Simmons on Theron, Young Adult

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On 7.6 Bill Simmons said during an ESPN B.S. report with Chris Connelly that he'd caught a screening of Jason Reitman's Young Adult, which he says will open in December. Simmons said he thinks "it's tremendous, and here's what I really liked about it, other than the fact that it was just well done.

"Remember when we said earlier about Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise and how he needed Jerry Maguire [to do that], and how you watched for two hours...? This is Tom Cruise throwing 98 miles an hour. Charlize Theron has never had a movie like that. Monster shoudn't be her defining movie...she gained 35 pounds and made herself ugly [for that], and she's beautiful. She's never had a really good movie that she was really good in in which she was also beautiful.

"And it made me reevaluate her career...that's how good I thought she was in it. She knows that you know that she knows she's beautiful. I'm glad she made this movie. People will feel differently about her after they see it."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 9, 2011 at 5:17 PM

comment #1

LexG says ...

Charlize is uniformly great in everything she's ever done, whether she's beautiful in it or frumped up. Even something like Astronaut's Wife or Sleepwalking or Aeon Flux, she brings the thunder, each and every time. I get what he's saying about it being a "Jerry Maguire" for her -- though maybe I don't, since Cruise had been great and beloved for 15 years before that -- but he's kind of acting like this is some out-of-nowhere surprise, which is a little off.

Before I even google it, someone tell me this DOESN'T have a Bateman supporting turn. It does, doesn't it?

Posted by LexG at July 9, 2011 5:47 PM

comment #2

plainview11 says ...

Bateman, and MOST CERTAINLY Ken Jeong.

Posted by plainview11 at July 9, 2011 7:14 PM

comment #3

The Truth says ...

Jason Reitman is a horrible director and a serious asshole, just ask anyone in the biz. He's known for taking credit for the work of others and the fact that his films are both pandering and mediocre only add to the laughingstock he is in this industry of ours.

Posted by The Truth at July 9, 2011 7:33 PM

comment #4

4th grade army says ...

Not surprised. The script was fantastic.

Posted by 4th grade army at July 9, 2011 7:44 PM

comment #5

Peterzee says ...

There's some good, snarky showbiz writing on Grantland. Like his analysis of why Ryan Reynolds ain't ever gonna be a "movie star" versus why Will Smith IS. Or this week's bit on Oscar winners "tarnishing" their careers with paycheck roles in subsequent dreck, measured sabermetric style in units called "cubas." Hilarious.

Posted by Peterzee at July 9, 2011 7:50 PM

comment #6

Mitchell says ...

Disclaimer: Simmons and Reitman are really good friends.
I'll still take most of his word for it, though.

Posted by Mitchell at July 9, 2011 8:04 PM

comment #7

The Hoyk says ...

No Bateman, no Jeong. The other main leads are Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson.

My experience with Jason Reitman was that he wasn't the warmest fellow upon meeting him, but he was certainly not an asshole either.

Wish Paramount would announce a release date soon.

Posted by The Hoyk at July 9, 2011 8:40 PM

comment #8

Buk94 says ...

Up in the Air and Thank You For Smoking were both really good. I really couldn't possibly careless if he's the biggest asshole on the planet. I tend to think most directors are assholes.

Posted by Buk94 at July 9, 2011 9:16 PM

comment #9

LexG says ...

Up in the Air is so great, it's sad that it's one of those "little" movies that gets built up with a crushing amount of hype, everyone goes out and sees it and is duly underwhelmed because it's not an "epic" or something, and two years later it has this "IT SUCKS REITMAN'S A HACK!" stigma attached to it. When in fact it's a devastating narrative about lone-wolfdom and acting pitch-perfectly by everybody-- yes, even Jeff would say McBride is terrific in it. I loved it when I saw it, then it became one of those over-debated Oscar movies where you just never wanna hear about it again. Then like a few months ago I watched just a snippet of it on HBO and heard all those depressing songs ago, and it sent me into waves of depression with how attuned and affectionate a movie it is.

Reitman is great.

Posted by LexG at July 9, 2011 10:05 PM

comment #10

lazarus says ...

Agreed with Lex in Comment #1; Theron is always very good to great, and it's sad that an adventurous role like Aeon Flux gets treated like it's Halle Berry in Catwoman post-Oscar. She kicked ass and didn't look like she was cashing in.

And I also found her very moving in In The Valley Of Elah.

Anyone who caught her appearance in Inside The Actors Studio would have come away with a deeper respect and admiration for this woman. She's not only one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, but also one of its smartest.

Posted by lazarus at July 10, 2011 12:05 AM

comment #11

LexG says ...

Seriously, Theron kicks SO MUCH ASS on every level I usually don't even break out the lechery and dirty jokes for her; Mostly because like Jolie, she could easily kick my ass, but because she's just that AWESOME.

Honestly, try to think of a single Charlize movie where she DIDN'T give it 100%, from 2 Days in the Valley to Devil Advocate to Trapped to 15 Minutes to Italian Job to Men of Honor to North Country; She's ALWAYS great, never just relies on being the "hot chick," has tons of effortless screen presence, and, oh yeah, has held her own with everyone from Ed Norton to Al Pacino to Johnny Depp to Robert De Niro to legends all up and down the board.

