YOUTH IN REVOLT
Michael Cera has owned the teen sex comedy game over the last few years for good reason. Despite being in his twenties, Cera has a youthful face and a gangly, pubescent body. He also possesses a rapier-like sense of comic timing, and he can deliver the most incredible lines with a flat, deadpan delivery. It’s clear, however, that Cera doesn’t have much range, and all of his projects thus far have not strayed far from Cera’s few dynamic strengths as an actor.
His newest, Youth In Revolt, generally continues that trend. Cera plays Nick Twisp, a lanky, nervous, overly-polite high school boy saddled with a whorish mother and her loser boyfriend. When her boyfriend’s car deal goes bad, the three are forced to move into a trailer park, where Nick meets Sheeni (Portia Doubleday), an intelligent and romantic young girl also burdened by a crazy family. Nick falls in love, of course, but then his family moves away from the trailer park. Determined to get back to Sheeni, Nick creates an alter-ego named Francois to help him become a bad boy. Hijinks ensue.
The film, which has only the slightest hint of a plot, coasts on a considerable amount of attitude and the charm of its leads. When playing Nick, Cera unleashes his back-catalogue of mannerisms that any fan of Superbad will recognize instantly. But Cera does manage a few new tricks as Francois, and he seems to be genuinely enjoying himself as Nick’s foul-mouthed, perverted, and destructive alter-ego.
There are several other nice comedic performances here as well. Ray Liotta has a nice cameo as a nasty police officer who seduces Nick’s mother, as does Steve Buscemi as Nick’s idiotic father. Doubleday is comedically outgunned as Nick’s love interest, and her peculiar, halting line delivery feels affected. The performance is saved somewhat by the fact that almost everyone else in the film seems to be snapping lines off in a cadence reminiscent of Dragnet.
Director Miguel Arteta tries some interesting shots, and the film sustains a fair amount of lift. The real problem is the screenplay by Gustin Nash and C.D. Payne, which simply isn’t all that funny. Compounding the problem is a plot that has very little tying it together into a satisfying whole.
Ultimately, Youth In Revolt is an enjoyable teen comedy with a few chuckles and a pleasant atmosphere, but little else on its mind or in its heart.
