The getting of wisdom is fraught with many attempts that result in failure. Life can grind talent down. It’s enough to cause a young, unpublished poet like Amy (Emma Roberts) to stick her head in the oven — that is, until she declares it “suicidal plagiarism.” Gay filmmaker Scott Coffey’s “Adult World,” playing Feb. 21-23 at Theater N in Wilmington and On Demand, is a knowing and very funny coming-of-age comedy about Amy’s failure and craving for fame.
Amy is exhaustingly self-important, which is why she is such a terrific comic heroine. “Adult World” makes sure Amy gets every come-uppance she deserves. Coffey’s fine film succeeds in chronicling her failure because Roberts plays the insufferable Amy exceedingly well. She acts at such a perfectly high, chipper pitch that dogs might come running.
Amy writes pretentious, eye-rolling verse about the “screaming dirt of chaos.” She claims, rather unconvincingly, “I’m resilient!” after being humiliated by a hunky fellow poetry student. And when her father (Reed Birney) informs her that he will not subsidize her poetry career, she declares, “I will suffer through this!” with a pluckiness that may induce giggles. Amy is a green college graduate who has more enthusiasm than experience. All her “thinking” and “feeling” are really indications of her lack of knowledge and understanding. She also has all too few coping mechanisms for life’s harsh realities and this makes her agitation so highly amusing.
Amy reluctantly finds a job at Adult World, a sex shop where the vibrators scare her and she wonders aloud — and in front of a customer, no less — about “sticky video returns.” Her gullibility is evidenced when she believes her cute co-worker Alex’s (Evan Peters) story about a customer’s dead wife. Her suburban naiveté is tested when she spies the transgender Rubia (Armando Riesco) through the glory hole while cleaning Adult World’s bathroom. And she’s drolly melodramatic when she compares riding the bus home at night in Syracuse, N.Y., to being “like in Mogadishu.” “Adult World” is full of such funny moments that puncture privileged millennials like Amy.
The film’s central storyline has Amy trying to ingratiate herself with her favorite poet, Rat Billings (John Cusack), who lives locally. To him, she is a manic sycophant and a first-class pain in the ass. Her forcefulness prompts the woefully bemused Rat to sarcastically remark, “You would be the type of muse I’d get!” Of course, Amy only hears the word “muse” and delights in it.
Rat’s exchanges with his would-be protégé provide “Adult World” with its high comedy. One of the best bon mots Rat gives Amy is his advice to “fail better,” which she does. A scene of Amy dressed up as a cheap hooker, swigging a bottle of alcohol and begging him to “pick her like an exotic flower” is hilarious. Cusack marvelously shows such an appropriate weariness and exasperation in his role. It is as if he was channeling Bill Murray’s deadpan comic delivery.
“Adult World” focuses on Amy’s hero worship of Rat. The candid points made about how celebrity is achieved, consumed and valued in society are exacting and relevant. Given the film’s jaundiced view of fame, and the unvarnished reality of Rat’s life, why Amy wants to ascend to this jaded poet’s level of mediocrity is perhaps the most telling thing about her.
Coffey reinforces Amy’s blinkered view of life by showing little of the characters’ lives outside of Amy’s connection to them. When she temporarily moves in with Rubia, this odd couple bonds by having some honest conversations. Likewise, Amy’s friendship with Alex develops when they start hanging out. They grow closer until a romantic conflict arises between them. While the supporting characters may be a bit too kind-hearted towards Amy, they serve to offset Rat’s nastiness. If these roles are somewhat underdeveloped, this is a minor flaw; they provide support, however underdeveloped, in Amy’s narcissistic narrative.
“Adult World” suggests — albeit in a formulaic way — that characters like Amy need to embrace their inner freak and become “marginalized others” like Rubia. The porn shop is an oddly safe space for Amy, who could realize her true self if she stopped writing bad poetry long enough and paid attention to other people, like Alex.
These life lessons are nothing new, but the messages in “Adult World” resonate. A pair of scenes between Rat and a slightly wiser Amy are quite poignant because she is finally able to hear what he has been telling her all along. Coffey never overplays these critical moments. The sensitivity he gives them sharpens the emotions.
Ultimately, “Adult World” finds great humor in Amy’s epic fail. Coming of age is painful, but it can also be hilarious.