Jason Reitman attends the New York Premiere of 'Young Adult' at the Zigfield Theater New York City, Dec. 8, 2011. (Ivan Nikolov/WENN.COM)

NEW YORK -- Yes, it would be nice if his new film, Young Adult, made money. But Jason Reitman claims a different yardstick for its success.

"My feeling of success will never be based on how much money this film makes," says Reitman. "It's about watching an audience throughout the third act get uncomfortable in their seats. When I see that, I know I did my job."

And if your expectations of what a Jason Reitman movie is are based on the good vibes from his breakthrough Juno, those expectations need readjusting.

"Juno was designed to make your heart swell. Up in the Air (with George Clooney) was meant to make you somewhat uncomfortable. And this goes way further in that direction. We need films that try to do that."

Young Adult is a darkly witty psychodrama about a 37-year-old ex-prom queen turned ghost-writer of young adult novels (Charlize Theron), who returns to her small town with the intention of stealing her old boyfriend (Patrick Wilson) from his wife and newborn baby.

The closest she has to a confidant is a physically broken Star Wars geek (Patton Oswalt), whose own high school experience was one of brutal bullying and torture.

Reitman was neither prom king nor victim in high school, though he did have an identity crisis being the son of the legendary Canadian director/producer Ivan Reitman (Meatballs, Ghostbusters). While he was attracted to the medium, he wasn't ready to admit he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

"I was in the A/V room in high school. I liked making videos, but I didn't think I was going to be a director. I directed the graduation video.

"I went to college not really knowing what I wanted to do. I went into pre-med thinking I'd be a psychiatrist for some reason."

Young Adult seems an opposite scenario to his life. "Athletes have a tricky road, I know some hockey players, and it's very tricky to peak very young, to know exactly who you are, and to slowly lose that understanding year by year.

"And that's what Mavis is doing in this movie. She is someone who wants to be loved. She's not just a mean person, she is trying to find out who she is."

And that identity crisis is where Reitman's contention comes in, that all of his movies so far (including Thank You for Smoking), is autobiographical.

"This movie is about being a lost person and it's about a feeling most people have, and I have all the time. It's about trying to figure out who you are, and what you're supposed to be doing.

"I mean, I'm totally working my s--- out in my movies!" he says with a laugh, confirming, for example, Juno was based on his mixed emotions at becoming a father, and Up in the Air was about bouts of his own loneliness.

"I care deeply about the films I make. I do see them as autobiographical. Not that I've ever been a tobacco lobbyist or fired people for a living. But the emotions are autobiographical. And on this film, when someone likes it, it's a nice vote of confidence for attempting things I'm scared of. This is a film where, I think Charlize, Diablo (Cody, the writer) and I all jumped off a cliff together."

As for his bloodlines, Reitman -- who was born in Canada -- started to come to terms with them, appropriately enough, at the 2008 Montreal Just For Laughs festival, where father and son interviewed each other publicly about their careers.

"It was strangely intimate. It was the first time he opened up and recognized that I was a filmmaker in my own right, and I should be prepared for all of it, the ups and downs. It was a really lovely moment."

As for whether Ivan will ever be the "father of," Jason says, "That'll never be the case. My father's achievements will always eclipse anything I do, and I'm finally comfortable with that.

"I was scared of being my father's son, and I've grown very comfortable with it. I've just kind of grown into the man I am."

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