Adult World (2013)
Written by Andy Cochran
Directed by Scott Coffey

“How about a little advice before I depart?” ~ Amy

“Love…love until you hate. Then learn to hate your love. Then forgive your hate for loving it.” ~ Rat Billings

Movies about writers are one of my cinema go-to favorites. There aren’t enough of them, so when I find one, especially a good one, I tend to cling tightly and re-watch often. Adult World is one of those films.

I found it by accident, via the grocery store Red Box, about a year or so ago. I watched it with my younger daughter, and we liked it so much we played it a second time, and devoured all the extras and deleted scenes. One such deleted scene had a random quote that we use a lot – something that’s become a bit of an inside joke between us (“no chickens!”)

Amy (Emma Roberts) is dramatic and naive, completely irresponsible and in love with the idea of being a poet. She has no sense of reality or consequence, with the luxury (at first) of parents who seem to have catered to her dreams, and lack of in-the-world skills. They tire of it, though, and she is pushed (or more like nudged, they aren’t very shove-y about it) into the “adult world” (see what I did there?).

She gets a job at Adult World (aha! There it is again), an adult video and toy store owned by an eccentric older couple, played wonderfully by Cloris Leachman and John Cullum (I wish we’d gotten more scenes with these two). Amy works there with a young store manager (and painter), Alex (yay! Evan Peters) who both helps her along her messy path and puts up with her while she’s on it.

There are a few others she meets on the way who help — Rubia (Armando Riesco) and hurt (yet still help) — Rat Billings (John Cusack). I will never not enjoy seeing John Cusack in a film, and crushing on him, even when he’s playing an arrogant elitist ass as he is in this one.

I still adore him.

Adult World is a coming-of-age-after-college kind of film that only really works when it is about a just out of college character. Its a genre I enjoy almost as much as the adolescent coming-of-age movies.

Amy is hard to root for, but I do, even when I’m cringing and begging for her to grow up. Alex is lovely and a bit underused in the film, as is Candace (Shannon Woodward), and the Adult World couple. Everyone was so perfectly cast, and written, that I can’t help always wanting more of all of them.

Adult World Trailer