She Gets Lonely

I was expecting a comedy before seeing "Young Adult," perhaps because the trailer had funny lines. And, look at the poster of movie with its pastel colors and cutesy dog. But, truly, it is a sad movie about a sad woman who never grew up, and never found happiness, despite the fact that everyone thinks she made it in the big city. Her marriage ended, the series of young adult novels she ghostwrites for is ending, and she spends her days and nights alone in her apartment watching the Kardashians (and that scene is even more pathetic since) So she goes back to her hometown, where she thought she was happiest, and she seeks to get it back. But of course, it's not the same. Charize Theron plays this woman fearlessly, and it is heartbreaking, because you know that inside she is broken, and you see it in her eyes, in how she moves, in how she masks her insecurities behind heavy makeup and hair weaves. Diablo Cody paints this picture - and this character - pretty well that you instantly understand her, and she is put in cringe-worthy situations that a lot of times I felt like looking away from the screen because you want to scream at her and say "No....Don't."  She keeps on bumping into an old classmate of hers that she barely remembers, played by Patton Oswalt, and at surface, he is even more pathetic than she is - an invalid who spends his time recreating action figures - but of course, he turns out to be the rock she holds on to when the going got tough. There is a big reveal in the end that is supposed to be a spoiler, but I not only saw it coming from the beginning, but I detected it from the trailer. I wish I wasn't apathetic about the ending, since I thought Theron's character's nervous breakdown scene was just a little overwrought to be believed. In this imperfect movie though is Theron's performance, and for that it is worth a look.