Movie Review: “Youth in Revolt”

Seen on: November 13, 2009

The players: Director: Miguel Arteta, Writer: Gustin Nash, Cast: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, Justin Long

Facts of interest: Miguel Arteta also directed "The Good Girl."

The plot: In order to win over the girl he loves, Nick creates an alter ego that teaches him how to rebel and be a bad boy.

Our thoughts: Every revolution needs a leader, and the guy getting his rebel on big time in theaters this week is Michael Cera, who turns in a superb double performance in Miguel Arteta’s “Youth in Revolt,” a surprisingly amusing comedy about a weirdo willing to do anything to win over the girl of his dreams.

Based on the novel by C.D. Payne, “Revolt” stars Cera as Nick Twisp, a bored high schooler who spots a chance to lose his virginity after he falls in love with the sexy Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) on a sucky camping trip with his trashy mother (Jean Smart) and her awkward new boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis).

Sadly for Nick, Sheeni isn’t really into him because she prefers bold French guys who are both fearless and rebellious. Unwilling to give up, however, Nick decides to create a supplementary persona known as Francois Dillinger, a mustached French badass who’s an expert at instigating trouble and seducing women.

All hell breaks loose as soon as Francois shows up and starts luring Nick into creating mayhem to impress Sheeni, and watching Cera playing both characters turns out to be quite a hilarious experience. Nick is pretty much identical to every character Cera’s played recently, but Francois is blessed with hilarious freshness.

It is no surprise then that Francois is also the more intriguing of the two characters, driving the story and delivering a bunch of cool lines and unpredictable actions. Whether he causes Nick to burn down half a town or fake his own death, his rebellious attitude certainly gives the film the spice it needs to succeed.

“Youth in Revolt” is an awkward little comedy filled with dark humor and eccentric characters, and screenwriter Gustin Nash and Arteta did a solid job bringing these two aspects together to create a mostly hilarious, energetic comedy about an insecure dude who find his chance to leave his dull life behind and become a man.

The laughs are frequent in the movie, and it’s pretty safe to say we can thank the great cast for making the jokes work so well. Galifianakis is as funny as usual, Steve Buscemi is memorable as Nick’s dad, Ray Liotta is priceless as a local cop, and even Justin Long is pretty freakin’ hilarious as Sheeni’s awkward brother.

Most of the dialogue we get to hear in “Youth in Revolt” is as ridiculous as it is hysterical, and the embarrassing moments Nick finds himself in while trying to hook up with Sheeni range from stupid to unexpected. That said, despite its silliness, I still enjoyed this flick because it’s way smarter and original than most teenage comedies these days.

Freaky quote: "It's time to rebel Nick. It's time to be bad." - Michael Cera

The final word: “Youth in Revolt” won’t please everybody, but for those in the mood for Michael Cera and a solid dose of amusing absurdity, this is the film to see this weekend. What better way to start the 2010 movie year with a comedy that actually works?

Article by Franck Tabouring