Youth in Revolt (2010) Review

I have just returned from seeing the new Michael Cera teen comedy, and the film itself greatly surprised me. I expected to see a purely stupid teenage comedy, yet what I actually saw was a smartly delivered and hilarious film. Like Observe and Report, this movie surprised me in the fact that the story took itself seriously. The story itself was actually well thought out and very funny, perfectly capturing what its actually like to be alone as a teenager.

Michael Cera actually delivers a rather different performance than his usual typecast roles as virgin loser, appearing as a badass arsonist fighting to be with his girlfriend. Although Cera plays his usual role throughout most of the movie, it is quite interesting to see him playing a different type of character. The movie also uses a few of the usual teenage comedy actors, such as Justin Long, and also includes some other versatile and funny actors, such as Steve Buscemi and Zach Galifanakis. The entire cast of the film delivers great performances, each of the characters memorable and hilarious.

The technical aspects of the film aren’t too spectacular, the best thing done in the film being that Cera’s two characters are onscreen talking to each other for a large section of the film. The editing and cinematography aren’t very spectacular, and the soundtrack for the film is rather unmemorable. The film does use claymation and animation at parts to show the driving sequences, which is at first comical and interesting, making the long and boring driving sequences more fun to watch.

The entire reason this movie succeeds in being good is because it is incredibly funny and the plot is original and gripping. I really enjoyed this film and would recommend renting it when it comes out on bluray, however I would suggest not seeing it in theatres. It’s not a very spectacular film, yet it delivers on being quite funny and is most likely relatable for most teenagers. Youth in Revolt was overall a very surprising comedy and worth seeing, yet besides the original and quirky story isn’t all that impressive.

Rating: 6/10