“When you’re on set it’s not awkward,” Michael Cera said at Monday night’s advance screening of his new film Youth in Revolt at the AMC Loews Boston Common theater, in response to a question about whether he feels as awkward acting as his characters come off onscreen. “It just feels like work. It’s kind of–” His foot accidentally bumped into that of co-star Portia Doubleday, who was sitting next to him. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.
Whether Cera intends it or not, adolescent awkwardness is ingrained pretty deeply into his public persona. He’s not the only actor who can pull it off (witness Zombieland‘s Jesse Eisenberg), but it’s so closely associated with him in the pop culture consciousness that it’s hard to imagine this movie getting made without his involvement.
Cera plays Nick Twisp, a timid high schooler living with his inattentive mother (Jean Smart) and whatever sleazy boyfriend she’s currently dating. During a brief trip Nick meets and falls in love with Sheeni Saunders (Doubleday), a beautiful and smart teenager who unfortunately already has a boyfriend, a (mostly unseen) avant-garde poet named Trent. Nick decides that the only way to win Sheeni’s affection is by becoming rebellious and “bad.” Towards this end he creates a suave, imaginary alter ego named Francois (also played by Cera). Hijinks ensue.
First of all, those who enjoyed Cera’s performances in Arrested Development and Superbad won’t be disappointed here. His uncomfortable line delivery and keen comic timing are on full display, providing laughs and probably a few viral quotes. However, the character of Francois is a bit of a letdown. After years of Cera playing exaggeratedly insecure nerds, the idea of him playing an equally exaggerated ladies’ man (à la Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor, or, say, Jaleel White on Family Matters) is intriguing. Unfortunately, the mustachioed, humorless Francois seems more like a brooding pedophile than a smooth heartbreaker. Let me know if I’m off base on this one, ladies.
Putting Cera’s performance aside, Youth in Revolt doesn’t work as well as it should. This is mainly due to the limitations of Gustin Nash’s script, which was adapted from a series of young adult novels by C. D. Payne. Put simply, the characters are all nasty and hard to sympathize with. The adults are generally stupid and abusive, while the kids are manipulative and obsessed with sex. Nick’s devotion to Sheeni, which is the driving force of the plot, might come off as sweet if she wasn’t established early in the film as kind of an exploitative tease. The movie also suffers from the problems that plague most book-to-film adaptations: It tries to cram in too much story, relying heavily on voiceover narration and preserving some unnecessary characters and subplots, and tends toward stilted, overwritten dialogue. At one point Sheeni forgives Nick for a badly-timed erection by saying, “For all you know, my vagina could be moist with desire as we speak.” Come on now.
However, these issues become less prominent in the film’s second half, and even before then there are a lot of notable saving graces. Director Miguel Arteta gets good performances from the entire cast, which includes Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, Justin Long and the unknown but enjoyable Adhir Kalyan. There are also a few amusing animation sequences interspersed evenly throughout the running time.
Still, if you’re looking for a satirical comedy based in teen angst, I’d recommend saving money and renting the obscure Australian film The Rage in Placid Lake. Don’t all Netflix it at once.
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