PDF
Written by: Kimera Rosen
Youth in Revolt, featuring Michael Cera and newcomer Portia Doubleday, opened on January eighth in theaters nationwide. Featuring a talented cast which also includes Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ray Liotta, and Justin Long, the film was directed by Miguel Arteta and is based on C.D. Payne’s book series of the same name. This series is about an intelligent and sarcastic teen named Nick Twisp who revels in the classics of Sinatra and Fellini.
Youth in Revolt is a movie about adolescence and the obsessions, sexual desires, and rebellions that it entails. Nick, played by Cera, is trying to escape his mundane lifestyle with his divorcee mother and her constantly changing boyfriends.
One particular boyfriend, Jerry, played by The Hangover’s Zach Galifianakis, takes Nick and his mother on a last-minute “vacation” to Restless Axles, a Christian trailer park. There he meets Sheeni Saunders, played by Portia Doubleday, a free spirited flirtatious girl who becomes Nick’s new obsession.
When he is forced to return home and leave the trailer park and the girl of his dreams, Nick swears that he will do anything to be with her again.
Sadly, it is not only distance that stands in the way of them being reunited. Sheeni already has a boyfriend and shows a blatant lack of interest in Nick, despite his many advances and charms.
With Sheeni’s rebellious nature as encouragement, Nick develops an alter-ego named Francois who is also rebellious, suave, and knows how to win Sheeni back. Nick and Francois embark on all kinds of mischievous behavior and adventures that lead to Nick running from the law on his mission back to Sheeni.
I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to meet both Michael Cera and Portia Doubleday. The down-to-earth actors were being shuttled from place to place in order to promote their movie, but were generous enough to devote a large portion of time to myself and other college reporters who were eager not only to meet them, but also to dig deeper into the movie.
Cera , who had previously read the C.D. Payne book, was one of the forces behind the production of the movie. He related to the character of Nick and wanted to bring him to life on screen.
Cera also wanted viewers to experience the movie as if they were flipping through the pages of a book. Though the cast and crew were not bound by the books, they did try to make the characters and story as close to them as possible.
This film was Doubleday’s debut. Though she hadn’t read the books, she was intrigued by the script and the character of Sheeni Saunders.
She admits to being nothing like the character she plays, but states that she had an amazing time being able to play the outspoken, demure Sheeni. When asked about working with all of her co-stars, she mentioned how surreal the experience was and how helpful everyone was to her.
The one topic that everyone knew would come up was how this character seemed so similar to all the other ones Cera has played in the past. Cera, who in reality is very similar to the roles he plays, responded simply that he takes roles that interest him and which he can relate to.
What was nice about this movie was that viewers got to see the other side of not only the character Nick, but of Cera as well. Though he didn’t relate to the character of Francois as much, Cera admitted to having a lot of fun playing the bad boy.
I personally enjoyed the movie. I was pleasantly surprised with Doubleday’s performance and was, as always, enamored by Cera’s. Cera has a way of making the most insignificant actions or comments quirky and funny. This movie broke the mold for his typical role and at the same time provided us with a fun and entertaining movie about youth. It is definitely a movie everyone can relate to in some way.
It must also be said that there were some slow and very campy moments, but all in all the movie was a good laugh and definitely worth the $10 movie ticket. It even offered some different film and special effect aspects with animation, claymation and other new techniques used as transitions within the film.
Though I am extremely biased due to my love for Cera, overall the movie deserves a good rating mainly because it brought the book to life.
Rating: 3.5/5 Falcons
Comments on this entry are closed.