, and I actually chose it because I generally love Charlize Theron and thought it would be a fun, quirky comedy.
Guess again.
The main character is despicable. She drinks constantly, looks dishevelled and wears dirty clothing unless she decides that nice clothing and hair would better serve her purpose. She decides that she wants to travel back to her hometown and get back the love of her life – who is also married and has a child. The premise of the movie is that this woman has been writing Young Adult-style high school teen-fantasy novels for so long that she is essentially stuck in one in her own head.
Great premise for a comedy, right?
Wrong.
For some reason, the makers of this movie decided it would be better off as a harsh lesson about life. 90% of the movie is in fact the opposite of funny – it inspires pure, unadulterated hatred for the main character as she ruthlessly uses people and rubber bands between traipsing around happily being a bitch and drinking herself into a stupor to forget how much of a bitch she is.
I did not feel sorry for her. I felt sorry for her parents, her friends, and basically anyone else she interacted with, but with her? Hell no. I found myself hoping halfway through the movie that she would suffer an unfortunate accident at the hands of a drunk motorist and either die or be permanently crippled.
Now, I won’t diss Charlize. She did a fantastic job making me hate her. Patton Oswalt was also fabulous as usual. I just don’t understand why they took that direction with this film. “Let’s make a movie about someone that no one can relate to and that everyone will hate. Yeah! That will do real well.”
Riiiiight.
I would have been happier with a Ben Stiller-esque film where you AT LEAST feel bad for the main character as he/she undergoes all sorts of horrible and embarassing social encounters and shenanigans. At least I would have felt something besides irritation.
I don’t see a reason to rent this. Don’t waste your money.