YOUTH IN REVOLT
SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS
YOU FOUND IT
LAURIE COKER'S REVIEW
RATING: B+
Typically, Michale Cera, plays Michael Cera, playing Michael Cera and for sometime it has worked for him, but he should not do it forever. Thankfully, in ?Youth in Revolt,? directed by Miguel Arteta and penned by Gustin Nash adapted from the book by C.D. Payne, Cera is given an alter ego to contrast his typical shy nerdy persona. Francois Dillinger is an edgy, troublemaker, who allows Cera to stretch his acting prowess just a bit and it is nice, even if it is not enough. Much briefer than the novel itself, ?Youth in Revolt? offers us 90 minutes of a young man?s coming of age, taking a humorous look at puppy love and teen angst.
Cera is Nick Twisp, a teen virgin whose parents are divorced. His mother (Jean Smart) clings to her latest man ? a slovenly truck driver, Jerry (Zach Galifianakis), who lies and cheats ? while his father (Steve Bushemi) looks for work and frolics with his model hot, live-in girlfriend (funny and quirky Ari Graynor). Nick?s best friend, Lefty (Erik Knudsen) is even more pathetic and virginal than he, if that is possible. When Jerry has to go on the run from three sailors he scammed on a car deal, Nick finds himself in a trailer park and there he meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), a pretty young girl, whose parents are God-fearing bible thumpers. Cupid?s arrow strikes in a big way and Nick is smitten, but when fate threatens to divide what love has put together, Nick looks to François, his evil alter-ego ? a cigarette smoking, scruffy facial hair bearing, metrosexual clothes wearing foul-mouthed cool cat. With the help of François, Nick manages to blow up a chunk of Berkeley, destroy Jerry?s car and trailer and find himself on the run from the cops.
?Youth in Revolt? actually is a fairly fresh look at what great lengths one guy will go and risk he will take order to win over a woman, and regardless of how outlandish and bizarre Nick's journey might get at times, it manages to stay within a decent margin of reality. Cera engages us both as Nick and Farncios as we watch Nick's transformation from when we first meet him through his wild ride and into the final act. As noted, this is what Cera does best and he plays up to his comic strengths. Fortunately, the film also allows him to break the pattern a bit by giving him multiple characters - often appearing simultaneously. Francois provide Cera with a unique (not Cera) character, which keeps us amused by the scenes they share when Francois steps in to do and say all the things Nick would never dare. The results are at times really hilarious.
Doubleday brings an adorable and erotic air to Sheeni Saunders ? radiating the type of knowing ?Lolita" sexuality, with a slightly devil may care attitude that makes us understand why Nick goes insane trying to do everything in his powers to be with her. Doubleday is an actress to watch ? she has a delightfully youthful and innocently sensual and nubile as Sheeni. She is a natural and she makes Lena worth Nick?s troubles and their witty banter and on screen chemistry pleases. We know instinctively that a relationship between Nick and Sheeni could never actually come to fruition, but watching Nick trip over himself and blunder through a series and mistakes and mishaps is great fun!
The eccentric characters surrounding Nick drive the humor and seeing how he deals with them makes from some real hilarity - the strangest relationship being the one with his mother, a middle-aged woman clearly tired from raising a son and constantly in need of a man to attend to her emotional and physical demands. Smart is fabulous here and she looks pretty darn good too. Galifianakis?s Jerry disappears fairly quickly from the story, but his time on screen certainly is memorable. After he departs, the role of new lover to mom falls to Ray Liotta, a local police officer who wants nothing more than to get Nick out of the picture ? allowing for a necessary plot shift that moves Nick in with his father who has landed a job, with the help of Sheeni, in her home town ? certainly convenient.
While the entire ensemble cast entertains, I would be remiss if I did not mention funnyman Fred Willard, who plays Nick?s oddball neighbor, Mr. Ferguson. A bleeding heart who harbors illegal aliens, Ferguson comes to Nick?s aid when he and a school buddy have to depart quickly, from Sheeni?s French boarding school, in nothing but their underpants And there is a wonderful scene involving Willard, Justin Long, Nick and some magic mushrooms. Willard spends most of the segment in nothing but his underware, face down on the carpet and the result is laughingly riotous.
The R-rated ?Youth in Revolt,? is a pleasing hilarious fun filled, implausible romp through teen love and obsession. A longer film might have faltered and the novel was far lengthier, so I applaud filmmakers for keeping the film short, crisp and funny. I am placing a B+ in my grade book. I hope François is the catalyst for Cera?s future explorations of novel atypical characters.
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HAYLIN BELAY' REVIEW
RATING: B+
Oh, Michael Cera. Is there really anything more to say? When I first heard that Cera was going to star as the protagonist of CD Payne's raunchy, mischievous, bitterly cynical novel Youth In Revolt, I all but did a double take. For those familiar with the book's protagonist, I think there are few people who would claim Cera was their top choice - or even an expected choice - for the jaded and sex-obsessed Nick Twisp. Still, I tried to go into the theater with an open mind and high hopes that Michael Cera would finally break out of the typecasting that has followed him even since ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. No such luck.
Michael Cera stars as Michael Cera in YOUTH IN REVOLT, a relatively tame adaptation of Payne's novel that still has more than enough sex comedy to merit its R rating. (That says more about the book than the film, really.) I have to say now, actually, that the film bears only a little resemblance to the novel, and with good reason. The book was actually a combination of three "chapters", each of which could easily be published as novels in their own right, and there are dozens and dozens of characters and subplots that were condensed or completely removed for time's sake. What's more, the protagonists are aged up; in the book, which is decidedly more sexual than the film, Nick is only 14 years old. But nitpicking over the adaptation aside, what the film does keep from the book is a sense of teenage angst and the quotidian misery of being a repressed, bored, and thoroughly average adolescent. This adapted Nick Twisp is perfectly suited to Michael Cera - instead of the cynical and angry bad boy of the novel, Nick is legitimately shy, awkward, and constantly uncomfortable... just liked every other character Michael Cera has ever played.
