Review: Youth in Revolt

Teen sex romps, the genre is as old as comedy itself. From Helena’s desperate attempts to “get some,” (that’s an actual Shakespeare quote) from the drugged Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Jim screwing a pie, this is the genre that has taught many generations of young, horny adolescents what their parents are too busy to say.

Over recent years Michael Cera has become the darling of the teen sex romp genre. Studios seem to be knocking each other over in order to cast him in any awkward adolescent virgin role they can find. After all, between Super Bad and Nick and Nora’s success, why wouldn’t they? Well, I’ll tell you why they shouldn’t, because as Youth in Revolt proves, the gimmick has gotten old.

The adaptation of C.D. Payne’s novel tells the story of Nick Twisp (Cera), a high school loser who meets and falls in love with Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), his dream girl. However, unable to be with Sheeni, Nick is forced to create a bad boy alter ego, Francois Dillinger, in order to create the circumstances in which they can finally be together.

This film has all the right ingredients for greatness. An amazing supporting cast, two strong leads, and a fresh take on the virgin trying to get laid story. Unfortunately it does not live up to the potential in the least.

The out of this world supporting cast which includes Ray Liotta, Fred Willard, Steve Buscemi, Jean Smart, Justin Long, and Zach Galifianakis, goes completely unused. Director Miguel Arteta had so many great actors at his disposal, and each one’s character has the perfect components for hilarity. Unfortunately, this A-list cast goes entirely undeveloped as the characters are not treated as characters but simply as plot devices. They are not developed as characters in and of themselves but are simply tools to be used when convenient for Twisp’s quest for Sheeni. As a result of the lack of a developed and well used supporting cast, Cera shares the screen for most of the movie with Doubleday and himself in his Francois’ persona.

Of course this could be overlooked with strong leads to carry the film. Unfortunately, this film does not have that. While Doubleday proves herself to be a talented young actress, both Twisp and Sheeni come off as pretentious and unlikable. 90 % of their dialogue consists of complaining about their situation and the characters surrounding them. Combine that with the narration from Twisp which even seems to condescend even the audience and you have for two very unlikable leads. Not even Cera’s natural charm or talent can bail him out. I feel a reason for this is the fact that he has played the same character so many times that it is starting to wear thin. I’d love to see him try to expand on his horizons a little bit and try something different.

The plot, as mentioned earlier, was a unique take on the genre. However like the other aspects, it doesn’t quite deliver on its potential. I found the pace to be a particularly odd problem. It seems to go back and forth between dragging and moving far too fast for its own good and never quite finds the right pace for the film.

 Also, while there are funny scenes and jokes (a lot of which come from Fred Willard who is fantastic in the little bit that he’s given) the movie ties its own hands. Because the film spends so much time trying to establish how “intelligent,” it is, it never really delivers the cheap laugh. Unfortunately, this is a teen sex comedy. It needs the cheap laugh by the very nature of its genre. Sometimes a dick or fart joke can be a good thing but this movie is so caught up in itself that it misses that. While I applaud it for trying to be an intelligent comedy, in doing so it missed the comedy part of that.

All in all this movie is the teen sex romp for the emo-variety. If you like to write poetry about how crappy your life is and how no one gets you, it may be for you. Not being that type, all I can see is a pile of wasted potential. On the bright side, Cera does manage to prove one thing; he can in fact make a movie that is more pretentious than Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist.

** out of *****