By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Miguel Arteta
Starring: Erik Knudsen | Jean Smart | Michael Cera | Portia Doubleday | Steve Buscemi | Zach Galifanakis
Country: united_states
Year: 2009
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403702/
Jason says: “The night I saw this, I tweeted that I wasn’t sure whether Youth in Revolt was more amusingly or annoyingly mannered, and I still haven’t decided. It is, frequently, very funny, with great combinations of slapstick, wordplay, situations spiraling out of control, and quirky characters. The latter is where things start to get out of hand, because while quirky is one thing, there comes a point where it’s tough not to think that, no matter how unusual they may be, no sixteen-year-old has ever spoken like Michael Cera’s Nicholas Twisp or Portia Doubleday’s Sheeni Saunders. Not even me, and I was a weird kid.
“This is actually a chance for Michael Cera to show a little range, and he does.. show a little range. Nick Twisp isn’t that far from George Michael Bluth, but Twisp’s alter ego Francois Dillinger is an amusing (if one-note) creation. Part of the reason why Michael Cera’s been able to get away with playing the same basic character for so long, aside from having it licked, is that he manages to do it as part of excellent ensembles, and that’s the case here, as he gets to play against Fred Willard, Jean Smart, Ray Liotta, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Justin Long, M. Emmet Walsh, Mary Kay Place, and a whole bunch of talented, if less well-known, people. You get that many good, potentially funny actors in the same picture, and comedy is going to happen, if only by accident.
“Not as much as it could, but enough to get a couple of big laughs and a fair number of smaller ones from an hour and a half.
3 1/2 cats
“Seen 15 January 2010 at Regal Fenway #5 (first-run) “