Young Adult is the story of Mavis Gary, a 37 year-old woman who basically still acts like she’s a teenager. She just happens to write a series of “young adult” books, probably because that’s the age range she still identifies with most. Charlize Theron plays Mavis, who has just gone through a divorce. So she decides to try and re-kindle a romance she had with her high school boyfriend. The only problem is that he’s now married with a child. That’s not an issue for her though.
Mavis grew up in the little town of Mercury, Minnesota but always felt like she was too good for it and moved to the bigger city of Minneapolis. Now she’s returning to Mercury to find Buddy Slade, her ex (Patrick Wilson). Everyone there dresses in plain clothing – a lot of flannel – while Mavis still struts around mini-skirts and high heels. Oh, she’s pretty much an alcoholic too. Her first night back she goes to a local bar and bumps into an old classmate named Matt who recognizes her. She doesn’t recognize him though, even though his locker was next to her through all 4 years of high school. That’s because he wasn’t part of the popular crowd. In fact, he suffered a brutal beating which caused him to walk with a cane. That’s the only thing she does wind up remembering about him.
Matt and Mavis form an unlikely bond, though Matt continually warns her not to mess with a married man’s happiness. She doesn’t care though. She only cares about making herself happy. The best scenes in the movie involve these two since you can tell that Matt still wishes to be with someone like Mavis, and this is the closest he’s ever been to that. As uninterested as her ex-boyfriend Buddy seems in her, she still pursues him nonetheless. Matt is just her new friend to confide in, and basically mope around with as she’s clearly depressed with her life. One would think Matt should be the depressed one considering he still walks with a cane and hasn’t had much luck with the ladies. But he’s clearly more content with his life than Mavis is.
Matt is played by comedian Patton Oswalt who does a great job in what’s more of a serious role. He’s sort of the heart of the movie. Mavis remains unchanged. Most movies that center on her type of character would have her do some kind of self-evaluation and become a better person. Mavis starts to realize she’s a bit crazy, but she doesn’t try to change. That’s one unique thing about the movie. It’s not the most redeeming film but it’s an interesting one. It basically just shows you that some people never grow up.
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