Young Adult

The drippy darkly tinted charm of Young Adult is tests its audience within the first few minutes.  Charlize Theron, playing a narcissistic, holier-than-thou vamp goes on a date with a faceless gentleman who drags on and on about humanitarian efforts in a third world country, when the comely beauty barks, "Why?"  The stinging burn, tossed-off with such a whatever-ness contempt explains the character, the films breathless, uneasy comedy from the start.  This isn't going to be a likeable portrait of a pretty young women brought to you by the award-winning crew of the mirth instilled Juno.  Yet it's the fact that director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody bring such an anti-Juno spin to their second collaboration seems to enhance and rejuvenate their spirits, their sense of play, and sense of character.  It marks a rejuvenation for Theron for herself, freed of the histrionics of having to gain weight and put on prosthetics to be taken seriously, for she is allowed to be very beautiful and entrancingly ugly at once, chewing on Cody's biting and hard to pin down dialogue with such aplomb that one must ask the question-- how has nobody ever correctly tapped into her hidden comedic talents before?  If Young Adult in the end proves nothing more than a standout vehicle for Theron's under-utilized talents, her spirit and joie de vivre in her harsh, yet deeply textured portrait of misanthropic Mavis Gary, is more than enough nourishment for comedy deprived movie-goers.

Mavis was that small town girl back in high school that everyone knew, and many probably loathed.  The prom queen, pretty-type who flaunted how much better she was.  She had the football heartthrob for her beau (played as milquetoast corn-fed grown-up by Patrick Wilson) and the drive and haughty grandeur of someone who would never come back to her hick small town roots-- her home is the quaint (and invented) town of Mercury, Minnesota.  Long ago traveled to the big city and seemingly a successful writer of young adult fiction, living her carefree existence in her very own condo, Mavis' disillusion of grandeur are apparent from the start-- she's but a ghost writer of a successful series of youth-driven books, who spends the bulk of her days finding quotes from CW-like television shows, and the bulk of her nights drinking up a storm.  With the realization that her book series work is nearly extinct, the true tailspin occurs when Mavis receives a mass e-mail blast from Buddy (Wilson) on the arrival of his newborn child.  Nearly hellbent, but utterly nonchalant, Mavis decides the only thing she can do is save her old flame from his humdrum domesticity.

Along the way, she meets a compatible drinking buddy, a former high school nobody with a tragic past (played by Patton Oswalt), the only one who instantly calls Mavis' bluff from the start, and raises lots of trouble.  However, it's the reckless abandon of Theron's performance that is utterly inspired, as well as the crisp notes that Reitman and Cody lay down from the start-- she is never let of the hook for a second, for it would be too easy for the film to be overtaken with last minutes odes of redemption.  Mavis is a strong, smart, manipulative, domineering, nearly detestable, absolutely enthralling characterization that it's shocking a major studio (in this case, Paramount) would agree to finance the film to begin with.  But it's the nimble and unmatched charm and stinging energy that Theron provides that gives Young Adult its bent and springy awkwardness-- one that's never quite laugh-out-loud funny, but impeccably timed and nearly courageous in it's go-for-broke splendor.

It's also a nice respite for Reitman, a filmmaker, perhaps slightly weighed down by the heavy lifting of his previous film-- the awards magnet Up in the Air, who has unabashedly returned with a nicely scathing humanistic portrait, one that one must concede could never have been made for the hope of gold statutes.  B+

Young Adult trailer

Whatever cool factor may have been lost on writer Diablo Cody since she won the Oscar for Juno, or followed-up that film with the silly horror\teen comedy Jennifer's Body, and whatever grace points director Jason Reitman may have lost since his Oscar also-ran Up in the Air, I'm fully on board with Young Adult.  The prime showcase appears to be a nicely nasty and committed comedic turn from Charlize Theron, an actress who, despite that Oscar for that lionized "performance of a lifetime" back in 2003, kind of vanished slightly.  I'm on board, totally, for what appears to a smokey, fun portrayal of a "high school prom queen bitch."  What appears less sturdy, at least on first appearances, is an Oscar campaign, of which I'm certain distributor Paramount Pictures is surely gunning for-- the trailer shows little dramatic pretense...of which makes me enjoy it all the more.  Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson and Juno's dad, J.K. Simmons co-star.

