User reviews

Amy Anderson (Emma Roberts - We're the Millers) has just graduated from a nice university and has much of her life already planned out. She is going to be a celebrated, world famous poet and YOU will know her name! This Sylvia Plath fan girl wants to write like Sylvia, feel the world like Sylvia and love passionately like Sylvia ... only Amy's life isn't going as planned as she has faced rejection after rejection after rejection since her college graduation. She has even thought of making an overly-dramatic Sylvia Plath-like exit from life but Amy's stove is unfortunately electric! And so ... Amy finds herself living back home with her parents as she is in serious debt from student loans and her poetry degree severely limits her job opportunities as she has no experience in the working world. She takes the only job she can find at Adult World, an adult video/book store where she befriends a clerk (Evan Peters - 'American Horror Story') with his own outlook on life.

While Amy has realized she must work to make some money, she hasn't given up on her dream of writing and so has decided to stalk an aging punk poet with a bad attitude named Rat Billings (John Cusack - 2012) who she hopes can mentor her and help her eventually one day get published. The reclusive writer doesn't take well to being followed but Amy doesn't let that stop her from absorbing everything she can from this man she highly admires ... most likely because he is nearby and has been published. Yes ... poor Amy.

The film is nothing spectacular but it kept my interest during its entire (short -- just over an hour and a half) runtime as it is a cross between High Fidelity and Wonder Boys (although not as good as either of those). While Amy may annoy, we can still feel her plight as she is welcomed into the Adult World and begins learning the lessons of life that actually matter.

Cloris Leachman co-stars as the quirky (surprise!!) owner of Adult World. And Cusack -- who seems to only make straight-to-DVD titles anymore -- has one of his best roles in years here.

Don't go to this movie and expect a grand comedy, the jokes are not piled on to one another with just enough room between them for you to catch your breath.

I had never heard of this movie and just watched it because I love John Cusack, and when I became aware of it's existence I didn't read anything about it before watching (I like to do that, go in to a movie blank in mind, not expecting anything) and I found it to be a sweet movie. It's not the best movie ever, but it is not the worst. It had it's LOL- moments but they were few although not out of place, when I later watched IMDb and saw it was ranked as a comedy and not a drama I was dumbfounded. I would rank it as a comedy/drama at least.

Emma Roberts character felt a little ambiguous at times. And it was weird but actually really refreshing to see John Cusack in the role of the asshole, not a role he often plays without humor attached to it.

It's a movie well worth the watch, if you only keep an open mind to it going in. And I really liked it for what it was, a sweet movie about a girl trying to follow her dreams.

I'm not familiar with Emma Roberts. But I thought she was quite effective here. I totally bought her rendition of a clueless college kid with lots of "feelings."

It was a tad depressing to see a depiction of another brainless kid with massive college loan debt and no knowledge of anything under the sun. Why do parents buy into that scam. At least here the parents try to point out the danger of her absurd and spoiled pursuit. But of course they coddled her and bankrolled it for years.

The other silly notion that liberal arts grads. carry around is that they were all meant to do something unique and special. Cusack's character has some of the best lines in the movie when he reminds her that not everyone is talented or destined for greatness.

Congratulations to the writers for also having the young male lead remind our girl that she was a worthless, lazy employee and an elitist. With the help of these good friends, she manages to learn something.

We later learn that the young male lead has his own hobbies and passions which this self-absorbed pixie never bothered to inquire about. But it was refreshing that she was a virgin and that the young man took time to really get to know her.

I also appreciate the Syracuse in Winter setting. Like I've said in other reviews, not every movie has to take place in some glamorous mainstream city. There are plenty of human stories taking shape in gray places that no one would otherwise think about if they weren't the setting in a movie.

There's not much memorable music here, which is fine, because it was a dialogue and character-driven half-comedy. I don't need Indie mood music for such a film.

There are no sexy scenes worth mentioning by the way. Roberts goes without makeup and our old mentor played by Cusack is refreshingly not a "perv."

Am I the only one here who's literally blown AWAY from this movie by Emma's performance? Although I liked the premise, the main character is completely over the top,annoying, boring and unfunny. Or Emma Roberts just made her that way... She keeps playing that same type of girl recently and it wouldn't be a problem at all if that type of girl isn't painfully annoying. I generally like coming of age movies, just last night I've watched Bitchkram, which is heartwarming although the main character is supposed to be annoying and bitchy. In Adult world main character supposed to be cute and likable, but she's everything but that. So I just gave up watching at one point, because I couldn't care less what will happen to her.

