For the new teen-based comedy "Youth in Revolt," director Miguel Arteta needed to cast a youngster who was intellectual but funny, and socially awkward yet inexplicably appealing to the opposite sex.
This character must also possess the body frame and limb movements of a well-groomed bonsai tree. Enter one Michael Austin Cera of Brampton, Ontario, Awkward Extraordinaire, whose baby face still allows him to play the role of 16-year-olds at age 21.
Cera, whose previous noteworthy roles include that of Awkward Teenager George Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, Awkward Teenager Evan in Superbad and Juvenile Father-To-Be Yet Still Awkward Teenager Paulie Bleeker in Juno, will likely graduate to more mature roles of at least college-age status eventually.
For now, however, Cera has at least one more pair of Vans sneakers to fill. In "Youth in Revolt" -- based on the book series by writer C.D. Payne -- Cera plays the role of main character Nick Twisp, a teenager whose nerdiness could be categorized as "classical" due to his interest in the cinematic stylings of Fellini and jazz music.
On a brief vacation to the trailer park with his mother (Jean Smart) and her boyfriend, Jerry (Zach Galiflanakis), Nick meets a pretty, bath-robed blond girl named Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) outside of the park's designated shower area.
Sheeni lives in a two-story trailer with her Bible-obsessed mother and equally religious father, whose occupation as a lawyer begs the question of why the family resides in a trailer park.
While returning from an all-day hang out session at the beach, Nick's attempted hand-hold is refused by Sheeni (Apparently erotic sunscreen rubbing at the beach is acceptable, but hand-interlocking is just out of the question.), who informs Nick she is dating the French-speaking, stereotypical aristocratic jerk Trent.
Before Nick departs the trailer park for his home, he and Sheeni form a minor relationship that consists of brief makeout sessions, a discussion of the future and the adoption of a mutt named Albert (after the writer Camus).
On the day Nick leaves -- Albert cradled in his arms -- he promises Sheeni he will soon return for her. The two teenagers concoct a plan that involves turning Nick into a juvenile delinquent so that he will be banned from his mother's house and may live in a house with his father near Sheeni's trailer park.
Nick manages to successfully commit arson and polarize his mother with the help of his newfound alter-ego, Francois -- a bad-boy type who chain-smokes, sports a pencil-thin mustache and wears cloth chinos and loafers while somehow still managing to look cool.
Francois is far more interesting than classic nice guy Nick, and his careless attitude provides for many of the film's laughs.
When Nick is finally banished from the household by his mother due to Francois' antics, he returns to the trailer park just in time to watch Sheeny leave for French boarding school.
Nick spends the remainder of the movie trying to win Sheeni's affection, feeling that he is in love with a girl whom he only met during vacation.
"Youth in Revolt" differs from other teenage angst comedies in its use of smart pop culture references and an absurd, mostly unconventional plot. However, while the movie is funny, it doesn't induce constant abdominal pain like "Superbad."
"Revolt's" jokes are well-calculated, and its quirky characters and occasional use of animation make the movie strange and worthwhile.
When I left the theater I felt satisfied, yet unsure why. For that reason, I give "Youth in Revolt" a shoulder-shrug and an accompanying thumbs-up.
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