By Rebecca Spence, Staff Contributor
Grade: B
Thank goodness for Michael Cera. If it weren’t for this cute and cuddly Canuck, Youth in Revolt would be a complete and utter waste of 90 minutes of film.
Youth in Revolt is an adaptation of a series of novels by C.D. Payne, which is structured by a number of journal entries and letters from the perspective of 16-year-old protagonist Nick Twisp (Cera).
Nick is an awkward virgin who feels alienated and isolated from both his family and his own generation. On a summer vacation he falls madly in love with the lovely and wickedly interesting Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday in her debut role). The rest of the film follows the insane lengths that Nick will go to in order to get with Sheeni. Nick’s creation of an alter ego known as Francois Dillinger (Michael Cera wearing a pencil thin moustache) who encourages Nick to rise up against authority in order to get what he wants. Francois/Nick’s acts of rebellion include everything from petty insults to sabotage and even arson.
Nick’s antagonizing authority figures include much of the film’s impressive supporting cast: Nick’s mother (Jean Smart), his mother’s boyfriends (Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta), his father (Steve Buscemi), and his neighbour, Mr. Ferguson (Fred Willard). The actors all do their best with the material – but there’s only so much that they can do with the less than stellar script. Doubleday’s smooth and seemingly effortless acting style particularly stands out throughout the film.
The humour of the film is extremely dry, and at times dark and a tad quirky – almost a prerequisite for any movie with Michael Cera. Ultimately much of the dialogue is either hit or miss. For example, a scene in which several important characters eat some magic mushrooms (Knocked Up demonstrated how hilarious of a plot device mushrooms can be) is uncomfortable, pointless and generally disappointing. On the other hand, the conflict that repeatedly arises between timid Nick and the mischievous Francois is superb.
Overall the film’s chain of events is silly and implausible. Although this is likely connected to the idea of a teenager’s imagination running wild, it is sometimes difficult to fully get on board with the direction of the story.
Most movies are somewhat subjective. Youth in Revolt is a film that is especially subjective. A multitude of factors must be taken into account in order to predict whether you will like this film: age, gender, interests, values, humour, style and mood. An easier way to decide whether to see this film consists of a simple yes-or-no question: Do you enjoy Michael Cera?
If you don’t, shy away from this film.
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