I like Michael Cera as an actor. Ever since he burst onto the scene in “Arrested Development”, his understated brand of comedy has been right up my alley. He is the polar opposite of a Jim Carrey or a Will Ferrell, who try to overwhelm you at times with trying to be funny. Cera has made a living so far playing nerdy guys searching for their place in life.
Cera has taken this route again in “Youth in Revolt”. He plays virgin Nick Twisp whose main mission in life seems to be losing his virginity. Nick is having a tough time in this pursuit in his hometown. He’s not helped at all in his quest by any comforting words from his mother (Jean Smart). She’s too busy with her drunken louse of a boyfriend (Zach Galifianakis). His father (Steve Buscemi) isn’t much of a help either. He is occupied by his much younger paramour Lacey (Ari Graynor). Only his best friend Lefty (Erik Knudsen) knows where he is coming from.
Director Miguel Arteta does a good job in staging the scenes for maximum payoff. He even sprinkles in some animated scenes to good effect. It is reminiscent of the cult classic “Better Off Dead” in that regard. Arteta is working off a script from Gustin Nash. Nash can jump around a bit in tones. It can be a sex romp one minute and switch to a sweet romantic comedy the next. Nash even throws in the customary drug scene. Nash did mix it up a tad by using mushrooms instead of the customary pot. It is still a lesser part of the movie. Nash though has written plenty of funny scenes to whet the appetite.
Nick gets a big break when his mother’s boyfriend forces them to move to a trailer park. There he meets the enchanting Sheeni (the delightful newcomer Portia Doubleday). She is one of those all knowing wisecracking teen girls like Juno. Sheeni knows that Nick likes her and she has some fun with it. Sheeni is shackled by her parents as well (the interesting pairing of M. Emmet Walsh and Mary Kay Place). They are religious fanatics and they don’t look too kindly on Nick’s intentions with their daughter.
Sheeni thus forces Nick to be more daring and more bad so that can be together. This is where Arteta and Nash hit a home run. Nick invents an imaginary alter ego named Francois Dillinger. Sheeni is a big fan of the French films and the movie “Breathless”. Francois has a pencil thin moustache and is constantly smoking cigarettes. Cera gets to branch out with the Francois character. He’s aggressive, intolerable and you guessed it, bad to the bone.
Nick causes all sorts of havoc under the guise of Francois just to get the attention of Sheeni. There are some delicious scenes of cat and mouse between Nick and romantic rival Trent (Jonathan B. Wright). You can actually picture Cera doing the sleazy roles that James Spader did in the 80s when he does Francois. It backfires when Sheeni’s parents send her to boarding school to get her away from him. Hopefully fans of Cera won’t revolt if he tries to broaden his horizons in future roles.
Arteta has crafted a weird, wacky, crude movie. “Youth in Revolt” definitely earns its R rating and we are the better for it. Sometimes Arteta takes his scenes a bit too over the top, but at least he is trying to be different. This is not your typical cookie cutter coming of age comedy. Areta does well in giving juicy supporting roles to Ray Liotta and Fred Willard. Both actors are on top of their games and fun to watch. Portia Doubleday has a long career ahead of her. Her performance is so assured and confident. The movie though belongs to Michael Cera. He has created another unique indelible character to his repertoire.
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