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There's that scene in Young Adult [warning: spoilers ahead] where the character Sandra, who still lives in Mavis' hometown, says she's jealous of Mavis' life, even though she's a sad drunk.
DC: Sandra represents a person who believes the only fulfillment in life is in being famous or wearing a certain dress. Her attitude is what feeds Mavis' flaws.
Mavis reaches her lowest point, and she can still say, "Thank you, Sandra. You wanting to be me fuels my miserable life."
DC: Mavis says, "How can these people be happy with so little?" Because to her, having a job and kids and friends is so little. That used to be considered a very full life. Now we're bombarded with the message that each of us is a special snowflake and deserves to be found by E!'s cameras.
JR: Everyone watching the movie can look at that moment and say, "Here's your chance: Change. Become a better person." We're blind to those moments in our own lives. All too often we look for a Sandra who lets us say, "No, it's O.K. to keep being exactly who I am."
It's a gutsy choice. In most storytelling, there is change and some satisfaction.
DC: It's a difficult choice to finance too. Before Jason was involved, I didn't think this story had a chance of being made. It doesn't have a traditional redemption arc.
JR: Films fall into two categories: movies that they presume everyone is going to see and movies they presume nobody is going to see. With a story like this, they go, "O.K., this is one of those movies no one is going to see, but maybe it's worth making anyway for a tiny bit of money. We'll put a star in it and confuse some foreigners." We got to make this movie because Juno cost $7 million and grossed $230 million. It's a tricky moment for these kinds of films. People don't even want to watch television about adult themes. Mad Men is barely watched. I don't know how Carnal Knowledge would do if it came out today.
My theory is that's because adults no longer act like adults.
JR: That's what we made a movie about.