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| Emma Roberts and John Cusack star in the 2013 film "Adult World." |
Yes,
the film “Adult World” takes
place in Syracuse, NY, my hometown. No, that is not the reason I loved it so
much.
The
reason I loved “Adult World” so
much is because it pinpoints the reality of your dreams. We all think we are
the greatest at what we want to become. We are all told we are “special” from a
young age. We all want to be the best at something. The main character, Amy
Anderson (the lovely Emma Roberts), thinks she is able to become the next
Sylvia Plath (even putting her head in an oven to try and kill herself,
recreating Plath’s infamous suicide) and will tell anyone who will listen what
she plans on becoming.
There’s
something lovable about a character who thinks they are amazing. You'll find
yourself hating yet rooting for Amy the entire film. We have every right to
think we are amazing, yet it's hard to do just that sometimes. The whole time
you are watching “Adult World”
you kinda just want to roll your eyes at Amy but at the same time you totally
and completely relate to her on some levels. She brags about her
straight As and uber-amazing score on the SAT and the thing is we have
all been there. Is that kind of scary to think about?
Amy
is upset everyone calls her child but then runs away from home. She whispers
things to herself like "I will suffer through this" and
"Salinger worked in a meat processing plant" to help her get through
the day working at the adult store, Adult World. She's not the type of person
you would want to be friends with but you see yourself in her. Amy is too eager
for her life to start and I see myself like that in a lot of ways.
Starting
college I honestly did not think I was something special. I was never the best
student and there was nothing amazing or different about me. I went into
college with 23 transfer credits from taking college courses my last two years
of high school, but so what? I never actually thought anything of all my
credits until I realized no one else had taken college classes in high school
like me. This is just something we did at my high school. That was
when I thought I was special because everyone kept telling me.
Amy
is finally told that she is not special. She’s not special because she went to
Syracuse University. She’s not special because she’s smart. She’s not special
because she’s a virgin. Amy lives an exceptionally ordinary life and it just so
happens that her poetry is shit. She is prudish and scared when first entering
the adult bookstore where she soon gets a job.
When
she is finally told that her poetry is bad, by her favorite poet Rat Billings
(John Cusack) nonetheless, she goes completely crazy and throws book after book
at Rat, even breaking his guitar. This was good for her. Before this happened,
Amy dramatically quit her job at Adult World because she thinks she is better
than the other people that work there. So what if she has a degree from SU? How
is that really going to help your poetry career? Yes, she has
the credentials of a successful poet but she’s just not good.
But
finding out she was bad at something she thought she was amazing at was maybe a
good thing for Amy. She grows up. She has time for a relationship because
before she never wanted to waste her time on “trivial” things. She opens up to
her coworkers and is not self-absorbed for once.
There
were parts of this film that I just adored that only a person
from Syracuse would understand. I loved seeing the random SU students wearing
their Otto sweatshirts and the First Niagara building on North Salina Street
and the familiarity of places I see ALL THE TIME. I can say I honestly loved at
the aerial shots of my city that I see everyday. The only thing I was thinking
during the first ten minutes of the film was “I know where that is, I know
where that is!”
And,
don’t even get me started on Emma Roberts just chillin’ in my FAVORITE used
book/record store, Books & Melodies, where I bought my first Doors record
at age 17. I live 8 minutes from this bookstore and I could even walk
there. There is another scene where Amy and a character are leaving Recess
Coffee and it is snowing out. I remember once standing outside the very same
coffee shop when it was -16 degrees out. There's a really good Mexican
restaurant around the corner and a concert venue where I've seen my favorite
bands. It's home.
This movie felt familiar. Not because I could tell you every street and town of Syracuse that the film featured but because I am a college student attempting to go out into the world. I want to do amazing things, just like Amy wants to. Who doesn't? The movie hit home. Again, not because it was filmed at home but because I can somehow relate to this whiny and bratty protagonist that we all want to win. It's a coming of age film that somehow inspired me to think it's okay to fail sometimes.