Young Adult (2011)

Charlize Theron is one of the best actresses we've got going right now and she's the absolute driving force behind Young Adult as she plays a high school celeb who left her small town to make it big in the city, only to feel hollow and unfulfilled. Desperate to find balance in her life she embarks on an ill-conceived odyssey back to her old town to reclaim her high school boyfriend, symbolically bringing herself back to a time she nostalgically feels was the prime of her life. It's great to see Patton Oswalt in just about anything but he's especially good here as an aged high school nerd who hasn't moved past a horribly traumatic event in his past. The performances are grand but the screenplay is a bit uneven, Diablo Cody should really pack it in cause she's not even half as talented as she thinks she is. Reitman has done a grand job of balancing lighthearted comedy with heavy dramatic elements so far and Young Adult is no exception. A solid film that only further establishes Theron as a great actress.