Youth in Revolt

Release Year: 2009

Director: Miguel Arteta

Review:  A film which finds another reason for a role that is all too familiar for Michael Cera.  You have the loser, Cera of course, who is after the girl way out of his league.  In order to be with her, he must be bad and take risks, something he is completely unable to do without creating an alternative persona.  This is pretty much just another variation on countless other teen comedies.  I know this is based on a book, but the plot doesn't scream originality.  The premise at least allows Cera to exercise his acting chops somewhat and break out of his typecast.

 

The alter-ego Francois actually plays a much lesser role than I expected, which is a good thing.  The bad mustache and cigarette seemed a little too uncomfortable for Cera.  The dialog is unique in that its very straightforward and direct.  The problem is that its also very affected feeling and was a bit off putting at times, since I couldn't believe that any teenagers would actually be able to converse with each other so stiffly.  Fortunately, this approach in dialog didn't effect the humor.  While there are plenty of cheesy obvious jokes and stereotypes there were also a fair share of genuine laugh out loud moments.

What didn't work was the character development.  Everyone is pretty much a terrible person and gets what they deserve, especially Cera's character Nick.  He has no problem ruining peoples lives all in an attempt to possibly get a little closer to a girl.  There is no regard for actual consequences for actions which always takes me out of a film.  It's hard to get behind a character who you ultimately think deserves to fail.  Any moral or emotional themes are completely lost in the film.  As a straight up comedy it's hit or miss.  Certainly not the deepest of films, but you could do a lot worse.

Rating: 3/5