Youth in Revolt Review

Michael Cera is known for playing a teenager facing raging hormones and constant thought of having sex. Whether its Superbad or Juno, Cera has successfully displayed the nerdy teenager persona. Youth in Revolt at first glance might appear to be more of the same, but instead it shows the depth of his acting ability. His alter ego that he creates, Francois Dillinger, is not only completely bad and evil in his methods, but even more hilarous to watch him interact with his normal self (Nick). His acting along with strong performances from a great cast including Steve Buscemi and Justin Long power this funny coming of age story.

Based on the book by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt follows Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) living a lonely existence with his jobless divorced mother (Jean Smart) living off the child support supplied unwillingly by his father (Steve Buscemi). Nick's summer life is simply his joy in listening to frank Sinatra, watching artsy films, and of course constant masturbation. However, after his moms overweight boyfriend trucker (Zach Galifianakis) faces trouble, they vacation in a trailer park. It is at this point that Nick meets a pretty blond girl Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) whom at first glance puts of spell on Nick's fragile mind. He must have this girl of his dream to love as his own, at any cost. They find a connection with their love for vinyl and seem to be meant for each other. However he must compete with Trent (Jonathan B. Wright) whom appears to have everything that Nick lacks. Thus, Nick creates his alter ego Francois Dillinger to release the bad ass within. With Sheeni's love at stake, Nick and Francois create utter destruction to win her over.

Director Miguel Arteta, known most for his 2002 film The Good Girl, creates an artsy comedy unlike his previous drama. The movie plays a lot less like a simple dirty mouthed nonsense comedy, and more of a fun character development of the strange, yet hilarious alter ego that Michael Cera's character creates. Arteta does not stray too far from Nick's simple inner desire to not be alone. He also manages to create lots of dumb fun with the help of influences from drugs and sex. Some may view this as a silly guy themed comedy with the likes of Superbad and The Hangover, but it is much more then that. Arteta's slick comedy has everything from lots of dirty humor to the sad realities of life, with little tidbits of creative animation. Its a fun movie that stands out amongst the usually weak releases in the quiet movie month of January. I give the movie 3 out of 4 stars.