Youth In Revolt (DVD)

Is Michael Cera a one trick pony? Well, the jury is still out, but Youth In Revolt tries to suggest that at least he has two tricks, with the young actor playing two characters – one the insecure, bumbling, shy guy we’ve come to know, and the other almost the polar opposite, a suave ladies man with a dangerous edge.

The former is Nick Twisp, whose trying to deal with the complicated lives of his trailer trash parents when he meets Sheeni Saunders. Instantly smitten with the young woman, he determines to woo her and make her his girlfriend (as well as losing his virginity to her). However while she slightly leads him on, it turns out she already has a boyfriend. After she suggest he becomes a bad boy so they can be together, Nick invents suave French alter-ego Francois Dillinger (also played by Cera, but with a little moustache) to help him because the more confident rebel he wants to be.

However, after getting in over his head by causing an explosion, Nick is in big trouble, but still obsessed with being with Sheeni. This leads to a series of strange escapades as he tries to be close to her and fully win her heart, while Nick’s home life gets ever more bizarre, with Francois at his shoulder giving him tips on how deal with it all.

Youth In Revolt is one of those films that’s fairly easy to enjoy even while you’re aware it isn’t as good as it should have been. The problem is that it has an array of interesting ideas and moments, but they never really come together. For example, the whole idea of Nick having a suave alter-ego to help him be a bad boy is a lot of fun, but it seems to have very little logic to it, as Nick’s not really all that different whether Francois is there or not. Likewise all sorts of things are going on in Nick’s homelife, from his stepfather (Zach Galifianakis) dying to the arrival on the dangerous Paul (Justin Long), but nothing ever seems fully linked into anything else, leaving it as a series of entertaining but slightly random episodes. It’s almost as everyone knows there’s a really good movie in there somewhere, which deliberately takes risks and goes to far darker areas than a typical teen comedy, but they’re not quite sure how to get it out, resulting in a movie that’s watchable without ever being that great.

I’m also not sure about Cera. It’s not that he’s bad, it’s just whether he’s the right choice for a modern day Holden Caulfield, stuck between a bunch of phoneys and his hormones, while battling his own reserved nature by acting out in extreme ways. He’s actually very good as his alter-ego, Francois, but Nick Twisp is Cera as he’s been in every other movie, which seems slightly misplaced here, as you never really feel the battle between the two sides of his personality. However while Cera slightly seems to miss the target, he’s still an amiable guide through Youth In Revolt’s chaotic and strange world.

There are a few special features included on the disc. There are quite a few deleted scenes that are worth a look, along with some audition footage and an audio commentary from Miguel Arteta and Michael Cera. The latter is interesting to see quite how collaborative the two were on the film, and how involved Cera felt in the movie beyond his own role. However while they both sound incredibly enthusiastic, they can’t escape the fact the film is entertaining and quite funny, but never seems to be able to quite bring everything together.

Overall Verdict: While very watchable and fun, Youth In Revolt is also a rather chaotic and episodic movie that never quite come together into a truly great whole.

Special Features:
Feature Audio Commentary with Director Miguel Arteta and Michael Cera
Deleted Scenes
Audition Footage
Deleted & Extended animated sequences

Reviewer: Tim Isaac