Youth In Revolt

Michael Cera’s strategy seems to be this: play the same character, but in increasingly oddball situations. As the focus of the movie Youth in Revolt, Michael Cera plays an awkward, sixteen-year-old virgin prone to witty inner monologue and conversation. He’s focused on finding young love, getting laid for the first time, and going to the most extreme lengths to do so.

Although this feels like a rehash of some of Cera’s early, more popular work, it was actually filmed over a year ago, before his roles began to veer away from characters that are strictly teenagers. Twisp has been aged up a couple years, from fourteen to sixteen, which doesn’t make his adventures much more probable, but it does make some of the attitude more believable.

Gustin Nash adapts the movie from the novels, a series of troubles that almost feel like self-contained events until the end of the film, where they all converge to catalyze Nick’s final run from the law. Snappy dialogue and a top notch, star-studded cast ensure that the film is packed with funny, sometimes crass humor. It’s easier to ignore how farfetched some of the people and situations are by letting the humor carry things along.

The overarching message of the movie isn’t useless. The whole story is a coming-of-age tale, essentially about Nick Twisp accepting his own worthiness as a person and romantic partner. It suggests some worthwhile things about attraction, too. The implication is that Sheeni, played by Portia Doubleday, has already fallen for Nick as he is soon after meeting, though he doesn’t fully realize it and despite her description of the perfect man. The audience is meant to, like Nick, realize that attraction is sort of unknowable and can happen regardless of what we say or think draws us to someone. However, between them meeting and the ending of the film, Nick Twisp develops his alter ego and becomes increasingly difficult to champion.

All of the secondary characters are varying degrees of disturbed or sad but deftly portrayed, distracting viewers from how utterly ridiculous Nick Twisp is as a character. His tendency towards wretchedness isn’t completely surprising, however. His parents are pathetic and amusing for it. Steve Buscemi and Jean sell it well. There isn’t really a better way to start off the year than watching Fred Willard as Mr. Ferguson flop around on George Twisp’s floor, immobilized by shrooms. Adhir Kalyan also lands another role where he stands out despite what little screen time he’s given. Getting lost in the antics of the ensemble take some focus away from the fact that Nick is ungrateful, manipulative, and, of course, the crazy boyfriend with a second personality named Francois Dillinger (which might prove to be the biggest departure Michael Cera’s made from himself since he started).

Nick and Sheeni are both pretty inoffensive at first. They’re majorly pretentious teenagers, but inoffensive nevertheless, and clearly similar in said pretentiousness, so they have that going for their initial connection. It doesn’t seem farfetched that they’d be interested in one another, and by the film’s climax, Sheeni stays with Nick, confirming that both exist in a sort of shared madness. It isn’t out of character, but it’s hard to feel glad for them, because the last hour and a half has just been spent proving why Nick Twisp is insane.

Things do end in a way that isn’t entertaining, but there’s still something about watching Michael Cera escorted to a police car in a dress, talking in voice over about how sure he is of love that does manage to be unfulfilling.

Youth In Revolt isn’t terrible. It’s well-paced, funny, and packed with a handful of really memorable moments. See it for the cast and jokes alone, which hold up, even when the romance driving the action starts to matter less and less, and sort of fails to be enchanting by the time the credits roll. Youth In Revolt doesn’t earn a place as 2010′s first stand out, but there could also be worse ways to kick off the year.

- Chanelle Berlin Johnson