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Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD (cg) "Oswalt balances Theron's tartness with a wry, bittersweet turn that gives heft to this dark comedy... the film misses when it can't decide whether Mavis deserves a slap on the back or in the face. That's too wussy for a movie with this much bite." (Read the full review...) 122 words, 12/08/11 Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD "So small and modest that it threatens to vanish while you watch it... packs some ornery truths about compromise as the key to an arrested adolescent's survival as a real adult. In a thorny role, Theron is splendid..." (Read the full review...) 997 words, 12/09/11 Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD (cg) "...dares you to stick with an anti-heroine who makes no apologies for her deplorable behavior. It's an exciting thing to see, this willful rejection of tidy character arcs and happy endings... Theron continues to show her versatility..." (Read the full review...) 742 words, 12/08/11 Eric Andersson, Us Weekly: VERY GOOD (cg) "In the hands of a lesser actress, Mavis could have become a caricature. But Theron plays the faded prom queen with a quiet vulnerability, giving a fully realized portrait of a woman who can't let go of her past glory days." (Read the full review...) 93 words, 12/08/11 Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...an inspired collaboration between screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman... bumps along with nasty swerves, middle finger proudly in the air, toward an ending blessedly free of anything warm, fuzzy, or optimistic." (Read the full review...) 670 words, 12/09/11 Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD (cg) "Patton Oswalt deserves cheers as Matt, a former classmate who pops Mavis' delusions with soul-crushing honesty. His dark duet with Theron is funny, touching and vital. But fair warning: The laughs in 'Young Adult' leave bruises." (Read the full review...) 210 words, 12/09/11 Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Screenwriter Diablo Cody has crafted a precisely drawn portrait of a surly, emotionally stunted woman. Mavis doesn't seem to know where her teen fiction leaves off and real life begins." (Read the full review...) 424 words, 12/09/11 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: OUTSTANDING (cg) "The character of Mavis makes 'Young Adult' tricky to process. As I absorbed it, I realized what a fearless character study it is. That sometimes it's funny doesn't hurt." (Read the full review...) 969 words, 12/09/11 Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: EXCELLENT (cg) "...brisk, sharp and mordantly funny... while Reitman doesn't shy away from striking visual depictions of middle-American architectural conformity, the film doesn't portray suburban life as some kind of hell on earth, either." (Read the full review...) 755 words, 12/05/11 James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "There are isolated instances when 'Young Adult' strikes the right comedic and dramatic notes, making a cogent point or delivering a solid laugh, but it's mostly a string of out-of-tune chords." (Read the full review...) 979 words, 12/07/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "Shorter than a bad blind date and as sour as a vinegar Popsicle... shrouds its brilliant, brave and breathtakingly cynical heart in the superficial blandness of commercial comedy." (Read the full review...) 1,074 words, 12/09/11 Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT (cg) "...perfectly observed black comedy... 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 the full review...) 486 words, 12/09/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "When it's done right, as it is in 'Young Adult,' there is something absolutely mesmerizing about watching a train wreck unfold on screen.... Theron and Oswalt turn out to be a terrific odd couple." (Read the full review...) 913 words, 12/09/11 Lou Lumenick, New York Post: VERY GOOD (cg) "...has the dark (sometimes very dark) wit to wear its ambitions lightly.... boasts a killer breakout performance by comic Patton Oswalt..." (Read the full review...) 657 words, 12/09/11 Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "This is train-wreck human misbehavior all the way. You watch 'Young Adult' horrified by Mavis' delusions. Cody has created a role offering Theron a lot of room and plenty of casual venom." (Read the full review...) 475 words, 12/09/11 Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...[features] a fearless performance by Charlize Theron.... Patton Oswalt's sensitive performance is the film's second heart." (Read the full review...) 354 words, 12/16/11 David Edelstein, New York Magazine: WEAK "...a tight, hilarious first half-hour... [then,] cheap cynicism creeps in gradually... The problem with Reitman isn't that he's shallow, but that he thinks he's deep and edgy.... The movie spreads bad vibes like a virus." (Read the full review...) 513 words, 12/09/11 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING (cg) "The character of Mavis makes 'Young Adult' tricky to process. As I absorbed it, I realized what a fearless character study it is. That sometimes it's funny doesn't hurt." (Read the full review...) 