by Tim Gordon
What happens when long-buried family secrets literally come to light? In Alex Winter’s Adulthood, the answer is a twisted, darkly comic spiral of crime, cover-ups, and unintended consequences.
Written by Michael M.B. Galvin, the film walks a fine line between farce and tragedy, reminding us that when it comes to family, even the most shocking revelations can lead to unexpected unity.
The story follows siblings Noah (Josh Gad) and Megan (Kaya Scodelario), estranged from both each other and their domineering mother. When their mother suffers a debilitating accident, the two reluctantly reunite to prepare her home for sale. While inspecting the property, they stumble across a decades-old corpse hidden in the walls: a neighbor who vanished thirty years earlier. What begins as a chilling discovery quickly snowballs into a series of poor decisions, escalating lies, and bloody mishaps.
Gad and Scodelario bring complementary energy to the film. Gad’s Noah is bumbling yet oddly endearing, always one bad decision away from disaster, while Scodelario plays Megan with sharp-edged resolve, the reluctant pragmatist trying to keep her brother in line even as she gets pulled deeper into the madness. Their uneasy sibling bond gives the film its emotional core, even as the body count rises.
The supporting cast adds flavor and texture. Billie Lourd is terrific as Grace, the manipulative caregiver who discovers their secret and attempts to cash in. Anthony Carrigan, reliably magnetic, is Bodie Geller, a man whose own entanglement in their schemes adds another volatile layer. Winter himself pops up as Doug Metzger, whose presence reinforces the absurdist streak that runs through the narrative.
Winter, best known for Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and more recently his documentaries, directs with a sly sense of humor. He allows the absurdity of the premise to play out while never losing sight of the stakes. The tone is closer to Fargo than a straightforward crime thriller, a blend of grotesque violence and awkward comedy. It is a story less about the crime itself than about how ordinary people react when pressed to their limits.
At its heart, Adulthood is about family secrets, generational dysfunction, and how people evolve when survival instinct kicks in. The spiral of crime and cover-ups becomes a metaphor for the burdens we inherit and the lengths we’ll go to protect our loved ones, even from the truth.
The film is uneven at times, occasionally leaning too heavily into chaos at the expense of character development, but the performances keep it grounded. Scodelario and Lourd, in particular, stand out with sharp, committed turns that balance the film’s mix of menace and absurdity.
With its blend of crime, comedy, and domestic drama, Adulthood won’t be for everyone. But for those willing to embrace its offbeat rhythms, it’s a darkly funny exploration of how far people will go to bury the past and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried.
Grade: C+