Up in the Air

It's sometimes hard to form a natural true opinion of a film that seems to be radiating buzz and love from film critics, awards organizations, and other movie enthusiasts. Such is a predicament I experienced recently with Precious, which I had heard nothing better rave hyperbole all the way since January, but I loved the film anyway. On the other hand that was the case with An Education too, and I didn't quite love that one. Here's Up in the Air, which since September and its debuts at the Toronto Film Festival, where all the bloggers and critics and their ilk wrote up a storm about Jason Reitman's third film, and then came the early awards, and more reviews. And while the film is still fresh as a daisy in my brain, I think I'm ready to proclaim in the real deal. I've been rooting for Reitman since his debut film Thank You For Smoking, onto pure joy with Juno, and here is his most mature and refined piece of work. There's comedy, a little bit of romance, social commentary at hand, but a sign of a true humanist working in Hollywood. He may be a softie, but his films have resonance, and power.

Up in the Air, I think, packs more a punch. It stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham. Bingham is the go-to-guy for cowardly corporate bosses to fire their employees. So it's a glowing time for Bingham in todays America. He travels across the country, living in a suitcase, free from regular human commitments, just as Bingham prefers. On the side he's also a motivational speaker, extolling the dangers of a life full of personal attachments. "We're sharks," he states, "moving is living." He digs the flying, the airline miles, gold star rental car and hotel treatment (his mission is to get ten million frequent flyer miles, just because he'd only be the seventh person on the planet to do so.) It's probably the perfect role for Clooney, as it plays to his own persona of lone bachelor, and he oozes charm in the rare movie star breed that's lacking so much in today's cinema climate. In other words, Ryan Bingham probably would not be a very a likeable character played by anyone else, but it's also an accomplishment that Clooney, though seemingly never breaking a sweet, makes him not only likeable, but sympathetic.

His world is starting to change however, with the arrival of Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), a bright and eager Cornell graduate with innovative ways of changing the rule of things and Bingham's cozey airtime miles. Instead of firing people in person, let's do it over the internet via webcam. She is then opted to be protegue to Bingham. The dynamic of the film changes, but in a revolutory way, and lots of that is based on the rapport between Clooney and Keener-- like oil and vingear mostly. Kendrick (previously of Camp, Rocket Science, and Twilight) proves a more than capable foil, and puts a fresh spin on her line delieveries. Again not the most likeable character in concept, but seeing Kendrick unravel and become more aware of the process of ruining peoples lives deepens the film; making it not always the light hearted comedy that advertising might suggest.

The other woman that challenges Bingham is Alex (Vera Farmiga), a female counterpart whom he meets and flirts while mingling at an airport bar. They are both obsessed and turned on by the casual up-in-the-air lifestyle..."moving is living." Foreplay basically consists of bragging about platinum cards and the best rental car agencies. The game changer is that Bingham slowly starts to fall for Alex. It's the most traditionally genre part of the film, but never falls into cliche, because the chemistry between Clooney and Farmiga is soooooo good. The pitter patter dialouge reminded me of classic screwball comedies of the 1940s.

The great thing about Up in the Air, and the quality that makes me confident that Reitman as forminable director is that the film never loses sight of its entertainment value, of it's lightness or comedy, but that it bounces back up into a higher pantheon of filmmaking because it's set in backdrop all too familiar to contemporary America. People are losing their jobs, and it takes a bold filmmaker to put on display a serious downer issue, and yet still make a very populist, entertaining film about the subject. The context is there and as a narrative Up in the Air feels more than anything else I've seen this a total 2009 time capsule film; this is where we are right now. The scenes where Clooney is firing people (and many of the victims are portrayed by real life laid-off workers) is just a poignant and moving and uncomfortable as the door stop scenes in The Messenger, another 2009 gem of timely subject matter.

