"Young Adult" Chat: Diablo, Charlize, Patton... and Candace?

This Friday night at the DGA Theater in Manhattan, director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody's post-Juno reunion was unveiled for guild members. The second time was also a charm so I hope they keep working together. For such a dark and discomfiting comedy (many of the best laughs come while cringing reflexively), I thought the screening went very well with no walkouts and much laughter but my guest was more skeptical. He felt like the laughter was coming from very specific pockets of the theater which may well be true since it's a movie that some people will "get" (i.e. respond to) and others will probably leave in disgust since it keeps defying expectations, driving drunkenly up to traditional beats / redemptive arcs, only to turn its nose up at them and swerve off that well-paved road again.  We weren't allowed to take pictures, so I was playing court reporter and sketching the panel which included...

From left: Moderator Candace Bushnell, actress Charlize Theron, screenwriter Diablo Cody, actor Patton Oswalt and actress Elizabeth Reiser.

I kept altering the Candace drawing, sketching beer bottles strewn about her, adding bubbles in the air, because the real life "Carrie Bradshaw" was a MESS, all slurry, mealy mouthed, self absorbed and just not pulling it together. At one point after several repeated interludes wherein she managed to go on and on about the movie or her feelings about without asking a question, she began to compare Charlize's character "Mavis Gray" with Kim Cattrall's "Samantha Jones" in Sex & The City, which proved to be too much for the already patience-tested audience.

JUST ASK A QUESTION!!!"

...one man shouted from somewhere in the middle of the theater.

But through her haze of something, Candace touched on and was maybe even a living embodiment of the point she was attempting to make: certain types of behavior and some very famous characters that we enjoy onscreen would be absolutely insufferable in real life settings. Young Adult lays this down with nuanced flair.

Despite the problematic "Q" half of the Q&A session, the "A" was terrific. Diablo Cody was clever (no surprise), Patton Oswalt was just hilarious (apparently this is not a surprise if you're familiar though I wasn't having only seen him in The United States of Tara) and Charlize and Elizabeth managed to wring laughs from the crowd, too. It's kind of disgusting that Charlize, in addition to being one of the most beautiful women in the world is also one of the most talented and has a great sense of humor. Abundance of riches, that, and the movie wouldn't have worked at all without someone of her caliber headlining.

My recorder mysteriously contains only silence for 25 minutes  --wtf? -- so I can't share the highlights I intended to (wah-wah) but [SPOILER] the funniest moment came when Patton Oswalt was discussing his nude scene with Charlize and an audience member asked if he worked out from nerves beforehand. He said that going to the gym for his body would be like building a nice awning over a pile of rubble... and nothing would have ever helped being on camera with Charlize. Why couldn't he have done a nude scene with, like, Michael Moore instead? [/SPOILER]. Another good bit was Charlize talking about how unpopular she was in high school followed by a self-deprecating 'I'm sure you all feel very sorry for me.'

Here's the Q&A guests at another event that same night. (They didn't change clothes so I assume they were back-to-back events)

Oscar Nominations?
While the whole cast of Young Adult is sharp about how to play the tricky tone, particularly Collette Wolfe in a crucial role as Patton Oswalt's sister, most of them have very small roles (it's Theron & Oswalt's party...and they do throw one.) Charlize is a deserving contender for Best Actress but given how traditionally strong her competition is (what with easy Oscar gets like biopic mimicry and career narratives like "long gestating dream role" in the mix) she's no lock. That said she nails a complicated character who is in every scene and requires both finely honed comedic skill and a nuanced dramatic undertow. Patton Oswalt has both an easier role (audience voice / surrogate... to an extent) and an easier shot at Supporting Actor. I suspect the film is far too distinctive, tightly focused and resistant to catharsis for wider Oscar play so it's all about the writer's branch.

The Original Screenplay category this year is a fascinating beast. Six of the hottest tickets in this category (Young Adult, Beginners, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, The Artist, Win Win) are either straight up comedies or dramas with very pronounced comedic sensibilities... so will they go there? Good news for Young Adult: Original Screenplay is a bit kinder to dramedies and comedies than other categories tend to be. You don't have to look back too far for a year that tilts comedic (the 2008 lineup includes Happy Go Lucky, Wall•E and In Bruges) though many of the years are as heavy on angsty drama as the lead acting categories tend to be. 

