I laughed, I felt awkward, I deja vu'd, and I cringed all the way through this Charlize-powered vehicle. I don't know how she does it but Charlize physically becomes another person as shown in "Monster" only this time it is a more appealing ex prom queen.
Mavis Gray left town after high school, got married/divorced, and became a ghost writer of "young adult" books targeted at teen girls. Somewhere in this process she became frozen in time and remained the same bitchy, ex prom queen she was in high school. When she received an email birth announcement from her old boy friend's wife she decided that he was the only man for her and that she would have him by releasing him from the drudgery of a new baby and wife. Once she arrives in Mercury, Minnesota, she stumbles upon one of the high school dorks that once admired her and she develops a co-dependent relationship with him in her exploits to get her man.
Theron is dancing to Oscar music again but the actual subject matter makes your feelings vacillate between hate and pity. She is certainly the star--she IS Mavis Gray, YA writer.
I think this late release date is to make splash in the Oscar pool but there was no way Rafe Finnes was going to get an award for "Schindler's List" either.
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Topic - "Young Adult": Comedy so black you will need a flashlight to survive . . . - mr grits 15:49:09 12/16/11 (0)