Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman have still managed to get at a fundamental truth that screenplays traditionally ignore. People don't change. Character "arc" is one of those myths that movies perpetuate. full review

Young Adult may be the year's most engaging feel-bad movie. full review

There's little about Mavis that makes for feel-good revelry. That's an understatement, perhaps. Yet, Theron's work feels true to Mavis' malaise -- and often, just as sad. full review

As good as Theron and Oswalt are, and they're very good, Young Adult doesn't give them enough room to breathe. full review

A low-key, indie-style comedy that plays precariously close to an unfunny sociopathic case study. full review

There's enough grit in the film's gears to keep the forward motion from ever getting too smooth. full review

The comedy of discomfort, so long defined by Curb Your Enthusiasm and its ilk, gets a new hue with Young Adult. full review

Theron is thrillingly nasty as Mavis. full review

The movie doesn't weigh that much, but it has a kind of point-blank piquancy that has gradually seeped out of American comedies, which now are mostly going for broad, topical gags that rarely venture into the relatable shadows of human behavior. full review

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. full review

Every time you're ready to write off Hollywood comedies, along comes a picture like Young Adult to keep hope alive. full review

It trades in discomfort and unease, not catharsis. That's an achievement worthy of admiration, if you can endure it. full review

Theron does a fairly convincing job. It's the movie surrounding her that isn't quite so convincing. full review

In a less acid romp, Mavis would learn life lessons in the final reel, but director Jason Reitman makes it a point not to let her off the hook. full review

"Young Adult" finally stumbles not because it tries to make us like Mavis, but because everyone else in it seems to, no matter what she does. full review

Nobody ever said that adolescence was pretty, even if an increasing number of people are experiencing its final pangs on the cusp of middle age. full review

A dark comedy that confirms Diablo Cody 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." full review

There is a brashness of style that both Cody and Reitman embody - almost demanding that we not only laugh at, but like the unlikable side of the human condition. full review

Screenwriter Diablo Cody has crafted a precisely drawn portrait of a surly, emotionally stunted woman. full review

It's a step in a new direction, both for the creative team and for movies, a mature and humane comedy centered on a misanthropic female antihero. Think of it as "Juno's" wicked stepsister. full review