Will Monty "Consider" Bridesmaids?

Some people trust Karger, Stone, Tapley, Feinberg, Poland, myself -- the list goes on -- with their office Oscar pools. Who do I trust for sharp objective Oscar punditry? My cat. How could I not?

You must recall that last year "Monty" sifted through Fox Searchlight screeners and got very opinionated claiming 127 Hours for his own, immediately shoving Conviction away and declaring Never Let Me Go an utter snooze. Oscar Prediction Success: 100%

Naturally I'm seeking his services again in 2011. I tried to show him the Harry Potter "Consider" book but he literally refused to look at it. No amount of cajoling could get him near it for a photo which is strange because he loves books (useful as pillows or face scratchers) way more than movies (useful for nothing unless the DVD accidentally reflects light on the wall ). 

So I moved on. Would he consider Bridesmaids?

 *

Well, he would and he wouldn't... (continue).

Click to read more ...

Naked Gold Man... Now With Golden Globes

Late last week I went out for a drinks with an old friend of mine who introduced me to a friend of his I'd never met. They had just seen Jesse Eisenberg's new play and were arguing about how much to tell me about ("spoiler alerts!" and all) though they both highly recommend it.

Once we sat down for drinks and dinner, the topic turned to Oscar. You know I felt immediate kinship when this new insta-friend told me a hilarious story of his teenage self absolutely freaking out on the night of March 29th, 1989 when Jodie Foster's name was read out and his beloved Glenn Close was shunned again. Inconsolable he was!

Let's just say his breakdown was less composed than the Merquise de Merteuil's when she met her ignoble end in Dangerous Liaisons.

After the story, he requested an article on Golden Globe predictions. "You haven't written about that," he says. He's right. So, let's ditch the sword and pick up the globes.

Let's focus on Comedy/Musical ...AFTER THE JUMP. 

Click to read more ...

Yes, No, Maybe So: "Young Adult"

Last time director Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody got together they gave us Juno (2007). This combined effort won them millions at the box office and four Oscar nominations. Can they strike gold twice? 

Cheers. Charlize Theron is a fierce funny bitch in "Young Adult" 

Young Adult features Oscar winning glamazon Charlize Theron as "Mavis" who returns to her hometown to win back an old boyfriend who is now a happily married father. Everyone else knows this is a terrible idea.

YES

• A lying cheating amoral lead character who is a "psychotic prom queen bitch"? We're so there.
• Dogs in bags, black fingernail polish... love that she's a bit dated in her badass "coolness" but totally pleased with herself about it. You can't get a bead from these two minutes whether she's aware that she's "shocking" (see also: Liza in Cabaret) or if she's oblivious to her own crazy... but either way that'll be funny.
• Biggest LOL Moment: Mavis and the ugly baby. If the whole movie is that funny, it'll be a perennial you can watch on repeat.
• Love the disconnect in her conversations "I'm a married man." "We can beat this thing together!"
• Charlize's comedic talents rarely get such a work out so bring it on.

NO

• The trailer promises The Charlize Show, but one of Juno's strengths was its fully humanized supporting cast. This doesn't suggest any depth of focus at first glance beyond its showy lead. Will Charlize be enough?
• If Charlize ends up with Patton Oswalt, that's just going to be weird and yet totally pandering/typical of the movies where the über babes are always falling for guys who look like regular moviegoers. 

MAYBE SO

• Jason Reitman's films are usually fairly impressive juggling acts with dramatic and comedic balls up in the air (sorry) constantly. This looks like a simple straightforward comedy. It might be more but even if it isn't won't that be welcome in the heat of Prestige Film Season surrounding by Totally Meaningful Sober Epic Dramas?

Here's the trailer

Are you a yes, no or maybe so? Charlize Theron: how ya like her now? How you like her Oscar chances once that Golden Globe is sewn up... or will Kristen Wiig's Bridesmaid trip her up there?

