Ms Collette is such a smashing actress and has long been one of my favorite people to enjoy on the big screen.
There are two moments from her career that stand out to me. One only lasts a second or so and she does not even have a line. It happens in Little Miss Sunshine when Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell are arguing in the VW bus. Ms Collette is sitting in the passenger seat, smiling, half laughing, and you can see all the love she has for both of these flawed men. One is her brother (Carell) and the other is her husband (Kinnear). It is an astonishing, very simple piece of acting that gives me goosebumps every time I see it.
The other life-changing, profound performance from Collette that I treasure is the scene where she meets her prospective husband at the pool in Muriel's Wedding.
She is one of the best working today. I love Ms Collette.
"Isn't it funny how beautiful people look as they're walking out the door."
I do not particularly like Charlize Theron. I do not like Diablo Cody. I did not like Juno -- it was facile and crass. I did not like Up in the Air -- it was facile and sentimental. I still have not seen Thank You for Smoking, and that is alright by me.
I remember the ads for Juno upon its release. They made a big deal about how similar it was to Little Miss Sunshine, probably some of the same producers were involved.
Little Miss Sunshine was a true black comedy. Black as tar, as my friend Nick C says. They stole a corpse and stuffed it in the back of a VW van!
Young Adult will not end, or even contain, anything that twisted, or profane, or mean as that.
(And, note to Hollywood: Please fucking stop using Bowie's brill Queen Bitch for your trailers. Wes Anderson kicked your ass on this one. Give him his due and move on.)
I am saying it here now, and loudly: Jason Reitman is a safe, sentimental, backlash film maker, who should be saving his breath for working in a time like ours.
Hell, even the goody-goody, dopey reactionary Capra at least made you feel something, watching his corny films.
You want comedy, with great performers, go see Polanski's Carnage, instead.
As for Reitman's slice of burnt apple pie, this reviewer will pass.
AH
UPDATE, 12/9/11:
Ugh, apparently the "theme" song for Young Adult is Teenage Fanclub's The Concept, one of my all-time fave tracks. It is similar to how I felt when I heard all of my favorite Supertramp songs in Magnolia.
A.O. Scott and Mick LaSalle leeerved Young Adult, by the way.
In other movie news, Manohla Dargis has a splendidly written review of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy today on the NYT Arts & Leisure cover page. Now, there's another movie I would rather see than Young Adult. Benedict Cumberbatch gets second billing! What a coup!
