Soundtracking: "Juno"

by Chris Feil

I’m anxious to see what musical stylings await us with Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman’s third collaboration, Tully. We’ve already discussed how a single song brought deep character insight to Young Adult, with the after effects of high school romance lingering in the dated verve of Teenage Fanclub. But while that song served to inflate Mavis Gary’s convoluted fantasy, Juno presents a soundtrack that is true to its protagonist’s humble emotional reality. Its fantasy is that we wish our messy lives could have such cozy results, and its music is as oddly comforting...

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"Tully" Teases

Chris here. Has everyone come around to the comedy masterpiece that is Young Adult yet? If not, allow yourself a revisit in the coming months because we have an enticing reunion between its team. Charlize Theron returns for director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody for Tully, a tale of contemporary suburban motherhood. 

This time around Halt and Catch Fire's Mackenzie Davis joins the collaborators as the titular nanny who helps Theron's mother cope with the demands of parenting, and they begin to establish a bond together as well. While Reitman/Cody are more widely known for their Juno collaboration which landed Cody an Oscar, this film looks to skew closer to Young Adult based on the just released teaser. The almost dialogue free 90 seconds is filled with brisk detail and tough honesty (not to mention a few belly laughs) that reminds immediately Young Adult's painfully precise opening sequence. Will this satiric look at new motherhood be equally spot on? Things are already promising for something special when the film opens April 20!

Blueprints: "Juno"

This week Juno celebrated its tenth anniversary, so Jorge takes a look at how Diablo Cody’s iconic dialogue was inflicted with meaning by the cast.

Juno first hit theaters ten years ago as a low budget indie hopeful. It ended its run as a major box office hit and Oscar favorite. It was the movie that put Ellen Page on the map, boosted Jason Reitman’s career, and gave us arguably the definitive Jennifer Garner performance. 

Screenwriter Diablo Cody won the Oscar for her debut screenplay, and she instantly became a recognizable name, the way many directors but few writers are. And not without merit. One of Juno’s biggest legacy is its quick-witted, snarky dialogue that, many times since then, has tried to be replicated...

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Soundtracking: "Young Adult"

We're celebrating Charlize Theron before Atomic Blonde opens this week! Here's Chris Feil's weekly series on music in the movies...

Young Adult begins with a near ten minute stretch of almost silence before its recurring song choice bursts in and becomes one of the film’s most illuminating crutches of its antihero Mavis Gary, played with utter genius by Charlize Theron.

At the news that her high school sweetheart Buddy is a new father, Mavis departs her depressing life on a cringe-inducing quest to win him back, armed with tunes from their love that she keeps in a memory box in her closet. The keepsake mixtape “Mad Love, Buddy” begins with “The Concept” by Teenage Fanclub, quite the apropos band name for Mavis’s frozen disposition. After several instant rewinds it becomes clear this isn’t just a favorite road trip singalong, but the one she remembers Buddy by. Their song.

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Young Adult Reunion: Now with Pictures

by Murtada

As previously mentioned, the three principals of Young Adult - writer Diablo Cody, director Jason Reitman and star Charlize Theron - are reuniting for a new movie. Now there is evidence it will only be a matter of months before we can see it. Tully started shooting in Vancouver and there are pictures to prove it. This is cause for some excitement around these parts where there are many Young Adult fans, no?

The new comedy tells the story of Marlo (Theron) — a mother of three, including a newborn — who is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant at the extravagance at first, she comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (played by Mackenzie Davis). You might know Davis from The Martian (2015) or the AMC TV show Halt and Catch Fire, this though looks to possibly be her big breakout, playing the title character and all. Ron Livingston - who will always be remembered as Carrie's awful boyfriend Jack Berger Post-It Man in Sex and the City- is also in the cast. Let's hope he's not as awful this time, if he's playing Theron's partner.

What do you think of Charlize's new look, padding or pounds?