ADULTHOOD
Starring: Josh Gad, Kaya Scodelario, Anthony Carrigan, Billie Lourd, and Alex Winter
Director: Alex Winter
KATIE
Adulthood is an entertaining crime-thriller-comedy with a surprisingly morbid edge. It starts out funny and a little quirky before devolving into something a tad more sinister, but still with enough laughs. Kaya Scodelario and Josh Gad are fantastic in the leading roles; their characters are hilariously reckless and fixated on their goal. This trajectory leads to a delightfully cynical ending for everyone involved. It’s not perfect; it has too many unnecessary elements that don’t contribute to the character development or story, but I laughed out loud, and it took me by surprise more than once.
ROBERT
From the beginning, Adulthood has a dark tone, but not so dark as to keep you from enjoying the comedic interplay of Kaya Scodelario and Josh Gad. Then things turn sinister, and there is a tectonic shift into a family drama rife with psychological trauma abound. It could be the inclusion of Anthony Carrigan as a murderous weirdo, but the film reminded me of a condensed version of the run of the show Barry in how it flipped its intention. The main characters feel this and end up in completely different places than expected, which keeps it interesting but strange. Expect a rollercoaster.
BODE
In director Alex Winter’s return to narrative filmmaking, Adulthood finds him channeling his inner Coen by ruminating on familial reconnections and dysfunction through the lens of a darkly comedic neo-noir. Unfortunately, I don’t think its execution is ever quite right. It’s not stylish enough to fulfill its noir-ish ambitions, nor is it ever really acidic or manic enough to overcome an already flawed script. There are moments when it does click, particularly whenever Anthony Carrigan appears. It’s even kinda refreshing to watch Josh Gad play a burnt-out stoner. But overall, Adulthood is as middle-of-the-road as these flicks get.
