Oh Arrested Development, how I loved thee. And yes, I was ecstatic when Michael Cera became a breakout star from the show after his awkward/naive George Michael role. Unfortunately, this had started to wear thin after he more-or-less reprised this role over and over again, with varying degrees of success. So along comes Youth in Revolt, which on the outset looks like Michael Cera playing George Michael again. Lo and behold, not only is Youth in Revolt hilarious, its also by far Cera's most diverse role yet.
Youth in Revolt is about Nick Twisp. His mother has a boorish boyfriend Jerry whom Nick hates, and his father chases bimbos despite his lack of a job. When Jerry is on the run from some Russian sailors, the family goes up to a trailer park to lay low, where Nick meets Sheeni Saunders, who may well be the entire alternative/hipster scene wrapped up. She likes old music, French cinema and strange robot poetry. Eventually, the two start making out and such, but just as love blossoms, its back home for Nick.
Of course, Nick won't let his "true love" get away that easy, and hatches a diabolical scheme to be back with her. To do so, he needs to break his nice-guy frame, doing so by inventing the mental persona Francois Dillinger. Francois is easily the best part of the film, also played by Cera but manifesting himself physically with Nick. Its some kind of Fight Club-ish thing going on, but the way its presented definitely feels fresh.
This extra character is what puts Cera over the top. While Nick may be his standard character for the most part, Francois is a side of Cera not seen yet, very confident and moreover badass. Although part of me doubts Cera was able to grow that moustache himself. The Francois scenes are definitely the best of the film, and worth the price of admission alone.
What would a comedy like this be without wacky supporting characters? This is where the movie is more hit-and-miss. Portia Doubleday is very serviceable as the idol of Nick's affection, and any guy who says he didn't majorly crush on a girl like that is clearly lying. Sure, her character is perhaps written as slightly to hipster to appease the fanbase, but the relation is by all means believable.
Jean Smart stands out among the supporters as Nick's unsympathetic mother, as does Fred Willard as a very sympathetic teacher. Steve Buscemi and Zach Galifinakis get unfortunately little to do as Nick's father and his mother's boyfriend respectively. Ray Liotta is excellently used as an antagonistic cop. However, Justin Long comes across perhaps just a little too creepy as Sheeni's stoner brother, and her sweater-wearing boyfriend is simply far too much of a douche to be anything but a cliché.
But whats important is that the movie is outright hilarious. Sure, there's better coming-of-age stories out there, but this one takes the cake in terms of simply making me laugh. A lot was in the trailer, but there's still more here, and Youth in Revolt is a must-see for fans of the genre.
Youth in Revolt is about Nick Twisp. His mother has a boorish boyfriend Jerry whom Nick hates, and his father chases bimbos despite his lack of a job. When Jerry is on the run from some Russian sailors, the family goes up to a trailer park to lay low, where Nick meets Sheeni Saunders, who may well be the entire alternative/hipster scene wrapped up. She likes old music, French cinema and strange robot poetry. Eventually, the two start making out and such, but just as love blossoms, its back home for Nick.
Of course, Nick won't let his "true love" get away that easy, and hatches a diabolical scheme to be back with her. To do so, he needs to break his nice-guy frame, doing so by inventing the mental persona Francois Dillinger. Francois is easily the best part of the film, also played by Cera but manifesting himself physically with Nick. Its some kind of Fight Club-ish thing going on, but the way its presented definitely feels fresh.
This extra character is what puts Cera over the top. While Nick may be his standard character for the most part, Francois is a side of Cera not seen yet, very confident and moreover badass. Although part of me doubts Cera was able to grow that moustache himself. The Francois scenes are definitely the best of the film, and worth the price of admission alone.
What would a comedy like this be without wacky supporting characters? This is where the movie is more hit-and-miss. Portia Doubleday is very serviceable as the idol of Nick's affection, and any guy who says he didn't majorly crush on a girl like that is clearly lying. Sure, her character is perhaps written as slightly to hipster to appease the fanbase, but the relation is by all means believable.
Jean Smart stands out among the supporters as Nick's unsympathetic mother, as does Fred Willard as a very sympathetic teacher. Steve Buscemi and Zach Galifinakis get unfortunately little to do as Nick's father and his mother's boyfriend respectively. Ray Liotta is excellently used as an antagonistic cop. However, Justin Long comes across perhaps just a little too creepy as Sheeni's stoner brother, and her sweater-wearing boyfriend is simply far too much of a douche to be anything but a cliché.
But whats important is that the movie is outright hilarious. Sure, there's better coming-of-age stories out there, but this one takes the cake in terms of simply making me laugh. A lot was in the trailer, but there's still more here, and Youth in Revolt is a must-see for fans of the genre.