Until I caught YOUTH IN REVOLT at the St Louis International Film Festival in 2009, I wasn’t really sure if Michael Cera was just unfortunately typecast as quirky, awkward teenager or if he just played himself in everything. Well all of that was put behind me when I was introduced to Francois Dillinger.
Francois is everything that Cera is not… he is evil, maniacal, and NOT a virgin… he is a lady killer. When Nick goes away to a trailer park for a week during the end of summer with his moms boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis) he meets the girl of his dreams, Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), he realizes that a girl like her just wouldn’t be happy with just any guy…she needs a rebel, someone who is so badass that Chuck Norris comes asking him for advice. This is when Nick creates Francois Dillinger to woo the panties off Sheeni and finally lose his virginity.
When summer ends and its time for Nick to go back to his hometown he has to say goodbye to Sheeni, but they hatch a plan to get his father a job in the town so he can move back. In order to that though, his mom has to send him to live with his dad’s house to live. They decide to crash Jerry’s car which in turn sets the entire town on fire. Without going to far into spoilerville I will stop there and just tell you that the story gets even more juicy and things get crazier.
I applaud Miguel Arteta for doing such an outstanding job on the film… even if he hasn’t done a movie in 8 years, it certainly doesn’t show. His last film was the Jennifer Aniston starring THE GOOD GIRL which I never got around to seeing… mostly because it starred Jennifer Aniston whom I despise with a passion, but that all goes back to my hatred of the show FRIENDS.
The acting is all superb, and with a cast that includes Cera, Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, Fred Willard, Justin Long, and Jean Smart then you know this movie is going to deliver. The tone of the movie comes across just as the trailer suggests, but the story is quite a bit different than what you are expecting from just seeing the trailer. Not that its a bad thing, but I was expecting a different film from what we get, but what we get is far greater than what I was expecting so we all win.
Although Galifianakis isn’t in the movie outside of the first 15 minutes or so he definitely steals the show with his role as the boyfriend. It is exactly what you have come to expect form him and you will laugh your ass off without him even doing anything.
Cera as Nick Twisp is the same character he played in… every movie he has ever done, including himself in PAPER HEART. Where he comes out ahead is his portrayal of Francois, which is leaps and bounds ahead of anything you’ve seen him do previously. Honestly, I can’t wait to see him do something like this in the future… and grow a mustache.
For all of you parents wondering about this movie from the trailer you see on TV, the film is rated R for a reason, so don’t be taking the kiddies out to see this one.
The movie opens in theaters everywhere on January 8th, so make sure you get in theaters and see this movie, you wont be disappointed… unless you hate life and aren’t a fan of laughing. In that case then you should really just go to a strip club or something… cheer up trooper.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Here is the trailer just for good measure:
