Rating: 8/10

Writers: C.D. Payne (novel), Gustin Nash (screenplay)
Director: Miguel Arteta
Cast: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Zach Galifianakis, and Ray Liotta
Studio: Dimension Films

By now, we all get that Michael Cera was born to play the awkward and stammering virgin. And just as we grow tired of that one friend  who constantly whines about not getting any, many of us have grown weary of watching Cera play the same role in every film. That being said, if you walk into YOUTH IN REVOLT expecting to see same old Cera, you will be pleasantly surprised and/or disappointed. In YOUTH IN REVOLT, Cera gets to break out of and stick to the role that has made him a household name.

YOUTH IN REVOLT is an adaptation of C.D. Payne’s series of novels presented as journals, which chronicle the life of Nick Twisp, a  sixteen year old (though he was fourteen at the start of the book series) budding intellectual with a passion for classic  literature, foreign film, the works of Frank Sinatra, girls, and sex.  Based on his interests alone, it is easy to see that Nick has a hard time fitting in amongst his peers. In his eyes, the world is a cruel place where no one understands him. Lacking the pedigree that would allow him to be in the presence of more like-minded adolescents, Nick exists in a world where his father dates twentysomethings, his mother parades around in outdated duds dating whatever white trash loser will have her, and his best friend is  also a virgin who will never bed a girl until he gets his crooked penis straightened out.

When his mother’s boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis) sells a lemon of a car to a bunch of sailors, his family decides to take a vacation to a trailer park. It is there that Nick meets his dream girl, Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday). Sheeni, like Nick, has found a place of escape in literature and the world of French Nouvelle Vague cinema. She is a francophile with a crush on bad-boy Jean-Paul Brelmondo and taunts Nick with her relationship with a boy named Trent. Trent is the all-American boy, and Sheeni is looking  for the adventure, excitement, and passion that she sees in the films she enjoys.

Despite her involvement with Trent, Sheeni and Nick become fast friends. But with the end of the vacation, Nick knows that he has no chance of hanging on to his summer romance, so Sheeni and Nick concoct a plan to get Nick kicked out of his mother’s house and for his father a new job that will put him closer to her.

In order to execute their plan, Nick invents an alter-ego named Francois Dillinger. Francois is the one who gives Nick the courage to attempt the poorly-planned and poorly-executed mission that leads to various felonies, as well as comedic moments.

YOUTH IN REVOLT is not the average coming of age story with its over the top action, but the character of Twisp is relatable; who hasn’t felt like an outsider? You can’t help but root for him, even though Sheeni is condescending and manipulative. What is to be  appreciated is that the story doesn’t get too sappy or sentimental. Nick is on a mission to get laid, even if he doesn’t realize that it is his hormones that are propelling him to commit these desperate acts, and he will do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to make that happen.

With all the action, the plot never drags, and the story manages to stay light even when Nick is committing serious crimes such as  grand theft auto and arson. The film also uses a few humorous animated sequences to keep the story moving.

The character of Nick is very similar to Cera’s previous roles on the big screen, but it is his incarnation as Francois that is truly surprising. The supporting cast includes Steve Buscemi, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, and Zach Galifianakis and it would have been nice to see more of  them, but the film did not suffer from there lack of screen time.