It's hard to imagine Michael Cera abandoning his classic nice- guy persona to cross-dress and portray a scheming, sleazy-looking, mustachioed Frenchman.
That's what viewers can expect in the new film "Youth in Revolt," based on the popular novel by C.D. Payne. The film is a hilariously original coming-of-age story full of outrageous situations and with an incredible cast.
"Youth in Revolt" follows Nick Twisp (Cera), a geeky, virgin adolescent who realizes that everyone in his life is getting some except for him. When his mother's loser boyfriend (Zach Galifianakis) is caught ripping off a group of angry sailors, the oddball family escapes to a trailer park in Ukiah, Calif.
Nick meets Sheeni Saunders (newcomer Portia Doubleday), the beautifully quirky, self-assured girl of his dreams. While Nick is falling head over heels, Sheeni is counting the days until she can jet off to Paris and meet her ideal man, "François." Hoping to win her over, Nick creates his own version of François as a rebellious alter ego. When the lines between Nick and François begin to blur, Nick's life starts to get out of hand. François convinces Nick to do crazy and comical things — stealing, talking dirty, arson and cross-dressing — all in the name of love.
Doubleday, in her first major film role, does a respectable job as the irresistibly aloof Sheeni. While most movie teens are played by actors in their mid- to late-twenties, Doubleday, a California State University Northridge student, actually looks the part. Doubleday's newcomer status also makes her character more credible; unlike Cera, she's a fresh face.
The lanky, socially awkward romantic is essentially the same character Cera has played for most of his career in films like "Juno" (2007) and "Superbad" (2007). Cera delivers as expected as Nick, with his nervous smile and dry, deadpan humor. While jocks used to be the kings of teen comedy flicks in the '90s, the 2000s have been all about actors with boyish looks and nice-guy charm, like Cera, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd.
Refreshingly, "Youth in Revolt" gives Cera the chance to play both the likeable boy-next-door and the reckless French bad boy. At first, though, it's hard to take François seriously. With his tightly fitted white pants, crisp blue Oxford shirt, sunglasses and cigarette, François is a caricature of European cool. Though Cera isn't in his comfort zone, he proves he can play something new. As the film progresses, Cera does an impressive job of bringing François to life.
Although at times François' eccentricity borders on absurdity, director Miguel Arteta brings the Frenchman into the film just enough for him to be believable. Some of the best scenes in "Youth in Revolt" are when Nick and François are left to their own devices, wreaking havoc everywhere and bantering back and forth. When the two characters are together, it's François who really steals the film with his arrogant, bad boy attitude. But Arteta succeeds in making both the goody-two-shoes protagonist and the reckless antagonist charactors who are just plain fun to watch.
"Youth in Revolt" boasts an all-star supporting cast of veteran comedians like Ray Liotta, Fred Willard and up-and-coming star Galifianakis, all of whom serve the strong comedic plot. Due to the overall talent of the cast, every character in the film is hilarious.
Nick Twisp puts a twist (no pun intended) on this classic coming-of-age story with its original plot and fun cast of characters. This is a must-see comedy for Michael Cera fans and critics alike, as Cera finally proves he can act outside of his type as the perfect combination of the nice guy Nick Twisp and the conniving alter ego François.
