Youth in Revolt ★★★½

Michael Cera was in a rut. In order to get what he really wanted, he'd have to create a new, unfamiliar persona that pushed him to new lengths. Er…wait. That wasn't Cera, at least, not exactly, It was his nerdy-yet-plainjane, deadpan character in Youth in Revolt, Nick Twisp. The role of Nick is not exactly a stretch for Cera (examples), but both Cera and his fictional counterpart shake things up a little by creating an alter-ego, François.

Think of François as the blue-eyed, mustachioed devil on Nick's shoulder...and there's no angel to counter his influence. Rather than sitting on his shoulder, though, François (also played by Cera) walks along side Nick, invisible to the world and always encouraging him to make the baddest possible choice. He is nothing like Nick's normal persona. I can't help but think of this as a small victory for Cera, who's so often accused of being a kind of one-note actor (by haters; Cera lovers can't get enough of his deadpan).

At it's heart, Youth in Revolt is a love story; on the surface, it's a kitschy, fantastical farce. These two sides combine for some serious laughs as Nick (accompanied by his evil twin, françois) do some sweet, crazy, and (in some cases) downright disturbing things to keep his/their first and only love, the wise, beautiful Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) close at hand. It combines periodic animation, science fiction, and hyper-reality with gusto.

The zany, fast-paced nature of the film, alas, causes some structural issues. Characters are trotted out for major scenes and then never heard from again. Sheeni's brother (an open-minded drug enthusiast played by Justin Long) appears out of nowhere in Act 3 and then becomes a major catalyst for the rest of the film. Her too-good-to-be true ex-boyfriend, Trent Preston, is only the stuff of legend until the movie's final scenes. He'd have been more ominous and impressive if he'd never been revealed to us. Then there's Nick's friends, Lefty and Vijay. One could argue that they represent the differences between Nick's pre- and post-Sheeni existence, but that doesn't excuse the film's reckless practice of presenting them for a few scenes and then totally forgetting about them.

Sloppiness aside, Youth in Revolt is a funny, joyfully off-kilter comedy that really does capture the skewed priorities of the teenage male, if in an extremely extreme way. It's not the first film to do so, nor will it be the last, but damned if it doesn't help to keep the proud tradition alive.