Upon release at the Toronto International Film Festival, Young Adult received an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus: "Darkly humorous and wildly uncomfortable, Young Adult succeeds thanks to a fearless performance from Charlize Theron and a smart, bracing script from Diablo Cody."

“It's a relief to realize you're already garbage. Because then you can stop worrying about what you might become, and just let it happen.”

The search results identify " Young Adult " as a 2011 dark comedy film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody . The film stars Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary, a ghostwriter of young adult novels who returns to her hometown to rekindle a romance with her high school boyfriend, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), who is now happily married with a newborn daughter. Release Date: December 9, 2011. Genre: Comedy / Drama (Dramedy). Runtime: 1 hour and 33 minutes. Cast: Charlize Theron as Mavis Gary.