969 words, 12/09/11 J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...might be brushed off as curdled rom-com were it not for two things.... first is the depth of Theron's performance.... second is the utter absence of the corny rehabilitation found in 'Juno' and Reitman's glib, downsizing dramedy 'Up in the Air.' " (Read the full review...) 603 words, 12/07/11 Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...the film raises life issues that it only explores on the surface, possibly because to go any deeper would be just too painful to watch." (Read the full review...) 738 words, 12/16/11 Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE (cg) "...a movie that, like its abrasive heroine, has an emotionally stunted soul beneath its superficial charm." (Read the full review...) 571 words, 12/16/11 Josep Parera, La Opinion: GOOD (cg) "Salvo por una actuación extraordinaria por parte de Charlize Theron, 'Young Adult' se queda a medio camino de lo que quiere decir que, al fin y al cabo, no es tanto ni tan complicado." (Read the full review...) 449 words, 12/09/11 Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg) "Charlize Theron is at once beautiful and hard to look at, especially when drunk or half-nude (imagine that), cruel and vulnerable, a grown-up with the emotional intelligence of an 18-year-old. A young adult, actually." (Read the full review...) 453 words, 12/15/11
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...too creepy and acerbic to be consistently comic.... It doesn't work, but it's amusing to listen to, as well as ultimately rather moving." (Read the full review...) 634 words, 12/16/11 Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD (cg) "A pitch-black comedy steeped in bitterness and regret.... Theron is thrillingly nasty as Mavis." (Read the full review...) 542 words, 12/16/11 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a mature and humane comedy centered on a misanthropic female antihero. Think of it as 'Juno's' wicked stepsister.... another of Minnesota's enduring and iconic film characters." (Read the full review...) 553 words, 12/09/11 Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT (cg) "It's unlike most movies we're used to seeing. Reitman makes bold choices with the story. Not all are fun to watch in the moment, but they add up to a satisfying portrait of a woman off the rails, someone we can laugh at even when we're horrified." (Read the full review...) 582 words, 12/16/11 Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD (cg) "The movie doesn't weigh that much, but it has a kind of point-blank piquancy that has gradually seeped out of American comedies." (Read the full review...) 961 words, 12/16/11 Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...finally stumbles not because it tries to make us like Mavis, but because everyone else in it seems to, no matter what she does. No one ever calls her on her undeserved snobbishness..." (Read the full review...) 574 words, 12/09/11 Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...a dark comedy that confirms Diablo Cody ('Juno') 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 the full review...) 663 words, 12/09/11 Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD (cg) "...feels a little slight (particularly compared to Reitman's last film, 'Up in the Air'); not much happens, and not much gets resolved. But it's enjoyable as a character study, of a character most of us wouldn't want to meet." (Read the full review...) 466 words, 12/16/11 Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (cg) "Theron shows lively comic chops and Patton Oswalt is truly eye-opening... But almost nothing else registers.... Watching 'Young Adult' is a little like being offered a hand to high-five, only to have yanked it away at the last second." (Read the full review...) 310 words, 12/16/11 Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING (cg) "Clear-eyed, fearless and ferociously funny, 'Young Adult' is mature filmmaking." (Read the full review...) 357 words, 12/16/11 Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...comedy at its darkest.... a daredevil act for everyone involved, including the audience, with expectations dashed at every turn and replaced by outrageous humor. It's the most unsettling nice surprise of 2011." (Read the full review...) 516 words, 12/15/11 Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD (cg) "...may be the year's most engaging feel-bad movie. Mean-spirited and cruel at its core, it's still a lot of fun to watch..." (Read the full review...) 305 words, 12/16/11 Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD (cg) "Every time you're ready to write off Hollywood comedies, along comes a picture like 'Young Adult' to keep hope alive." (Read the full review...) 629 words, 12/16/11
