We all grow old whether we like or not. But not all of us have grown up. That’s the case in Young Adult which stars Charlize Theron as the very beautiful and the very bitchy Mavis Gray.

Ms. Gray is a teen literature writer for the Waverly Prep young-adult fiction series. Having escaped the small town life she lived as a kid in Mercury, Minnesota, Mavis Gray now lives alone with her toy dog in the big city of Minneapolis. Her readership is dwindling, and with it possibly, her career.

The story kicks into gear when she receives an email from her old high-school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) announcing the birth of his child with his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser). As self-absorbed and insecure as the fictional teenage characters Mavis writes about, she decides to return to the place of her glory days to seduce Bobby and save him from the dreary domestic trap this is his life.
With the queen back in town, she bumps into little ole’ Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt) that high school geek most people forget about. Mavis eventually recalls Matt as “the hate crime guy” – Matt was a victim of a brutal gay-bashing even though he wasn’t gay. Now forever crippled and deformed for life, Oswalt plays the complete lowly opposite to Theron’s highness. It’s their unusual relationship, however, the gives this film it’s humor and heart.

As Mavis unsuccessfully attempts to seduce her old flame to stray from his new found family life, she and Matt become drinking buddies and even verge into the boundaries of a sort Beauty and the Beast relationship. Despite their physical dissimilarities, they do share quite a lot with one another. Mavis has a cold drive towards life, and attempts to destroy anything that gets too close to her. Matt, on the other hand, remains bitter about the high school beating that almost killed him. Their dismal outlooks on life, bond this awkward couple together. They seemingly unusual dynamic works so well, Theron and Oswalt should be awarded Best Onscreen Couple, if ever there was one. Now go watch them in action.

Poster Image Courtesy of Young Adult.

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