Disappointing cringe-comedy from the Cody-Reitman team behind Juno. Instead of an up-the-spout hipster teen though, Young Adult follows the bitter and very twisted Mavis (Charlize Theron), an author of awful young adult fiction who heads back to her mid-west hometown to persaude old flame Patrick Wilson that his heart lies with her rather than his wife and new baby.

Mavis is a great creation, played with soul-searing verve by an excellent Theron; and she has able backing from Patton Oswalt as an old school mate, crippled in a 'hate crime' by homophobic jocks, despite not being gay. The trouble is, the film almost wastes these excellent characters by simply not being funny enough. I was expecting some dark genius from the reviews but the most it raised were some light chuckles.

If it hadn't been for the really great performances from the two leads this would have been instantly forgettable.