Search - Youth in Revolt on DVD

Sandy M. (BritFlickFan)
Reviewed on 6/18/2024...

Sixteen-year-old Nick Twisp's (Michael Cera) life is a mess. His mother (Jean Smart) is a serial loser magnet, his father (Steve Buscemi) is absent, and his prospects for romance are nil. But things take a turn when mom and boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis) pack up and head to a caravan park in Florida to escape three angry sailors with a grudge. Nick soon meets and falls hard for free-spirited Sheeny (Portia Doubleday) only to find out she has boyfriend. Determined to win her, he develops a bad-boy alter ego (after coming to the conclusion that nice guys finish last) who leads the desperate teenager on a downward spiral of absurdity in a madcap quest to get the girl of his dreams.

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/18/2022...

What a crazy plotline with all sorts of fun!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Neil O. (ntrdinc) from CLOVIS, CA
Reviewed on 3/24/2015...

This is by far, among my top ten favorite comedy movies of all time.
Clever script writing... I highly recommend this movie.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Lewis P. (Turfseer) from NEW YORK, NY
Reviewed on 12/2/2010...

Unlikeable, immoral alter-ego character nudges potential comedy in the wrong direction

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I really wanted to like 'Youth in Revolt' since it began with a likable protagonist, Nick Twisp (in another typical Michael Cera 'insecure with woman' role) and his love interest, Sheeni Saunders (played by attractive newcomer, Portia Doubleday). Also in the mix is a quirky supporting cast including such luminaries as Steve Buscemi, Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta and Justin Long.

One is immediately drawn to Nick and Sheeni with their intellectual discussions focusing particularly on film (Nick loves art house Japanese director Ozu and Sheeni is a committed Francophile, with a particular infatuation for the famed French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo). You would never guess that Nick and Sheeni are so cerebral and liberal minded, considering the background of their parents. Nick's mother Estelle has taken up with a low-life boyfriend, Jerry (Galifianakis) who has just sold a lemon of a car to three sailors who want their money back. Jerry and Estelle with Nick in tow, take off for Clearlake (California) where they spend the week in a beat up trailer. Later Jerry has a heart attack and dies and Estelle takes up with an obnoxious Oakland police officer. Meanwhile, Sheeni's parents, who are more middle class, also happen to be fanatical fundamentalist Christians and won't let Sheeni keep 'Albert', a mangy mutt that Nick has purchased for Sheeni.

All of the offbeat banter and characters proves pretty engaging for the first thirty minutes of the film until Nick invents an alter-ego character, Francois Dillinger to help him win Sheeni's heart (he also must contend with Sheeni's preppie boyfriend, Trent Preston, who seeks to undermine Nick at every turn). The alter-ego assisting an insecure male in an attempt to woo a seemingly unobtainable love interest calls to mind the Woody Allen classic,"Play It Again Sam". You'll recall that the 70s comedy also features a lovable loser who must call upon an iconic film figure to help transform himself into a character who is decidedly confident with women. Play It Again Sam works because the alter-ego is Humphrey Bogart, who not only represents the apotheosis of male confidence with women but also the 'bad boy' who refuses to dispense with his ethical principles despite all the temptations (in Play It Again Sam, Bogart plays Rick, the good guy cafe owner from Casablanca, who saves the girl and defeats the Nazis).

Youth in Revolt, on the other hand, unfortunately gets it all wrong. Dillinger, with his pencil thin moustache, is also supposed to be a 'bad boy', attractive to women. But unlike Bogie, he's ethically challenged. He ends up advising Nick to "blow up half of Berkeley". Nick listens to his wilder, demented half and ends up crashing Jerry's Lincoln into a restaurant, causing a fire. Nick's now a wanted man (or rather a juvenile delinquent wanted by the police). Nick does more sorry things.

After going to the exclusive French private girl's boarding school where Sheeni has been exiled by her parents, Nick meets Bernice Lynch, Sheeni's next door neighbor at school, and tells her that Trent has been badmouthing her. In order to get back at Trent, he convinces Lynch to place sedatives in Sheeni's drinks. Sheeni ends up getting expelled after constantly falling asleep in class.

Since Dillinger is so unlikeable and Nick constantly takes his advice, we lose complete respect for the protagonist. Unlike Woody Allen, who through Bogart's advice becomes self-actualized, Nick becomes completely unhinged. At the end of the film, Nick attempts to stage his own death by pretending to be in a car that falls off a cliff. The bungled stunt is seen for what it is in front of a few local police officers who observe Nick fleeing in his underpants. What kind of moral are we supposed to take away from this film? That committing crimes are advisable, leading to success with women? In the end, even Sheeni has lost her sheen. She falls for the pathetic Nick and appears to acquiesce in his misbehavior. It's Sheeni who reassures him that he'll only do three months in the slammer.