What I am saying here, basically, if the Oscar this year isn't going to go to K-Stew for On the Road, or Chloe Moretz for Hugo, then PLEASE NONEXISTENT GOD PLEASE, give it to SERIOUSLY underrated and effortlessly awesome Charlize before you award that mincing ham Streep for that hambone bullshit.

THERON.

Posted by LexG at July 10, 2011 12:28 AM

comment #12

LexG says ...

[All LexG post about thoughts of suicide & reasons for having such thoughts have been deleted. I would have deleted them sooner but I had to put up two posts and then go to the Harry Potter movie this morning at 10 am. I've asked LexG to talk about these issues on today's Oscar Poker, which we'll record on Sunday afternoon.]

Posted by LexG at July 10, 2011 2:36 AM

comment #13

JLC says ...

I remember Siskel and Ebert "discovering" Theron in Trial and Error, that Michael Richards/Jeff Daniels comedy that's otherwise completely forgotten. They spent about 99% of the review talking about her.

Posted by JLC at July 10, 2011 4:40 AM

comment #14

The Truth says ...

That's terrible, Lex. I co-wrote the stories for two scripts and still get paid off of them. You gotta start somewhere, bro.

Posted by The Truth at July 10, 2011 6:05 AM

comment #15

The Mean Freaks says ...

Lex, have you ever considered getting your masters in creative writing? You could just send off some of the essays you've already written with your application (the Lex Diaries stuff has got to be more interesting than 90% of what they see), and don't accept any offers that don't give you funding. Then you could get a teaching job at some community college and be surrounded by late-teens-early-twenty-ish ladies all day. It's cool to be poor when you're a grad student.

Feel better dude.

Posted by The Mean Freaks at July 10, 2011 9:51 AM

comment #16

4th grade army says ...

Mean Freaks -- you really don't know Lex. Community College? You just made him want to kill himself even more.

I kinda think we need an L.A based Hollywood-Elsewhere intervention for Lex. Some restaurant where we can meet up and talk him off the ledge. Many people come here specifically for Lex and his ramblings, so why not?

Lex, dude, just start a blog. Start with a bunch of celebrity pix, rants, movie reviews, whatever. Put everything you write on HE and The Hot Blog on it and just keep it up. Eventually you'll find an identity and stick with it and it'll be cool and you'll be able to make money. If Wells can do it and Poland can do it, then you really have no excuse. You can LITERALLY START TOMORROW. For all your I am America schtick, you really are one of the most neg-head fucking whiners out there. If you can't find a job, just make one.

Posted by 4th grade army at July 10, 2011 10:29 AM

comment #17

The Mean Freaks says ...

He's expressed some...interest...in being a high school teacher, but then I remembered how he'd rather die than go to prison, so I stand by my assessment. We've all encouraged him on the blog front before, but it takes all sorts of faith and dedication and hustle to get that kind of thing working. I would love to see it happen but I don't know how realistic that is right now.

Posted by The Mean Freaks at July 10, 2011 10:46 AM

comment #18

musealien1 says ...

I'm sorry, but you're not depressed. If you knew anything about depression you'd know that those who are depressed would be unable to write a post like that. Depressed people don't "share"; they suffer quietly, internally and alone.

You say that you're a better writer than every film critic. While this is hardly high praise considering that most film critics, particularly the on-line ones, are barely literate, you're not better. I visit this site regularly and your posts are tedious, repetitive, juvenile and lack any spark of originality or creative talent.

There's a lot to be said for analysing all the things in life that bring you down, and removing them; for thinking about all the things that make you happy, and focussing on them.

And maybe disconnecting from the Internet for a while.

Posted by musealien1 at July 10, 2011 11:34 AM

comment #19

dangovich says ...

I have had less than four sex partners in my four "decades,"

At that point, just go ahead and give the exact number.

Posted by dangovich at July 10, 2011 12:27 PM

comment #20

LexG says ...

Depends, do you count molestations?

If not, two.

Posted by LexG at July 10, 2011 1:06 PM

comment #21

creepingmalaise says ...

Glad to see Jeff got wind of the Amber Alert out on Lex.

Posted by creepingmalaise at July 10, 2011 2:43 PM

comment #22

Los Bostonian says ...

Anything Simmons says about his friends is suspect and I say this as an avid reader. He is also freakish with any SNL castmember, Jimmy Kimmel and Jon Hamm. That said he totally needs to be as he is clearly trying to become either a TV Showrunner or an NBA GM.

Posted by Los Bostonian at July 10, 2011 3:21 PM

comment #23

KRF says ...

Up in the Air was pretty disappointing for me. Felt a couple of the scenes were overwritten (McBride's breakdown, Clooney on the dock, etc.) Didn't buy one character's third-act turn at all, and thought the majority of the business scenes with Bateman felt like they were written by someone who had never been in a boardroom. (See the recent Too Big to Fail for a business movie that feels like real business).

The acting was strong, and the film was topical. Just thought it was highly overrated from critics I normally respect. I think the timing of the topic got to a lot of people.

Posted by KRF at July 10, 2011 3:47 PM

comment #24

DiscoNap says ...

KRF is exactly right.

Posted by DiscoNap at July 10, 2011 9:13 PM

comment #25

Buk94 says ...

Nah, KRF just has a very strong, well written, opinion.

Posted by Buk94 at July 10, 2011 10:47 PM

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lynngfdave says ...

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