Young Adult [Blu-Ray]

After high school, Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) promptly exited her hick town, the fictional, Mercury, in favour or the "mini-apple," Minneapolis, to pursue a career in young adult fiction. At 37 years old, Mavis is hardly as young as the characters she writes about, but after spending five minutes with her in Jason Reitman's latest film, Young Adult, you'll see that actually calling her an adult is an even bigger stretch. As constructed by Diablo Cody, who last collaborated with Reitman on contemporary classic Juno, Mavis returns home to essentially "save" her college boyfriend (Patrick Wilson) from his supposed death trap of a marriage, despite his first child just being born. In doing so, the high school prom queen befriends the hapless high school loser (an endearing and impressive Patton Oswalt) and the two form an unlikely friendship that holds a mirror up to both of their lives and issues. Mavis is quite simply unlikable and Theron is perfectly cast in the part; she's unapologetic and determined in her resolve, no matter how misguided she is. Compared to past Reitman films, like Up in the Air and Thank You for Smoking, Young Adult is by far his prickliest pear. Its humour is decidedly darker in tone and it isn't easy to forgive his heroine her actions, regardless of what damage inspired them. While it was widely ignored in theatres, Young Adult is much easier to digest at home. And after listening to Reitman's director commentary, as well as the insights shared in the behind-the-scenes and Q&A extras, I can almost say that I love Mavis now. Their affection for the character is infectious, which allows Young Adult to mature into the film it was always meant to be: a modern exploration of how growing up can be a lifelong process.