I viewed Scott Coffey's "Adult World" as a representation of the problems facing college-age people in the 2010s. Aspiring poet Amy has bills to pay but can't pay them, so she has to take a job in an adult bookstore. Millions of college graduates have thousands of dollars in student loans, and many of them can't even find jobs in their field of study. The unpayable loans are likely to become the next bubble to burst.

That's not the movie's main story. It focuses on Amy's relationship with a renowned poet. Even though that's the main story, I found it to be a good movie. It does give a feeling of the frustration among the millennials. I recommend the movie, and it looks to me as though Emma Roberts (Julia's niece) is turning out to be a good actress.

Too many movies use a Christmas backdrop, with cold/snow/snowing, for whatever desired effect it can bring to the audience. Which can be many, varied, and (at times) successful. "Adult World" uses the weather elements, alone, as an enhancement to the overall story. Including, but not limited to, the defining of the the human condition (think -"White Bird") without the need to resort to holiday spirit as a smoothing effect for lack of quality.

John Cusack adds polish to any film, and Emma Roberts has that girl next door,l wanna be next to/outgoing/cuteness when in character. Somewhat similar to Mellisa Joan Hart. So it's a bit disheartening for me to see her (mildly) beginning to be sexually exploited, but I figure that comes with the territory in Hollywood. Not that all young actresses succumb to it. But remember I've been viewing her since "Unfabulose" so again, in character, I guess I'm a bit bias towards her sweetness.

Nevertheless, I did hear she has problems waiting on long lines - and I don't mean fictitious book signings.

Well, the headline says it all, I was subtly amused at times, and the movie did a good job of it.

The film is about honesty, creative integrity -I think-, about the fact that being honest with oneself is perhaps one of the most difficult things that anyone can do, to themselves.

The protagonist is lost, hasn't a clue about what it is to be honest about her art, self absorbed and full of it but with the help of the people around her, she learns to grow, and realizes that in the end, we can't all be great, but we can all be true to ourselves.

I believe the movie is worth the watch, it's a fun little ride, and albeit the ending lingers for a couple of beats more than it should, in the end this little piece of work has a lot to say.

So if you're thinking about this one, do it, and enjoy the ride for what it is, and I think you'll also find yourself subtly amused from time to time.

I saw Adult World by chance on a movie channel. I like Emma Roberts and her natural character(no loads of make-up, no fancy clothes) got me interested in the movie which itself has a casual vibe. She plays Amy, wanna be poet with questionable talent and no life experience who ends up working at a sex shop- which she thinks is inferior to her talent. But from that shop, a new life is born and that will give her a few lessons.

The story is realistic, so is the ending, something you can't always find in big budget movies. There's also a brutal twist which I really liked. Emma Roberts portrays the enthusiastic, hot tempered Amy so well and all other actors do a good job. I especially liked Armando Riesco's take on Rubia, the cross-dresser Amy makes friends with. If you're looking for love, it's also included nicely. Overall, I had fun.

It's difficult to understand why talented actors like John Cusack would associate himself with garbage like 'Adult World'. This is poorly written, directed and overacted by almost everyone in the cast, especially by Amy, the character portrayed by Emma Roberts. John, did you need the money that badly? Is it worth sacrificing your reputation and career? Amy is a loud, overly annoying, privileged and ambitious poet wannabe who can't handle the truth about her imagined writing talent. She meets Cusack's character, a published poet for whom she has the highest regard. How his character or anyone for that matter could tolerate Amy for more than five minutes defies all logic. She ends up trashing his apartment, which is exactly what he deserved for encouraging her. The supporting cast, which includes award winning performers (John Collum and Cloris Leachman), does little to save this cinematic sinking ship. I'm glad that John did eventually redeem himself professionally.

This was just an adorable little independent film. Cusack gives his best Cusack-esque performance. Emma Roberts is also enchanting. Is the film perfect, or near? Not really, but there are some nice, actually very funny scenes sprinkled throughout. The idea is unique one. While is structure has been done, the coming of age straight out of college story, and also seems to be hot right now in most youth culture films. I believe that with some quirky, interesting scenes, the picture is very entertaining and very funny. I always encourage Emma Roberts to keep working because she really does have some talent and just needs to break out of the teen star typecast. Overall I enjoyed it and thought it was great for what it was.

