Sex obsession and a pencil-thin mustache

If there is one thing that Michael Cera is good at, it’s playing Michael Cera. He has that adorably awkward thing about him that makes him undeniably lovable and it seems that filmmakers have taken notice. Ever since his portrayal of George Michael Bluth in Arrested Development, Cera has been awkwardly attempting to woo and bed hot, quirky women on screen.

Cera’s version of Nick Twisp in Youth in Revolt does little to deviate from this trend. Nick is the incredibly intelligent teenage son of Estelle (Jean Smart) and George (Steve Buscemi). Divorced and seeing other people, Nick’s parents have less-than-desirable personalities. Estelle, who can’t stand being single for long (in fact, after an officer stops by to inform her of her scam-artist boyfriend’s—played by Zach Galifianakis—heart attack, she begins sleeping with him), uses her son’s child support to support herself. George, on the other hand, is dating a woman at least 10 years his junior, and would rather not pay child support in the first place.

Without the support of his parents, Nick is often left to his own devices. A self-proclaimed “voracious reader of classic prose,” he has a better vocabulary than most adults. Determined to lose his virginity soon, he seems to have an unhealthy obsession with sex (the first scene opens with Nick pleasuring himself). But, because of his awkward dorkiness, it seems pretty clear that Nick isn’t going to lose his virginity anytime soon.

Enter Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), quirky, hot girl and daughter of crazy, religious parents. On a vacation of sorts (Estelle’s slobby squeeze scams some sailors, so they have to leave town for awhile) to the Restless Axles trailer park in Ukiah, Calif., Nick is taken with the naughty and cool air about Sheeni.

Nick is actually able to win her affection, but he must soon go back to Oakland, Calif. He and Sheeni devise a plan to bring him back to Restless Axles: Sheeni will find a job for George in Ukiah and Nick will have to get himself kicked out of his mother’s house. The first part of the plan proves to be easy, but even after Sheeni secures George a job, Nick has still yet to do something bad enough for Estelle to kick him out.

Knowing what he must do, Nick invents his alter ego: Francois Dillinger. Francois is Nick, but with a twisted moral compass, silly-looking mustache and a nicotine addiction. It’s almost as if Francois is a completely different person. The audience gets to watch as Nick and Francois argue back-and-forth. It’s reminiscent of the classic “angel and devil on the shoulder” quip, but in this case, the devil always wins, because Francois is Nick. Though he often gets in way over his head, Nick trusts this side of himself, because he earnestly believes it will get him into Sheeni’s pants.

Ultimately, this is another one of those indie-flick, coming-of-age films (you know the type: doodled font for the title, lots of indie music by bands you’ve never heard of, etc.). Though we may’ve seen it before, strong acting and a rollercoaster of a plot make Youth in Revolt an original.
 

Youth in Revolt
Directed by Miguel Arteta
Now Playing
4 out of 5 stars