South-African born Charlize Theron is excellent in Young Adult, the new Jason Reitman/Diablo Cody movie which Kathleen and I saw at the recently opened Sundance movie theater downtown, last night.
The Sundance will in future be our default movie theater: easy and free parking, good seats, excellent sound quality and unlike the old Angelika we were not steaming hot in there either. I liked being able to buy a decent beer on tap - St. Arnold's Christmas Ale at $6 a pint - before the movie. Yes the movie theater tickets cost a little more but who needs the crowds and the texting teenagers at the mall megaplexes. Best feature: being able to pre-book and pay for designated tickets online, print out the 'ticket' and go straight in. It doesn't make much sense (such as for the River Oaks) to pre-pay for tickets and then still have to go and stand in a huge line and MAYBE get a decent seat. At Sundance you know in advance where you will be seated. Haven't tried the food yet but it looks pretty decent.
But back to the movie. Diablo Cody - who broke through with 'Juno' a few years ago - comes up with another bitingly funny script about a depressed thirstysomething ghost writer who gets into one awful mess when she tries to re-connect with an old high school flame. This is not the movie for your visiting mother-in-law or grandfather. From observing Theron's character Mavis Gary's rather inadvisable personal habits and lifestyle to being in the middle of an excruciatingly painful scene when she has to confront past and present demons, this is a rewarding but certainly not fun movie experience. Both Theron and Patton Oswalt - in the role of a geeky former schoolmate who recognizes right away that Mavis is headed for disaster - deliver standout performances worthy of recognition.
So yes I'd recommend a trip to your neighborhood art house movie to see Young Adult, but only if you are into pitch black comedy and you can handle your laughs delivered with a bit of bile on the side.
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2 comments:
ooooh I already wanted to see this and now I want to see it even more! One of my things to do over my time off is to catch up at the movies and this was definitely on my list. Love her! Was she as good in it as in Monster? Was it as dark as Precious? Both of those movies disturbed me but I still loved them.
Very very dark with lots of uncomfortable moments but well done, smart script. Theron has one early scene with Patton which feels a bit stilted but for the rest of the movie she is terrific. Not Oscar winning good as in Monster but miles better than a lot of the other dreck in the theaters.
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