Youth in Revolt

I caught a preview of this film on Monday, and was delighted to as I’m an eternal fan of Michael Cera’s work. Cera, for those who don’t know, is George Michael from the hit series, Arrested Development and he was also a big part of Superbad and Juno. He’s made quite a career from his nerdy yet charming personality, and long may it continue.

His new film, Youth in Revolt, focuses on an unfortunate young intelligent fellow called Nick Twisp who lives with his mother and her boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis). Nick’s Dad lives with a 25 year old blonde and overall, he’s not a very happy kid. His days are spent with his even more blue friend called Lefty, pining over girls they can never get with. Deep stuff really.

After an incident which involved Jerry selling a faulty car to a bunch of sailors, the three have to leave their house and they move to a caravan park to hide, and this is where Nick meets Sheeni Saunders, the girl of every 17 year old’s dreams. She’s pretty, sweet, she’s smart and she’s got a nasty streak. Nick falls in love with her and they begin a summer fling.

As all good things tend to do, Nick’s summer comes to an end and Nick must move back home. Sheeni is distraught and Nick promises to find his way back to her. He creates an alternate persona called Francois Dillinger. Francois is everything that Nick is not. Suave, handsome and dangerous. Between Nick and Francois, their job is to get Sheeni back, at any cost.

I really did enjoy this movie. It moves at a nice pace, and the cast was fantastic. In particular, it’s so easy to watch Michael Cera do what he does best, and just be likable. Ray Liotta, Zach Galafianakis, Steve Buscemi and Justin Long all do a great job. It does bother me a little that all teenage movies still focus on the ultimate struggle to lose your virginity. Surely there are other things to worry about as a teenager. But then, you think back to your own teens and, sure enough, things really haven’t changed that much at all, have they? That’s merely minor point that I’d make, other than that I’d watch this movie for Michael Cera’s ‘Francois Dillinger’ alone, and there’s plenty more to recommend this movie.

7.5/10