Adult World
***
I stumbled upon this gem during a case of “late Friday/early
Saturday insomnia”. It was on one the Showtime premium channels, and I happened
upon Adult World (2013) right in the middle of it. It is a big no-no typically
for me to fall into a film as I prefer to get in from beginning to end. I checked as it was showing again later so I just went ahead anyway and finished it,
opting to watch the beginning in a couple of hours, catching a few winks in the
process. It concerns a college student encumbered with massive student loan
debt, insecurities regarding her poetry, and needing a job just to pay for her
own way as the parents can no longer afford to. What the parents didn’t realize
was their daughter’s use of funds to send poetry submissions in the hopes of
getting her work published somewhere. These submissions prove unsuccessful
leaving the poet-hopeful hampered with self-aching. Emma Roberts has made a big
splash as of late in television with American Horror Story and Scream Queens
(the latter only going two seasons, though), a medium that really has served
well for actresses really wanting to stretch themselves. She had been in more
serious roles before unveiling her knack for physical comedy. In Adult World
she balances reactions both comic and dramatic. I think it is a great little
role for her. And she gets too often work alongside John Cusack, so another
major plus for Roberts.
Cusack is a poet icon with little patience for pandering to his admirers or their monetary/fame-conscious whims. Roberts descends upon him with lots of hero worship and clingy adoration, as Cusack often uses sarcasm, tinged with cynical barbs in an effort to dissuade her from hanging around. It does little good because she badly needs his advice (no matter how harsh it might be, including publishing a poem she writes in a book devaluing her) and seeks his mentorship, so longing to be his protégé. While seeking fulfillment in her dream as a poet, Roberts finds work at an Adult store, much to her initial pause, only gradually accepting the detour in her life (she graduated but cannot seem to a path towards success) when a co-worker, played by Evan Peters (another Falchuk/Murphy regular), becomes attractive to her. Peters, as she learns when visiting his home, is a photographer, not all that interested in fame or financial support. He’s fine working in the store for elderly couple Cloris Leachman and John Cullum, and when Roberts blows off her responsibilities in the store he takes her to task, even dismissing her from employment because of it. With Cusack often also trying to brush Roberts off, she finds herself in a state of indifference and disillusionment, not knowing what her next steps should be.
The film allows Roberts to visualize a young woman desperately holding onto the prospects of her dream career while navigating through a rough patch in her early adult life. Cusack always kind of diffuses her active reach for money and fame, hoping to steer her towards “growing up” and “finding failure and life experience pain” in order for her poetry to reach for the truth. Later in the film, Roberts realizes a poem is to be published in an erotic magazine—earlier in the film, this magazine was told to her by Peters who is actually quite an encouragement, although he expects her to treat the Adult store job respectfully. It is no surprise Peters and Roberts hook up, her virginity taken by him. It ends with her happy next to her transgender pal (they met through Peters and the store) at a hip club as Peters congregates just a few paces with others in attendance. It does appear as if her life will not end with her suffocating herself with an Adult World go-home bag.
Cusack is a poet icon with little patience for pandering to his admirers or their monetary/fame-conscious whims. Roberts descends upon him with lots of hero worship and clingy adoration, as Cusack often uses sarcasm, tinged with cynical barbs in an effort to dissuade her from hanging around. It does little good because she badly needs his advice (no matter how harsh it might be, including publishing a poem she writes in a book devaluing her) and seeks his mentorship, so longing to be his protégé. While seeking fulfillment in her dream as a poet, Roberts finds work at an Adult store, much to her initial pause, only gradually accepting the detour in her life (she graduated but cannot seem to a path towards success) when a co-worker, played by Evan Peters (another Falchuk/Murphy regular), becomes attractive to her. Peters, as she learns when visiting his home, is a photographer, not all that interested in fame or financial support. He’s fine working in the store for elderly couple Cloris Leachman and John Cullum, and when Roberts blows off her responsibilities in the store he takes her to task, even dismissing her from employment because of it. With Cusack often also trying to brush Roberts off, she finds herself in a state of indifference and disillusionment, not knowing what her next steps should be.
The film allows Roberts to visualize a young woman desperately holding onto the prospects of her dream career while navigating through a rough patch in her early adult life. Cusack always kind of diffuses her active reach for money and fame, hoping to steer her towards “growing up” and “finding failure and life experience pain” in order for her poetry to reach for the truth. Later in the film, Roberts realizes a poem is to be published in an erotic magazine—earlier in the film, this magazine was told to her by Peters who is actually quite an encouragement, although he expects her to treat the Adult store job respectfully. It is no surprise Peters and Roberts hook up, her virginity taken by him. It ends with her happy next to her transgender pal (they met through Peters and the store) at a hip club as Peters congregates just a few paces with others in attendance. It does appear as if her life will not end with her suffocating herself with an Adult World go-home bag.
Roberts has a standout scene where she tries to seduce Cusack who just disengages her advances, with her puking her drunk guts out on his floor! She swipes his napkins which often feature thoughts penned on them, perhaps later to be used at his leisure. Cusack is a bit of a loner with no appetite for fan affection. He prefers just to be left alone. Roberts, though, is enamored by him and can't help but want to be around him, hoping to glean from him a bit of his genius. He wants to force her into dislodging the wide-eyed pursuit of vain-glory in favor of offering something in her writing that is more substantial, perhaps even existential. He lets her know she has some ways to go, but also offers hope to her that she has potential. Exactly what she needs is to know that sometimes it takes living in order to forward true poetry. In turn Roberts encourages Peters to take his work further. So the film allows us to see people meeting each other, with the influence of such chance encounters perhaps propelling them towards future success. The store itself produces the expected comic moments of discomfort and self-evaluation. The items serve as fun props as does the suggestive content lining the shelves. But it is always clear in its focus on Roberts and her dreams. When a young professor coddles her ego, later just trying to fuck her, it is the start of her real journey towards discovering what needs to steer her in the right direction.
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