The main character has a shallow personality that's extremely believable. It almost hurts to watch.

This was described as a comedy. I didn't see many laughs. Overall, this movie was actually quite depressing, but because Charlize Theron is such a good actress, it wasn't all that bad. And Patton Oswalt added a lot as a likeable loser. I know him best as the "Goldbergs" narrator but I may soon see much more of him as a loser of a principal in "A.P. Bio". I liked him there too. Yes, he plays losers very well.One example of how good Charlize Theron is in this movie is the fact that, to me, she seemed sane but troubled. Could she have been mentally ill? Possibly. Really going off the deep end might have been another way to go, and she's good enough as an actress that would have worked. That's just not how this movie was done, and it may have been more enjoyable for me personally as a result. What appealed to me most was how good-looking she is. It is true that in the early, depressing scenes in the Minneapolis high-rise, with the Kardashians (I know this from the credits) on the TV, I didn't know who she was since I hadn't seen the credits, and I didn't think she was pretty either. Later, when she made an effort to look good and put on a sexy dress, Mavis looked amazing.It added something to hear Mavis narrate her book. And we could see her writing process as she listened to actual girls talk and started typing. For a mentally unbalanced girl going after her ex, though, you can't do better than the CW series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", and that show is actually funny.Let me add more about Matt. He was sort of the voice of reason here. He had many logical things to say, and despite Mavis' reaction to him, he was actually doing pretty well with his life. Not a success by most definitions, but he wasn't really using his disabilities to keep from facing life either.On the other hand, I found his sister's behavior surprising at the end.The actors playing the Slades also did a good job and their characters reacted well to the presence of this possible troublemaker. They could have acted in the expected way but didn't. Buddy was generally pleasant to Mavis.I suppose it goes without saying this isn't family-friendly. The language was obviously cleaned up in several scenes and I was grateful.I find it curious that Hampton Inn was willing to be identified by name and yet be represented by a clerk with the attitude "What-EVER. I'm just here until I get through with college and then I'm OUTTA here." Not a good image for a real hotel chain, but a good if brief performance.The music must have been what Charlize Theron liked, or possibly her fans. It did not appeal to me, and that's probably to be expected. That's not to say all the music was bad. There was a girl singing "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters. And my favorite music was played on acoustic guitar. It was simply background music used several times with the action going from one location to another with no dialogue. Each time, Mavis was having her nails done at one point, although the third time, a stand-up bass was playing in the nail salon and a piano was added after that.There are plenty of people, I'm sure, who would enjoy this type of movie. It just wasn't as good for someone with my taste as other movies.

It was really difficult to like Charlize Theron's character in this film. She was despicable. I don't know if I was supposed to care for her; but nothing in me did. I kept wondering if they were going to redeem her somehow, so I kept watching. "Maybe they'll reveal that this was all just an elaborate ploy to get some inspiration for her book." Sort of, but she wasn't pretending. And it didn't wrap up with her feeling super contended with the great story that she'd written.I think there were a lot of better ways this film could have gone. Unfortunately, the few moments that were enjoyable, were not good enough for me to feel comfortable recommending this film to any of my friends.

For once Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, director and writer, respectively, whose previous offerings were the great Juno and Up in the Air, miss the mark. The movie starts well, and has a similar bitter-sweet comedy-drama feel as Juno and Up in the Air. However, from a point it loses direction and ultimately just fizzles out.Charlize Theron gives a solid performance in the lead role. Her character's personality is a bit flaky and irrational, and sometimes hard to believe could possibly exist, and she does a great job in making the character believable. Good support from Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson.