Michael Cera is one of those actors who in every film, no matter how different, always seems to play himself. His socially awkward hipster indie-kid schtick was getting tiresome by the time of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and he instantly became one of my least favourite actors. With Youth in Revolt my opinion has changed slightly, now he appears to be aware of his tired persona and even seems to parody himself in this enjoyable new teen comedy.

Cera plays intellectual 16 year-old Nick Twisp who lives with his divorced mother and her slovenly boyfriend Jerry (Zack Galifikianis). He is a sensitive kid with a passion for the music of Frank Sinatra and the films of Federico Fellini. One thing is bothering him though...he is still a virgin! When Jerry needs to escape the wrath of three angry sailors he decides that a trip to a trailer park for a few days is in order. Once there Nick bumps into a similarly smart and sensitive teenage girl named Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) and instantly she becomes the love of his life.

When it is thought the coast is clear of angry sailors Nick must leave Sheeni behind with her religious fanatic parents and stoner brother (Justin Long) and return home to Oakland; not for long though as he hatches a plan in which he finds work for his unemployed father (Steve Buscemi) near Sheeni's home and he plans to stay with him and his live-in younger lover in order to be with Sheeni.

Sheeni isn't won over so easily and in order to sort out his virginal issues he must create a devilish, cocky and powerfully moustached alter ego known as Francois Dillinger. This new persona helps the normally shy and reticent Nick to overcome his awkward personality in order to become a desirable and dangerous lover boy which will make Sheeni help with his lustful issues.

Director Miguel Arteta's film is a wonderfully off-key and at times surreal comedy which makes perfect use of Cera's normally grating mannerisms, using his awkwardness as a the perfect foil for the alter ego of Francois, which turns Cera into an unlikely suave sophisticate who reminds one of a younger version of Jack Nicholson's Daryl Van Horne from The Witches of Eastwick.

Ray Liotta and Fred Willard turn in brilliantly funny supporting roles but Steve Buscemi seems a little under-used as Nick's stern father. Buscemi is a master of understated comedy and his performance in the film is the one which is the least humorous and affecting. He appears in a role suited to lesser comic talents and feels somewhat wasted here.

The soundtrack is surprisingly indie-free for a Michael Cera film, instead we get some French punk rock and a welcome dose of Bananarama & Fun Boy Three. A lot of studio-funded indie movies (isn't that in itself an oxymoron?) tend to be primarily concerned with their hipster factor but thankfully here the film nails it with a witty script, likeable characters and a wealth of subversive humour. There are scenes in which I thought the film was drifting off into American Pie territory but thankfully it never does go for the cheap gross-out gags, relying instead on some nicely observed teenage awkwardness to make you alternately blush and laugh with recognition.

VERDICT:

With a stellar supporting cast and its effortless charm this film is well worth investigating. Michael Cera fans will be pleased that he is still shy, awkward and nerdish but thankfully he plays up to it and pokes fun at his own image; here he shows us he has range and a charm that rarely came out in his overly mannered previous performances. If this is the Michael Cera of the future then I look forward to seeing more of him. A funny and touching black comedy.

Movie Trivia:

Justin Long plays Portia Doubleday's (Sheeni) older brother in this film. In real life he dated her older sister Kaitlin Doubleday.

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