Fortunately, the archetype works well enough to support the movie's strongest point: its comedy. Most of the laughs are derived from Nick's sexual frustrations and observations, as well as his invention of a French "bad boy" persona named Francois Dillinger who has some of the most hilarious lines I've heard in a teen comedy, full stop. Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, and Jean Smart all have relatively small roles as the erratic adults in Nick's life, with Galifianakis in particular playing Nick's barbaric truck driving step-father to an absolute tee. Newcomer Portia Doubleday plays Sheeni, Nick's love interest, with intelligence and class, and while she is most frequently stuck playing the straight man, she does have a few chances to be wicked. The biggest laughs, however, came from Fred Willard, who, in a role so small it was nearly a cameo, managed to be one of the best parts of the film.
YOUTH IN REVOLT does delve into melodrama at times, but that's only to be expected with a story so fundamentally about teenage angst. Nick really does believe his love is forever and ever and ever, and that the world will end if he can't live with Sheeni, so while his conclusion at the end of the film might feel laughable to those aware of the fact that there is life after high school, it's actually fairly heartfelt. The film is very short - bizarre, considering how epically long the book is - but it's also the perfect length, and doesn't at all overstay its welcome. Most importantly, the film is fun. Unspectacular, yes, and weakened by Michael Cera's inability to play anyone but George Michael Bluth - even when playing bad boy Francois - but definitely a fun hour and a half.
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MARK SALDANA'S REVIEW
RATING: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars)
Growing up I was a bit of a late bloomer. As a teenager, I awkwardly and shyly struggled to socialize with the opposite sex. My first date was my senior prom and that?s because it was not even a real date. I asked a friend to accompany me, because missing prom seemed like missing an important rite of passage and I did not want to regret this. I would not break out of my protective shell until college. In hindsight, my high school years were ridiculously dull and paled in comparison to the crazy fun I had in college. My id came to fruition courtesy of liquid courage. This helped eliminate my protective shell that held me back in high school.
Michael Cera is an actor who appears to know what it is like to be an awkward and shy nerd, as indicated by the singular character he portrays in all of his roles. I honestly don?t know much about his ?real? personality; however, he has the character of the awkward and timid geek down pat. In my review of YEAR ONE last year, my main criticism of Cera?s performance is that he has yet to give audiences anything dynamically new or bold. Cera has fallen into a typecasting comfort zone, which is all fine and dandy for him, because it makes his job easier. However, this irritates the movie doc who has grown tired and bored with redundant performances.
When I first saw the trailer for YOUTH IN REVOLT, I saw some promise of a more dynamic and interesting Michael Cera. In this film Cera portrays Nick Twisp, a?ahem?awkward, shy, and geeky teenager. Okay, that is not dynamic and interesting; however, the film features Cera in a dual role. He also portrays Nick?s imaginary alter ego Francois Dillinger. This particular role offers me some hope for the actor. The movie tells the wild and crazy story of Twisp and his adventures with the help of Francois to pursue the girl of his dreams. Nick meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) while ?vacationing? at a trailer park with his mother Estelle (Jean Smart) and her younger boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis).
After a very fun and romantic time with Sheeni, Nick is forced to return home with his family. Desperate to remain close to his dream girl, Nick?s id in the form of Francois takes over and gets Nick into some serious criminal trouble. While hiding from the police at his father?s house, Nick/Francois experiences more misadventures affecting Sheeni and her family, as well as Nick?s father George (Steve Buscemi) and George?s younger girlfriend Lacey (Ari Graynor). Nick is forced to face reality and get a grip on his alter-ego before Francois does more harm than good.
Written by Gustin Nash (CHARLIE BARTLETT) based on the novel by C.D. Payne, YOUTH IN REVOLT delivers entertainment in a big way. The film has a spectacularly well written script that offers audiences a multitude of humor, both of the intelligent and sophomoric persuasions. Wonderfully directed by Miguel Arteta (CHUCK AND BUCK, THE GOOD GIRL), the movie uses some child-like animation and claymation in some of the interludes between acts that add to the fun in this great comedy. Argueta and his casting department have assembled a great cast to flesh out these fun and colorful characters in the movie.
Veteran character actors, such as Fred Willard (as neighbor Mr. Ferguson), Mary Kay Place (as Sheeni?s mother), Jean Smart (Estelle Twisp), M. Emmett Walsh (as Sheeni?s father), Steve Buscemi (George Twisp), and Ray Liotta (Lance Wescott) add to the comedic integrity of the film. Newer comic actors such as Justin Long (Sheeni?s brother Paul), Zach Galifianakis (Jerry), and Adhir Kalyan (Vijay Joshi) fill in these roles beautifully. Newcomer Portia Doubleday is no slouch either as Sheeni Saunders, the object of Nick?s desires. She portrays the smart and manipulative Sheeni with great zeal. The real star, of course is Cera who, yes, plays his usual awkward nerd character, but offers audiences something new in the form of the deliciously wicked Francois Dillinger. Cera has a great talent for comic timing and really makes the film fly because of this.
The story?s content does not offer anything groundbreaking or original, but succeeds because of the sharp and hilarious dialogue and scenarios. The movie is a great showcase for comedic talents, both veteran and newer. The Francois Dillinger character finally gives Cera the opportunity to show that he is capable of much more than his usual typecast role. I do really hope that he accepts more challenging roles, whether they are more serious or comedic. I do believe in Michael Cera and his abilities. This film could be the beginning of something more exciting and dynamic. One can only hope!
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