Youth in Revolt, or its alternate title: AWESOME

Ol’ Jack Burton here with a review of my fourth film of 2010: Youth in Revolt. I don’t have much to say, or to analyze, but to get to the point right off: go fucking see this movie.

It isn’t that Michael Cera is a particularly good actor. It isn’t that he’s particularly interesting, even. He’s kind of the same, awkward-but-accessible guy that I’ve followed since the award-winning Arrested Development. But neither is Denzel, Hanks, or Cruise. They, with Cera, are personality actors. And while I do not harbor any particular interest in Denzel, Hanks, and Cruise, Cera is a whole different beast. And a beast he is, if his portrayal of François in the fantastic Youth in Revolt is any indication.

Youth in Revolt follows Nick Twisp, an awkward, horny teenager afflicted with thinks-he-knows-everything syndrome and a crime-laden obsession with Sheeni, a girl he meets while on a quasi-family vacation with his mother and her boyfriend Jerry. He goes so far as to burn down “half of Berkeley,” to get kicked out of his mother’s house and into his father’s in Ukiah, the vacationing ‘burb where Sheeni lives, just to be close to her and her promises of sweet, sweet lovin’. He is aided by his evil, alternate personality, François, who is an absolute joy to watch.

Their hijinks include the aforementioned burning, talking dirty to Sheeni, faking his own death, and scheming against Sheeni’s perfect boyfriend, Trent. How can this film miss? And much more often than not, it doesn’t. The story is quickly paced, the characters are hilarious, and the schemes, while evil, are perfectly accessible to the audience, who cheers with Twisp’s every step and howls with François’ every line. I mean, my God. I don’t know how Cera manages to say the things he does with a straight face.

As Hombre Lobo pointed out, this film is not mainstream—it reeks, absolutely reeks of arthouse. But in a good way. The dialogue is nowhere near conventional, but the story is classic: young love, coming-of-age, and finding what you have inside of you and how far you’re willing to go to get what you want. And trust me, you want to go see this.

Cost breakdown:

11.25 dollars per ticket at Fairfax Corner Cinema de Lux
5 dollars worth of gas (28 miles round trip, with lights)
So 16.25? I call that a bargain.

Check out this oldie but goodie behind-the-scenes look at Youth in Revolt:

CLAQUEZ-MOI