Youth In Revolt
Certain comedies are the in your face style. Others use the sight gag method. Some use fantastic dialogue. And there are those which are off the beaten path. They have a certain quality to them that makes you feel connected to them, in a strange way. One of the most recent flicks I saw falls in the latter category. Youth In Revolt had a great trailer which made you hope for great cinema, it is does not disappoint.
Michael Cera gives a fantastic performance as Nick Twisp, the quiet snarky virgin who falls for another inhabitant of his “vacation cabin resort” which is a nice way of saying trailer park. His tone and idiosyncrasies only aid in his perfect portrayal of this teenager. I would have loved this movie just on the French School scene alone! And I have yet to mention the unreal thin mustache that Cera grows for his alter bad boy ego. Now, Francois Dillinger is no Tyler Durden, but it definitely fit the role.
While being the de facto ring master of this genius work, Cera is surrounded by an all star cast of actors who blend in seamlessly with the director’s vision. Overall, the casting was brilliant mostly due to their outstanding play off Cera’s character. Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Steve Buscemi, Justin Long, and Zach Galifianakis round out the who’s who of talent. Each of them leave lasting impressions with their humor. Lest we forget the hidden gem who is found in this cornucopia of greatness - Portia Doubleday. Her first starring role and she absolutely killed it!
The tone is set from the get go. Dry and subtle humor. Sarcasm’s haven. And to its credit, the movie never falters from this line of thinking. Nor should it. It may be the biggest reason I can give for recommending this film to others. Usually, when this method is implored, the creator doesn’t have the wherewithal to keep a steady diet of it throughout the entirety of the film. But in this case, it is because the tone was maintained that it seemed to pay off so well. As I was viewing the scenes on the screen, I couldn’t help but think of Family Guy, only with real people.
Director Miguel Arteta, whose previous work had been in comedy TV, earned his worth with this rookie attempt at feature films. He kept the story concise and packaged it neatly in a tidy 90 minutes. (Avoiding a common mistake in today’s movies!) The addition of the narration was also a welcomed aspect. It garnered thoughts of HBO’s Bored To Death. The main players are somewhat similar as well, in their habits and thoughts. And both have quite humorous goings on with Alan Garner. So I ask to you let yourself loose and watch this awesome piece of work.