Cinema de Gym: 'Role Models'

Editor's Note: In Cinema de Gym, Kurt writes about whichever piece of whichever movie was playing while he cardio'ed. I wish my gym would play movies.

Kurt here. I've just moved from my suburban Philadelphia stomping grounds to a cozy new place in Brooklyn (yay!). Thus, no more weekly trips to the treadmill screening room, which, even if it had followed me here, would likely fall outside of my new monthly budget. But, fear not! I logged a lot of hours in that offbeat movie house, and though my scale might not reflect that (what gives?), I've compiled quite a lengthy list of gym films du jour. So, rather than bag the column, I'm going to burn through that Cinema de Gym queue, with a promise that my memory is sharp. 

Anyhoo, our title for today is Role Models, the 2008 Seann William Scott/Paul Rudd comedy about two dudes forced to mentor young kids as a means of community service. The segment I saw didn't reveal what crime led these guys to do the time, but it did feature a pre-Glee Jane Lynch as a characteristic ball-buster, her oppressive lectures showing more than just shades of Sue Sylvester. If not the probation officer of Scott and Rudd's characters (I couldn't tell), Lynch at least plays the woman running the role-model program, and she's rather candid about her history with drug addiction, the freedom from which has given her purpose, but hasn't much mended her social skills. Used to underscore a subversive tone that paints the legal system as bogus and chaotic, Lynch's slave driver seems wholly unequipped to work with kids, despite a constant assurance of her firm belief in the whole babysitting-as-rehab plan. She pairs Scott and Rudd with Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson) and Augie (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), respectively, two kids whose lives are suffering from a lack of positive parental influence. Augie, specifically, lives with his small-minded mom and her smaller-minded boyfriend, both of whom take cruel, alternating shots at Augie's obsession with medieval role-playing.

However improbable, I liked the whole real-life world of warcraft the film cooks up as Augie's pasttime, a population of devoted, armor-wearing super dorks who turn a neighborhood park into their own Middle Earth, complete with duels, a king (Ken Jeong) and social hierarchy. It's a preferable second life for Augie, but his family's shortcomings render him defenseless when it, too, reveals itself to be a harsh place. Which is of course where Rudd comes into play, joining the club of tunic-wearing plastic sword wielders, and finally confronting Augie's troubles at the source. A dinner scene with Augie's parents has an appropriate, if obvious, gratification, with Rudd offering us vicarious jollies by telling the ignorant adults that they're deadbeats who don't have a clue who their son is. It's the scene in which everyone hears what they need to hear, including Rudd's character, who, if we're going by typical plot logic, fulfills his community service at that very point. 

I didn't get to see much of Scott and his foul-mouthed terror, who, as you may know, launched a mini-career as a go-to foul-mouthed terror following his performance in this film. Scott's current lack of work had me missing his presence (a recent stint in rehab offers some explanation for the career dip), and I'm sure if he'd appeared more often I would have had more laughs. The third feature effort from multi-hyphenate David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer), who's got a new one dropping in 2012 with Rudd and Jennifer Aniston, Role Models didn't strike me as all that funny, but it works in concept, and it suggests more emotional ambition than a lot of other titles of its ilk (which are legion, to be sure). Had the Lord of the Rings wagon arrived about eight or nine years earlier than it did (I was 20 when the last film stormed the Kodak), I maybe, just maybe, would have gravitated toward a Renaissance-Faire realm like Augie's, and if my parents were the sort who mocked it, I'm sure I wouldn't have minded having Paul Rudd go to bat for me.

Conclusions?

1. While she's done wonders for Jane Lynch's career, one could argue that Sue Sylvester also highlights how filmmakers have long been typecasting this gifted comedienne.
2. Speaking of typecasting, wouldn't it be interesting to see Mintz-Plasse in a non-geek role? 
3. Jerk parents who put their petty interests before those of their kids are pretty high on my list of love-to-hate characters.
4. I can't say I'm a fan of Rudd's career, but I think I'd get pretty weak in the knees if he stepped in to be my hero.

Who's your role model?