Adult World

Name: Adult World
Genre: Comedy
Released: February 14, 2014
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 61
Cast: Cloris Leachman, Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, John Cusack

2014

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Ratings

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Adult World

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Movie Details & Credits

IFC Films | Release Date: February 14, 2014 | R

Starring: Cloris Leachman, Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, John Cusack

Summary: Amy (Emma Roberts) is a naïve, awkward aspiring poet in a post-grad existence that is going nowhere. Living with her parents in a bland upstate New York town, certain of her yet-to-be-acknowledged literary greatness and desperate for income, she begrudgingly accepts a job at Adult World, the local sex shop. Amy balances her work amongstAmy (Emma Roberts) is a naïve, awkward aspiring poet in a post-grad existence that is going nowhere. Living with her parents in a bland upstate New York town, certain of her yet-to-be-acknowledged literary greatness and desperate for income, she begrudgingly accepts a job at Adult World, the local sex shop. Amy balances her work amongst the pornography and sex toys by fiercely pursuing a surefire kick start for her success: a mentorship with reclusive, crusty and alcoholic writer Rat Billings (John Cusack). [IFC FIlms]… Expand

Director: Scott Coffey

Genre(s): Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

Stephanie Zacharek

Feb 11, 2014

Adult World captures beautifully, and with a great deal of self-deprecating humor, what it's like to feel trapped in a place you think is too small to hold you. Read full review

Bruce Ingram

Mar 6, 2014

Adult World does have some smart, funny and wincingly painful things to say about the desire to make art vs. the desire to be famous for it. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Feb 13, 2014

Mr. Cusack’s sardonic, understated portrayal of Rat, who is not quite what he says he is, grounds the movie in a wistfully cynical realism. Read full review

McClatchy-Tribune News Service Roger Moore

Feb 11, 2014

There’s nothing deep in this script, and the delayed romance, between real-life lovers Roberts and Evan Peters (of “American Horror Story”) sets off no sparks. The characters are sort of a grab bag of “types.” Read full review

Keith Uhlich

Feb 11, 2014

The story beats are as familiar as they come, and there are a few halfhearted stabs at redeeming Roberts’s clueless character when it would have been better to push her feeble-mindedness to Anna Faris–esque extremes. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Susan Wloszczyna

Feb 14, 2014

Cusack's distinctive handling of his sullen poet offers an opportunity for Adult World to make a statement about youthful ambition and middle-age disillusionment beyond Billings dubbing Amy and her peers as "Generation Mundane." But the film just stops short of truly achieving that goal. Read full review

Rex Reed

Feb 12, 2014

Incompetently directed by Scott Coffey and weakly written by Andrew Cochran, a rotten egg called Adult World is anything but. Read full review

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User Reviews

AS9081

Mar 20, 2014

Adult World is a movie you may end up loving despite its drawbacks. Its main flaw is the loose directing which lets actors and scenes flow in a freewheeling fashion that lacks discipline. It feels like a first or second film by a director recently released from movie school. However, we haveAdult World is a movie you may end up loving despite its drawbacks. Its main flaw is the loose directing which lets actors and scenes flow in a freewheeling fashion that lacks discipline. It feels like a first or second film by a director recently released from movie school. However, we have a wonderful main actress here who positively shines in her role, the widely ambitious poetry lover who is just learning about the 'adult world'. Cusack continues his tradition of choosing indie roles with a bit of bite and originality and plays the role of disillusioned poet with skill - if Hollywood doesn't exactly love him there are plenty of seasoned movie fans who do.

That the adult world is a place destined to disillusion is not a new message or theme but one which bares repeating over and over and this movie does it in a worthwhile and admirable way. In our celebrity mad culture there are few enough voices assuring that it is all a waste of time, a play of illusion, here Cusack's world weary poet lets his young fan know of the drawbacks of fame in no uncertain terms.… Expand