Image credit: Young Adult, 2011
Sometimes you watch a movie, and a character feels so familiar that you fear the screenwriter has set up a secret camera monitoring your every move. This week’s film Young Adult (DVD/Download) is one such film for me. However, instead of shining a light on what my life is actually like, it shows me what my life would be like if I hadn’t made some vital good choices along the way. Essentially, Clarence the Angel paid me a visit, in the form of Diablo Cody.
The similarities between lead character Mavis Gary (played by Charlize Theron) and myself are almost too numerous to count. We’re both writers, we both share a passion for YA lit (oh how I devoured Sweet Valley High books as a teenager), the Kardashians are somehow always on in our homes as white noise, we both drive Mini Coopers (or at least I did at the time this film was released), and we both come from small towns populated by KenTacoHuts and big box stores. Oh, and of course there’s the drinking. The scenes of Charlize Theron viewing herself in the mirror after a night of heavy drinking? Been there. Luckily that’s where the similarities end. I don’t have a high school boyfriend I’m currently stalking and trying to woo away from his wife and baby, and I’m not having a strange, sad relationship with the former “Hate Crime Guy”. Though, I don’t blame her for that one because Patton Oswalt is pretty awesome in this. And he makes his own bourbon. Score!
Young Adult is a fantastic film for Cinema Sips because Mavis loves her bourbon, specifically Maker’s Mark. To go with her sour attitude on life, while watching Young Adult I recommend drinking a Maker’s Mark ® Sour (recipe from MakersMark.com).
Makers Mark® Sour
2 parts Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 part simple syrup
½ part lemon juice
Lemon or Cherry for garnish
Shake Maker’s Mark ® Bourbon, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice and strain into a rock’s glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon and/or cherry, and serve.
*Note: My drink includes an enormous ice ball that I made with these molds. Perfect for when you want a cocktail on the rocks that isn’t too watered down.
I don’t know what becomes of Mavis after the credits roll, but in my fantasy she and Dolce are still in the Minneapple, having upgraded to a penthouse apartment after she has written a bestselling YA vampire series. And maybe Patton Oswalt stops by with his small-batch bourbon from time to time. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 