I am a big fan of emma Roberts and John Cusack as well. This movie is simply boring and does not go anywhere interesting. The only reason that I was able to watch the entire film was because I wanted to see if it went anywhere. This is my very first review and I was motivated because this movie was so bland. People will watch almost anything, myself included.

Indifferent, without power to the script, with rather procedural interpretations. Directing without inspiration, a scenario without some genuine originality, would make some sense in the conservative society of the '80s, but 2-3 decades later it is rather indifferent.

This would be a one-or-two-star disaster, were it not for the presence of John Cusack to elevate it. I've been ruminating on what makes this so bad. The script is only mediocre, not awful, so the thing that really brings the whole film down is the casting. If they had cast actors with more imagination, they would have been able to bring a little more life to this dull material and made the film at least a 5-star average. As it is, this is mediocre at best and certainly not worth watching, unless you're a Cusack completist.

I thought this movie was going to be bad. Like the other review on this movie i too was kept watching. I love Emma Roberts so that could be the reason why but i also think i was rooting for her to succeed in making her dream come true. The back and forth between her and Cusack was entertaining. Emma Roberts does a great job at inspiring you to strive for success in whatever it is that you want to do in life. There were a few scenes that made me laugh. Its worth watching to see if it suits your taste in movies. You will be surprised to find that you are able to watch it all the way through. Emma Roberts pretty face helped to keep watching too. She is a beautiful and talented actress.

An easy-to-watch little gem, this.

Emma Roberts gives a strong leading performance as an over-confident, incredibly naïve young poet. Evan Peters is as charmingly cool and likable as ever; Armando Riesco plays his role as a human being, not a caricature... John Cusack, naturally, plays John Cusack, but he plays him very very well.

Speaking of Cusack's character, I'm delighted that the message that he gives our heroine is not the usual "You can be whoever you want to be" claptrap you tend to find in these films. Because of the central premise - one's adult talent doesn't necessarily lie where our childhood dreams wish it did - Amy's relationship with her parents is real and heartbreaking. You really feel for them more than anybody, despite their short screen time.

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Amy dreams to become a successful poem writer. For this to be accomplished she needs money and someone to guide her. So she looks for a job and finds one at an adult shop. Forced by circumstances she accepts. Her parent doesn't know about this and after a fuss in witch Amy wants to have more liberty and the desire to be free and not be treated as a little girl, runs away from home and goes to live with Rubia, a transsexual that she mets at her new workplace. Destiny makes that she will be in a more warm relationship with her favorite poet that she sees him as a mentor. Rat offers his advice to her but soon finds out that his number one fan may not be 100% sane and decides to dedicate a special book just to her.

In this movie Emma Roberts is very irritating and annoying, we have to assist at her nerve attacks. Of course take part of her role and she is convincing, in fact she is a talented actress but maybe this part is not very suitable with her capacities. The film is watchable still the action takes place in small steps. It's the kind of picture that you can watch 15 minutes and FF another 15 and you will not miss anything. In fact if you view 30 minutes then continue the next day with another 30 and you finish the film in the third day, it may be more bearable.

As a media student, when i finished watching this movie i felt like i wanted to direct a movie like this one. i like all kinds of movies but for me, these kind of movies always stood out. There's no Science fiction, thrilling scenes, Hi-speed chases, fantasy..etc. but still enjoyable. It was just a flow of an adult girl's life which might sound awfully boring when u listen to the story line, but to my surprise it was well a really good movie. i wasn't bored at all. this is what i'd love to do. Without any commercial add-on's i'd like to direct a movie with a simple plot and keep the audience entertained. This was a movie of that kind. I really liked this movie a lot. I like Emma Roberts a lot since "WILD CHILD" maybe that's also a reason i loved this movie. She was really good at this movie too. And John Cusak played an eminent role which i really loved. every other character was well portrayed too. Speaking for myself..this is a good movie. And i also would recommend this movie for everyone..especially for Emma's fans.! ;) _Max

There is a scene in Scott Coffey's Adult World involving a transgender male and a devout and somewhat psychotic poet riding a bike made for two chasing after an elusive poet who is speeding away in a car so that the psychotic poet can make another attempt at talking to her biggest influence and showing just how weirdly intrusive she can be.

Stating that scene and that scene only to a person would make them think said film is nothing but a desperate little comedy, when in reality, Adult World is another one of those films that is actually wise and thoughtful but dressed up in stupid people's clothes. Seems I'm running into this unfortunate predicament a lot. The problem with this kind of filmmaking tactic, whether it's intentional or unintentional, is that it has the potential of alienating those who need to see the film the most.