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...might be brushed off as curdled rom-com were it not for two things.... first is the depth of Theron's performance.... second is the utter absence of the corny rehabilitation found in 'Juno' and Reitman's glib, downsizing dramedy 'Up in the Air.' " (Read the full review...) 603 words, 12/07/11 Katey Rich, Cinema Blend: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...insightful and often very funny... Theron, Cody and Reitman earn every difficult moment, and pepper it with humor and terrific performances that keep the audience from feeling actively tortured." (Read the full review...) 659 words, 12/09/11 Alicia Potter, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Preachy dialogue aside, Theron and Patton Oswalt's subtle chemistry deepens this surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a bitch on the brink." (Read the full review...) 141 words, 12/15/11 Alison Willmore, AV Club: EXCELLENT (cg) "Theron's is an impressive performance that's rarely showy... the restrained direction and screenplay offer it support, at least until a rushed final act that places a screaming showdown and recovery too close together." (Read the full review...) 422 words, 12/08/11 S.T. VanAirsdale, Movieline: OUTSTANDING (cg) "...offers intriguing points of view about a lot of subjects: The perils of nostalgia; the mythology of midlife crises; the value of community; and the futility of self-loathing come immediately to mind..." (Read the full review...) 1,061 words, 12/08/11 R. Kurt Osenlund, Slant: VERY GOOD (cg) "Theron is about as game as it gets, working cunty wonders with her million-dollar stinkface and ardently flipping off any modest boundary that might prevent her from wholly embracing Mavis's reprehensible nature." (Read the full review...) 1,005 words, 12/07/11 Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT (cg) "Charlize Theron is at once beautiful and hard to look at, especially when drunk or half-nude (imagine that), cruel and vulnerable, a grown-up with the emotional intelligence of an 18-year-old. A young adult, actually." (Read the full review...) 453 words, 12/15/11 Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT (cg) "If you still shudder at the memory of Diablo Cody's too-clever dialogue, rest assured that 'Young Adult' plays more like one of Alexander Payne's caustic but credible satires of Middle America like 'Election.' " (Read the full review...) 527 words, 12/15/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...a cockeyed comic triumph.... This is partly a function of Ms. Cody's script.... It's equally a tribute to Ms. Theron's fearless reach and formidable range in a role that takes her from wry comedy into something perilously close to an American tragedy." (Read the full review...) 682 words, 12/09/11 A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "Shorter than a bad blind date and as sour as a vinegar Popsicle... shrouds its brilliant, brave and breathtakingly cynical heart in the superficial blandness of commercial comedy." (Read the full review...) 1,074 words, 12/09/11 Bob Mondello, NPR: GOOD "...at times like a mashup of styles and genres -- part curdled rom-com, part psycho-prom-queen flick, with a little 'Revenge of the Nerds' thrown in." (Read the full review...) 362 words, 12/09/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "When it's done right, as it is in 'Young Adult,' there is something absolutely mesmerizing about watching a train wreck unfold on screen.... Theron and Oswalt turn out to be a terrific odd couple." (Read the full review...) 913 words, 12/09/11 Dan Kois, Slate: VERY GOOD "...doesn't fully work, but it's still one of the year's most memorable movies... a ruthless portrait of a heroine with a serious love/loathe relationship with herself.... boy was I fascinated by Mavis' misery." (Read the full review...) 671 words, 12/08/11 Andrew O'Hehir, Salon: MODERATE "I didn't find 'Young Adult' especially funny. It's an intermittently engaging fable of American homecoming that's both intentionally and unintentionally awkward, and flavored from bitter to sour all the way through." (Read the full review...) 1,371 words, 12/07/11
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...revels in breaking the rules of safe Hollywood storytelling, casting Charlize Theron as an emotionally stunted YA novelist with limited appeal and no tidy character arc.... features character moments so true, one can't help but laugh in pained recognition." (Read the full review...) 1,025 words, 12/04/11 Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "More like a snapshot than a full canvas.... a smartly observed, well acted but narrowly conceived story about a deluded author of teen novels who plots to win back her high school boyfriend, who's now a happily married dad." (Read the full review...) 1,313 words, 12/04/11 Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: EXCELLENT "When it's done right, as it is in 'Young Adult,' there is something absolutely mesmerizing about watching a train wreck unfold on screen.... Theron and Oswalt turn out to be a terrific odd couple." (Read the full review...) 913 words, 12/09/11 Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD (cg) "...an extremely well acted serio comedy about the maturation of a small-town/big city girl, terrifically embodied by Charlize Theorn... It's Reitman's most conventional and predictable film to date, one in which everything is spelled out for the audience..." (Read the full review...) 767 words, 12/06/11 A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "Shorter than a bad blind date and as sour as a vinegar Popsicle... shrouds its brilliant, brave and breathtakingly cynical heart in the superficial blandness of commercial comedy." (Read the full review...) 1,074 words, 12/09/11 Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "...a cockeyed comic triumph.... This is partly a function of Ms. Cody's script.... It's equally a tribute to Ms. Theron's fearless reach and formidable range in a role that takes her from wry comedy into something perilously close to an American tragedy." (Read the full review...) 682 words, 12/09/11
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