Jason Reitman better get on the phone with his tailor now and get an order in on a couple of suits because it looks like he’s once again going to be doing a marathon through the awards season following back-to-back hits “Juno” and “Up In The Air.”
Paramount smells a winner and have pegged the director’s next effort, “Young Adult,” with a prime limited release bow on December 9th with a wide release to follow on Decmeber 16th — it’s more or less the same frame that “The Fighter” got into the ring with last year. But for those expecting the breezy charms of Reitman’s past efforts, they will be in for a shock. Once again reteaming with “Juno” writer Diablo Cody, this decidedly darker and more mature film, stars Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt with J.K. Simmons narrating, and follows the story of a divorced 30-something young-adult fiction writer (Theron) who returns to her Minnesota home to chase after her now-married-with-kids ex-boyfriend (Wilson) with Oswalt playing a semi-crippled old high school acquaintance who befriends the narcissistic and misguided female. It will certainly be Theron at her most unlikeable and the film will be a side of Reitman and Cody we’ve not quite seen before.
“It’s not in a charming ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ kind of way but in a ‘Greenberg’ or ‘Rachel Getting Married’ kind of way,” Reitman said describing the tone of the film earlier this year. “We had a screening of it recently and a girl in the focus group said, ‘I don’t know why Jason Reitman wants me to feel this way.’ So get ready for that fun! But don’t worry, ‘Juno’ is on DVD. You can always watch that afterward and feel good again.” Sounds very promising, indeed.
Both Venice and TIFF are making initial lineup announcements this week so don’t be surprised if it pops up in either place. “Young Adult” enters a very crowded and competitive opening, with Madonna‘s “W.E.” hitting on the 9th and Meryl Streep‘s “The Iron Lady” arriving on December 16th. But for filmgoers, it means a bounty of options after a long, hot summer of empty popcorn fare. [THR]