The film focuses on a recent college graduate named Amy (Emma Roberts, whom I never tired of seeing). A poetry major who has racked up over $90k in student loans, Amy wishes she could make a living verbalizing whatever comes to her mind and carry on with a relatively safe but fulfilling life. However, reality - and her parents - prohibit this dream from happening, so Amy must get a real job, and with little options, she accepts a job at Adult World, the local provider of vibrators, sex dolls, pornographic movies, sex toys, lube, etc.

Amy is repulsed at first, as she's always kind of sheltered herself from the icky realms of human pleasure and sexual exploration, but she quickly befriends the charming Alex (Evan Peters), who shares some of her interests as well as her circumstances. Amy, however, is desperate in trying to win the attention of Rat Billings (John Cusack), one of her favorite poets who has recently come to town. She pesters Rat, constantly invading his privacy and bugging him, until he offers her a position as his assistant at Syracuse University.

The three main actors rarely misstep in their performances, however, the character of Amy is definitely skating on thin ice in terms of acceptability. Amy, when by herself or with Alex, is fine, but when she's in the company of Rat, she becomes obsessive, hyper, and borderline psychotic. The problem with that is not only is that this side of her is annoying but it lessens her realism as this fanatical behavior is not the kind you'd think she'd be doing. It's almost like she suffers from multiple-personality disorder.

And again, there's a sort of convention to the material, despite the film's characters being relatively unique. Then there's a transgender character that is nothing more than a character to have to muster up some shock amongst audience members. But the thing that sets Adult World apart from other dramas is that it doesn't hesitate to explore the blessing and the curse that is being creative in contemporary America. In a country that is advanced predominately by scientific, mathematical, and technological milestones and achievements, opportunities, let alone viable ones, for liberal arts, poets, English, or writers are scarce. It's almost as if in an increasingly complex world, those who attempt to define it aren't wanted.

It's a sad fact and Adult World pleasantly recognizes it, giving us a likable protagonist who is good at what she does - confident, amiable, and always friendly - but burdened by a lack of opportunities. She has bravely majored in poetry, but is now facing reality in that the only potentially-lucrative job for her is a published author, but good luck getting someone to read your work. And, oh yeah, here's a bill near six-figures for that college education too.

I plan on attending college this fall as an English major with a minor in a business field, perhaps marketing. I'm completely unsure of where those fields will get me and those like me are probably equally unsure. Adult World is a film for those types of people to see - people who know what they want to be, know what they like, and have found a passion at a young age, but are tragically low on opportunities.

Starring: Emma Roberts, John Cusack, and Evan Peters. Directed by: Scott Coffey.

Amy Anderson (Emma Roberts) is a college poetry student. Fellow student Josh tries to trick her into a sex tape. Her parents cut her off and she is forced to get a job. The virgin Amy reluctantly takes a job at the sex shop Adult World run by elderly couple Mary Anne and Stan. Alex (Evan Peters) is the manager. Amy is obsessed with writer Rat Billings (John Cusack). Her car is stolen but her insurance is void because the money her parents gave her for insurance has been spent on failed poetry contests. She runs away from home and crashes with transgender Rubia. She gets kicked out and rents a house with friend Candace (Shannon Woodward) near Billings.

Emma Roberts is good at the try-hard obsessive-stalker Amy character. The problem is the character has other aspects that doesn't really work. She's supposed to be a clueless virginal innocent. Roberts hasn't been that since as a child star in her TV show. Her character starts by hooking up with Josh at a college party. She's not so clueless that she doesn't know why the video gets sticky. The movie wants her to be wacky funny in some instances and it doesn't always work. Her obsessive stalking of John Cusack is pretty good and filled with fun. This movie is not as funny as it wants to be.

From thequickflickcritic.blogspot.com/

I liked a couple of things in particular about "Adult World". Emma Roberts is crazy cute. And snow. Other than that, not much else to recommend from this limp tale of a vintage porn shop clerk cum wannabe published poet. And all the while she's stalking a washed-up once lauded "punk poet" (John Cusack, who will evidently take anything he can get in terms of roles these days) whom she begs for mentorship but who wants not a damn thing to do with her.

Sound interesting? It's not.

Even the great Cloris Leachman's cameo disappoints in this woeful "World".

Poetic justice, I suppose.

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