So while my natural opinion might sound like hyperbole somewhat, I did naturally dig this film. A-

Juno

It's hard to remember the last time I saw a comedy so clever, whip-smart, crisply written, wondrously acted and acutely directed. It goes to show that there really aren't stale premises, just stale styling. Written by Diablo Cody with a quick ear for smart dialogue (most of which is entirely quotable) and fresh, engaging characters, and an ensuing generosity of spirit rarely exhibited in movies at all anymore. Her writing is so strong it sparks a sort of simpatico response of director Jason Reitman, (justly made all hip by following this hoot on the heals of the cool Thank You For Smoking), and an engaging ensemble chewing up the words, all lead by an incomparable leading lady in Ellen Page (last seen terrorizing Patrick Wilson in Hard Candy.) What's great about Juno is that it has the ability to have it's own personality without overflowing the quirk factor-- these characters are so fresh because they're regular people, not weirdly disconnected from reality in a Napoleon Dynamite, or even Little Miss Sunshine kind of way. It's sweet and funny and tenderly gets it's laughs and even a few heartstrings moving without ever being too saccharine or manipulative about it, and that's the glory of Juno, how it's perfectly pitched into a sort of everything-will-be-alright crowdpleaser, while also truthfully acknowledging the life-is-a-bitch honesty of growing up.

The story starts with a fateful day when one Juno McGruff (Ellen Page), all of 16, freely and willfully engaged in unprotected intercourse with Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), out of boredom, ennui, curiosity- whatever. This action leads to her unplanned pregnancy. With equally quick-witted best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), stern father Mac (J.K. Simmons), and strong-minded stepmother Bren (Allison Janney) as tender, if highly pointed support, Juno makes the decision to have the child and give it to a couple, "that totally needs it." The movie delves for a second into the subject of abortion, making acute jokes on both side in a refreshing who cares about politics manner. The search of the perfect couple leads to Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), an attractive, impossibly well-groomed prospect with fine furnishings and a nursery ready for a paint job.

As the film tours the nine months of Juno's expected, an unexpected maturity takes hold of the film. Just when you think the witty repartee will fall over it's own cleverness, the film slows down a bit, not so much as the comedy suffers, but enough to be impactful on a deeper level. What blossoms is a friendship between Juno and Mark, who bond over graphic horror movies and a yen for music. Mark, stifled by Vanessa's all encompassing need for a child (which Garner plays quite well) takes to Juno in a nicely completely platonic way. And of course Juno and Bleeker who encounter the trials of an unexpectedly interrupted adolescence which develops into a sincere romance, one such rarely expressed in such a youthful film. It brings to mind a bit of Say Anything. What's nice is that no one really gets off the hook here, but no one is really judged either, a testament to the strength of Cody's screenplay.

It would all be clever words on a page however without a leading lady as compelling and enchanting as Ellen Page. She's makes Juno an actual person, instead of a series of idiosyncratic tics. She makes the comedy work by not trying to hard and finally becomes undone by her own wit toward the end and expresses the heart and soul of a young woman looking to be understood by the world. As in Hard Candy, she is immensely watchable and her every line reading carries a sting-- here it's also with a tenderness and heart. Her characterization in my world belongs on the same plane as the girls in Terry Zwigoff's Ghost World-- witty, intelligent, smart-asses looking for direction and a place to fit in. And she's ably supported by Simmons, Janney, and especially Cera, who would come off as nothing but a cipher but proves a delightfully dead-pan yin to Page's yang.

And with Juno, it reinforces my faith in modern comedy and shows a template for a trifecta of three monstrously talented people-- Diablo Cody (whose stripper-cum-hot screenwriter backstory is in itself part of the film's lure), Jason Reitman, and Page. As Juno herself puts it at the end, this film is, "the cheese to my macaroni." A