Young Adult (2011)

Dark comedies are some of my favorites movies, but this one got a little darker than it probably should have. On the other hand, the drama in Young Adult felt like it came from a real place. Fortunately, the good slightly outweighed the bad.

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a professional ghost writer. She helped author a once-popular series of teen literature that dealt with drama in a small town. On a whim, this 30-something decides to leave the bright lights of Minneapolis and head to her hometown in an attempt to get her high school sweetheart once again. Problem is, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) is a happily married man. Mavis doesn't care. All she cares about is getting Buddy back. While back in town, she runs into another old classmate. Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt) now needs the help of a crutch after being savagely beaten while in high school. Both of them form this odd friendship that revolves around their past lives. Mavis can't shake the adolescence and downright bitchiness she had in high school, while Matt will forever be labeled as the town cripple. In the end, they can only go so far out of their comfort zone to get past their hangups.

Theron gives a great performance, but that's to be expected of her. The real star of the movie was Patton Oswalt. His subtle bravado and intensity shine through in certain scenes and it's really terrific to see. Patrick Wilson, who I'm normally not that fond of, does a good job at playing flabbergasted. My problems with the movie involved certain aspects of the plot. Certain scenes and certain characters just seemed contrived, or even unnecessary. But those didn't happen often enough to throw me off. Jason Reitman directs another good movie, but this one may be his most polarizing. Grade: B

Big Fan (2009)

The insanity of sports fandom comes to a head with this movie. This dark dramedy is helped a lot by the presence of a lesser known actor. A big name would not have been able to pull this off.

Patton Oswalt plays Paul. He's a thirtysomething who still lives at home with his mother and has a job that barely gives him enough money to put gas in his car. He's also a HUGE Giants fan. Him and his best friend Sal (Kevin Corrigan) tailgate at the games and watch them from the parking lot. Devotion knows no bounds, except ticket prices. One weeknight, the two see their favorite Giant, Quantrell Bishop, out on the town. They follow him to a strip club where, through some misunderstandings, Bishop pummels the crap out of Paul. After being laid up, Paul is questioned from all sides but doesn't give out answers. He's not sure if he should punish the man who did this to him because that would hurt the team that he loves. The public's on one side, his family's on the other, and he's stuck in the middle.

Oswalt was great. I was surprised as I'm sure everyone was who saw this. He had enough comedy and drama in the role to bring a sense of realism to the movie. You felt torn because he felt torn. What also helped is that this feels like it could really happen. There are superfans out there who are nuts for athletes and their teams. Might be hard to find, but go and watch this movie.