Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody last collaborated on Juno, the dramedy about a pregnant teen that went on to great success and won Cody an Oscar for Best Screenplay. One of the things I loved most about that film was how it challenged audience expectations of what characters would be like, such as completely flipping the script on the Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner characters. In Young Adult they're ready to challenge the audience again by presenting them with a thoroughly unpleasant main character.
Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a writer for a popular series of young adult books. With her life in a bit of a tailspin, she decides to return to the small town she abandoned years ago and win back the heart of her former high school boyfriend. The problem is, he is now married with a child on the way. That doesn't even faze her, as she's convinced herself that he's completely unhappy and will drop his small town life to head back with her to the city.
It's very difficult to do a movie about an extremely unlikable person, so it's a credit to Reitman and Cody that this movie works at all. Most impressive is that they're willing to go all the way with it, too. This isn't some moralizing parable where the hero learns her lesson by the end. In fact, one of the more remarkable things about Mavis is that she doesn't change much at all through the course of the movie. This is a terrible person and Charlize Theron has a great time playing that up as much as possible.
The only person in this film that is really sympathetic is Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), a former classmate that Mavis didn't have much time for. He is best remembered for being the kid that got severely beat up for being gay, although he repeatedly protests that he's straight. Now she becomes his closest (only) confidant and they make for a very awkward pair of friends. Oswalt gives a terrific performance here, alternating between sadsack loser and snarky observer, essentially providing a surrogate voice for the audience.
These two characters are interesting enough to carry the story, even if it does take some turns into uncomfortable territory. Mavis' constant efforts to win back her ex are really difficult to watch. Eventhough we hate her, she's no cardboard character and it's still hard to watch her get her comeuppance. There are some good laughs provided by Oswalt's critical commentary of her behavior, but for the most part this is a pretty grim affair.
The result is a movie that is admirable and at times fascinating, but not very enjoyable. Mavis is not a character we ever root for, not even as some kind of wicked anti-hero. At the same time, it's hard to root against her, because she's not some kind of evil monster, just a sad and pathetic person. It's still a worthwhile film to watch, but if you were expecting the fun loving sarcasm of Juno, you'll be in for a rude awakening.
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