Nick has more than one sidekick in 'Youth in Revolt' and they're all underdeveloped. His best friend Lefty has little screen time and by watching the DVD extras you can see that the rest of his scenes were left on the cutting room floor. Better is the second sidekick, Vijay, an Indian from South Africa played by the talented Adhir Kalyan who I predict we will see more of in the years to come. Vijay has a few amusing bits when he accompanies Nick in his foray to Sheeni's boarding school. He's also seen in an animated sequence while he drives with Nick in his grandmother's car. Finally there's Paul, Sheeni's brother, who Nick bonds with for a short time over a bunch of psychedelic mushrooms.

While the quirky characters which I alluded to before are initially engaging, they are all so underdeveloped that by the time the film concludes, we care little about them. Buscemi is particularly left high and dry in his one-note depiction of a constantly angry parent who finds himself unable to connect and bond with his alienated son.- Youth in Revolt does have some rather neat 'claymation' animated sequences, highlighted during the opening and closing credits. Coupled with an effective 'folky' soundtrack as well as clever editing, 'Youth' comes across better for its look rather than its content.

I don't know how the films' backers could have allowed the scenarists here to so easily undermine the solid character of the films' protagonists. This could have been a simple story about an insecure, geeky kid who gains confidence with women by inventing and then following the lead of his own 'bad boy' creation—a bad boy however, that still has some heart and soul. Unfortunately, the alter ego has no class and it makes little sense that the 'good kid' would choose to go down such a dark path.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Loved It!

Robert Tilton | New Jersey, USA | 01/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, it's been a long wait, but Youth in Revolt is finally hitting the big screen in a wide release. And it's worth the wait. I laughed through just about the whole movie. And before I get deep into the review, I have read the book. So let's get into it.



BAD:

1. Quite short. A 90 minute romp through a 500-page novel. What?

2. CUTS! Many characters from the novel such as Apurva and Fuzzy hve been severed from the movie. Maybe Apurva was cut from them film to emphasize Nick's love for Sheeni. But Fuzzy's cut? He's the whole reason they can go to the French boarding school in Act II. What?

3. No Carlotta, really! If you have read the book you know what I mean with this.

That's it for the bad.

GOOD:

1. Hysterical! Does this really need an explanation? It's funny!

2. Animation sequences. These occur at certain points in the film to facilitate scenes. Very creative!

3. Good Acting/Cameos. The film has very good acting. Michael Cera and Portia Doubleday really steal the show. Also, they have an ensemble cast of cameos, such as Fred Willard and Steve Buscemi. Very well acted.

4. Quite faithful to the novel. Miguel Arteta did good with the novel. No new characters were introduced, only cuts.



Overall Score: 9.0 out of 10

A ten, but not really any Carlotta and no Apurva or Fuzzy. And, way too short.

"

A great cult film

C. E. Prendiville | Seattle, WA | 05/07/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Youth in Revolt is the adaptation of C.D. Paynes cult book by the same title. It follows the storyline of his first three novellas (later combined into a single book) that follow a young man by the name of Nick Twisp, who after discovering the love of his life does whatever he must to stay with her.



The film itself is a far cry from the hilarious prose of the witty novel that inspired it. However by itself, Youth in Revolt is surely a great romantic comedy, and Michael Cera's best performance to date. If you are looking for a short, well-directed, well-acted and hilarious romp then look no further. This is a movie I think all movie buffs should add to their collection and one that sadly went unnoticed in theaters.



After you watch the movie, if you find the characters entertaining I highly suggest picking up the books. They are a light read, very entertaining and even more well-crafted than this short feature film.



Two Thumbs Up!"

When the audience applaud every act in the movie, it must be

Mohamed F. El-Hewie | Hackensack, NJ USA | 01/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Youth in revolt" might be improper title for this movie. "Irresistible" would be a more appropriate title. The two adolescents in the center of the story are common youth struggling with common family issues. On one side, the boy faces the consequences of divorced parents and has to endure hectic and insecure family settings. On the girl's side, her religious family led too simple of a life out of touch of the needs of their growing daughter. The boy's search for his rule to fit into society was the crux of the drama that made the audience applaud and indulge in the scenario. The boy acted wonderfully and succeeded in winning the sympathy of the viewers with his serious and desperate outlook.



You could easily indulge into the rule of each character as they fitted precisely in the story. The boy's mom has no choice but to lean on each man who could shelter her while her boy was growing older and more conscious of his mom's desperation. The boy was fortunate to run across his sweet heart in unexpected coincidences. His constantly unsettling family situation made him appreciate his newly found love as his only way for self-worthiness.



May be the only revolt in the story was the free spirit of the girl that led the boy to take her literally and turn bad. As the boy portrays a sense of innocence and desperation, his runaway with law appeared unintended act for the sake of breaking away from the boredom and hopelessness of his family situation.



The beauty of the movie lies in its great ability to invoke laughter in very real and reasonable scenario. Confronting the financial desperation of his single mom, the provocative nonsense of his step father and step mother, the detachment of his girl's parents, and the pain of sexually maturity, all made the movie touches the hearts of the diverse audience. Each one could easily reflect on the struggles that each character in the movie were facing.



"