Youth In Revolt (Miguel Arteta, 2009): USA

Reviewed by Mishone Feigin. Viewed at the AFI Film Festival in Hollywood.

Miguel Arteta’s cinematic representation of the famous book by the same title is hilarious and somewhat original.  Arteta, an atypical artist, does a wonderful job of keeping the energy high and emotionally charged.

The film follows Nick Twisp (Michael Cera).  On an impromptu move to a lakeside home, he meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) and falls deeply into love with her, and her with him.  However, Twisp and Saunders are soon separated, and it is up to Nick to become mischievous enough so that he will be sent back to life lakeside and be reunited with Sheeni.  He invents a personality named Francois Dillinger to aid him in his wrongdoings, and begins to act in the most irrationally dangerous and rebellious ways one could think to act.  Eventually, he is caught up to and arrested, but not before he has cause Sheeni to be expelled from a private French prep school, caused a five million-dollar vehicular explosion, and driven a BMW off of a cliff into a shallow lakebed.  Twisp eventually justifies his actions, and is forgiven.

The film is very funny and takes a surprisingly original stab at youthful love and lust, and appreciates the blinding nature of young attraction.  Cera gives one of his funniest performances ever.  But is it really any different than all of his other performances? I don’t think so.  Doubleday, however, drives the film with her sexuality that is far beyond her years, and a rapist wit.  She is new on the scene and will surely be back on the screen soon.

The film is flawed in one major way: it endorses some completely unrealistic plot lines and character attitudes, but as an audience member, I was able to forget about this.  The film kept me laughing throughout its entirety.  I was impressed with the chemistry that many of the actors had on screen, and would recommend this film to anyone looking for a hard laugh and an odd sense of rebelliousness.