Youth in Revolt DVD Review
June 22, 2010 No Comments
Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) is a 16 year old virgin living in California. Between listening to Sinatra on Vinyl and writing he daydreams of meeting a girl. Nick‘s luck starts to change when Mom (Jean Smart) and her current boyfriend, Jerry (Zach Galifianikis) plan an impromptu vacation to the woods after a shady business deal results in some very angry sailors banging on their front door. On Nick‘s second day at the trailer park, he runs into Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) while experiencing an awkward robe malfunction on the way to the community showers. The two somehow awkwardly hit it off and become friends. Jealous of Sheeni‘s boyfriend (Jonathan Wright), Nick adapts the alter ego of bad boy Francois Dillinger, who lives on the edge and takes what he wants. His plan is put on hold however, when the family heads back home.
The hijinks ramp up as Nick and Sheeni work out a plan that would see Nick’s dad (Steve Buscemi) moving to the area for work and Nick leaving his mom to live with dad. As Estelle is living off of Nick’s child support, he has to channel Francois in an attempt to cause enough chaos to get kicked out of the house. From that point on, Nick finds himself letting Francois take over whenever he gets in a tight spot, which usually makes things worse in the big scheme of things.
Well, there is much more but that gives you a good idea of what to expect with Youth In Revolt. While stories of teen angst have shown up on film for a very long time, this one is different enough to warrant a watch. Nick’s alter ego, although he somehow struck me as rather effiminant, was a funny touch, especially in the dorm room scene and when calling to “turn himself in.”
In an effort to up the artsy factor a bit, a few sequences in the film switch to claymation. Mostly these are the sequences where the characters are driving someplace. Its something different and they don’t overdo it so that it gets repetative. I thought it was original. The other animated sequence in the film involves mushrooms and a couple of sexual aid book illustrations that take on a life of their own while Nick watches with glazed over disbelief. It is quite well animated and again, unique.
The real stars are the quirky character actors that make appearances in the supporting roles. Fred Willard is quite amusing as the bleeding heart neighbor to Estelle and Nick that keeps getting in trouble for harboring illegal aliens. Steve Buscemi is great as Dad, who is out of work and dating a 25 year old that is way out of his league. Ray Liotta plays a cop for, what, the 500th time in his acting career? Anyway, he is still perfect as the sleezy cop who hooks up with Estelle in her time of grief. As far as the stars, at age 22 Michael Cera is still believable as the awkward 16 year old geek that ends up getting the girl. It is a set formula that he has made a career out of and his characters are pretty much interchangeable between movies. Newcomer Portia Doubleday plays the charming Sheeni well and will no doubt have a good acting career ahead of her.
Youth In Revolt is reminiscent of those 80’s coming of age comedies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Can’t Buy Me Love where the message is ultimately don’t try to be something you are not, you can be yourself and still get the girl. The patented Michael Cera quirkiness is present but in far lesser doses than say, Paper Hearts and does overdo it. While the movie was entertaining and worth a watch, I don’t see it as having a huge rewatchability factor to it, so I recommend renting it before buying it. Recommended for Rental Special Features: Youth In Revolt is available now on Blu Ray and DVD, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Commentary Track featuring Director Miguel Arteta and Star Michael Cera
Extended/Deleted Animated Sequences
Audition Footage
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