Youth in Revolt (2010)
Youth in Revolt(USA) Directed by Miguel Arteta Written by Gustin Nash Starring Michael Cera; Portia Doubleday; Jean Smart; Steve Buscemi; Zach Galifinakas; Ray Liotta; Eric Knudsen; Adhir Kaylan; Justin Long; Mary Kay place; M. Emmett Walsh; Fred Willard
Based on the six book series by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp, Miguel Arteta (Star Maps; Chuck and Buck; The Good Girl) directs from a script by Gustin Nash (Charlie Bartlett). Twenty two year old Michael Cera plays the sixteen year old (he was turning fourteen in the book) titular character, as well as his mustachioed alter ego Francois Dillinger. Though the source material obviously preceded Rushmore (1998), Youth in Revolt’s filmic life nonetheless owes a debt of gratitude to Wes Anderson’s seminal tale of prep school dropout Max Fischer. Derivation, or at least homage, is to be expected whenever innovated work is presented, and so it’s no surprise that a number of similar films have followed in its wake, including the aforementioned Bartlett. The story focuses on Nick (Cera doing Cera), who is also the narrator - a high school student/aspiring writer/virgin, who longs to reach beyond the limits of his hometown, Oakland, CA, to fall in love and have a sexual relationship with the girl of his dreams, to escape his oversexed Mom, Estelle (Jean Smart) and her moronic truck driver boyfriend Jerry (Zack Galifinakis), and perhaps connect with his unemployed father, George (Steve Buscemi). When Jerry cheats three sailors on a car deal, Nick, his Mom, and Jerry hide out at a Ukiah, CA trailer park, where Nick meets precocious Francophile Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), the daughter of a pair of religious fundamentalists (Mary Kay Place and M. Emmett Walsh), with whom he instantly falls in love. Though he is soon forced to return with Jerry and his Mom, Nick decides to do everything in his power to get thrown out of his home, get his father a job near Ukiah, and move there to be near his new love. This plan brings about the development of his alter-ego (an embodiment of what he believes Sheeni wants), and sets in motion a series of outrageous developments that will eventually land Nick in all kinds of hot water. The film is often funny, and though consciously “quirky,” it is still a cut above most youth comedies. Nothing ground-breaking or overly innovative here, and there is a feeling we have seen much of this before, but Cera and a stellar cast help turn this otherwise well-written diversion into a satisfying watch nonetheless.