Young Adult

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  • Opened December 9, 2011 
  • 1 hr 34 min
  • R | Language and some sexual content
  • Parents: Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+. More on child suitability

  • Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a successful writer of teen literature who returns to her hometown with a dual mission: to relive her glory days and steal away her now-married high-school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). However, her mission does not go exactly to plan, and she finds her homecoming more problematic than she expected. Instead, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt), who has also found it difficult to move past high school. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe
  • Director: Jason Reitman
  • Genres: Art House/Foreign, Comedy, Drama

What's the Buzz?

So-so
Fans say So-So
591 fans
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Go
Critics say Go
71 out of 100
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Fan Reviews

Must Go!
finally a comedy worth going to the movies for

by barbiesparkles

this won't be for everyone- the humor is dark and cynical, with lots of irony. it's in the realm of larry david and louis ck. but if you want to watch another bland comedy stay home and watch tv. and...

No
Charlize Tries But "Cynical Adult Does Not

by gabbycorner

I love Charlize Theron and she does not disappoint in her acting in this film. It's the script that fails here. Mavis Gray the character that Ms. Theron portrays is a very unhappy woman and an...

Must Go!
Interesting look at mental illness and hero worship

by CCLyons

Charlize Theron is amazing! Her Mavis, is NOT likeable. She's a liar and alcoholic (probably to cover up multiple mental problems, including depression, narcissism, and sociopathy). She's detestable,...

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Critic Reviews

100
San Francisco Chronicle
| Mick LaSalle

A dark comedy that confirms Diablo Cody as a screenwriter of importance, eliminates the last shred of doubt that Jason Reitman is a major director and gives Charlize Theron her best showcase since "Monster." Read full review

91
Entertainment Weekly
| Lisa Schwarzbaum

Young Adult bumps along with nasty swerves, middle finger proudly in the air, toward an ending blessedly free of anything warm, fuzzy, or optimistic. Now that's adult entertainment. Read full review

90
Wall Street Journal
| Joe Morgenstern

A cockeyed comic triumph that flashes between bright and dark like a strobe light of the spirit. And Ms. Theron, as Mavis Gary, a self-styled author rather than a mere writer, succeeds sensationally at something much harder than playing ravaged. Read full review

80
New York Daily News
| Joe Neumaier

Young Adult may at times be stuck between emotional gears, but that's by design. Like its heroine, the movie refuses to pick up after itself. Read full review

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Patrick Wilson and Charlize Theron in "Young Adult."