Comedy ‘In Revolt’

Virginal teenage boys, with goofy names are a dime a dozen when it comes to sex comedies nowadays. However, with a less than mediocre plot, the laughs from the trailer don’t come along very often in “Youth in Revolt.” With that said, it’s a comedy that loses steam faster than a cheap carpet cleaner.

Michael Cera (“Superbad”) plays Nick Twisp, a teenage boy with a good heart and a nerdy attitude looking to find love. When he goes on a trip with his mom and her compulsive-liar boyfriend Jerry, played by Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover”), Nick meets a girl named Shenni Saunders, played by Portia Doubleday (“18”), who he falls for. Nick and Shenni develop a great relationship in which they become really close, but when Nick is forced to go back home, he will do anything to see her again.

The problem with this situation is that Shenni has strict religious parents who do not approve of Nick seeing their daughter. Nick, on the other hand, goes to extreme measures in order to go back to Shenni, even if it involves him creating an alter ego named Francois Dillinger. Francois is basically a gutsier version of Nick, and helps him get his girl by any means necessary, whether it’s by stealing Jerry’s trailer home or blowing up half of the city block.

At times, “Youth in Revolt” inspires a few laughs. Cera’s dull personality and idiotic ways make him a likeable character, but one you want to laugh at and not with. The film loses its luster by being somewhat lackadaisical with its approach. There are a few moments that will have the audience cracking up, but most of the time it seems as if there is a huge wait between each laugh.

There are, however, several cameos in the film that, at first glance, would seem to be a huge asset, but nobody here brings much to the table, not even Ray Liota as a police officer who falls for Nick’s mom. Liota plays a character that is not very likeable and has a bad attitude, making you want to root against him. Steve Buscemi plays George Twisp, Nick’s dad. You would think that Buscemi would draw a huge amount of bellyaching laughs, but instead, his character is simply dull. Galifianakis’ role in the film is so limited that you would think he was not even in the film to begin with. Justin Long plays Shenni’s older brother, whose bit with peyote gets a couple of laughs at first, but it gets old. At first sight, you would think he is a hippie, but overall, he can also be considered an idiot.

Overall, “Youth in Revolt” is a typical sex comedy that seems to have put most of its laughs in the trailer. The story is weak and the actors don’t seem to care much about how their roles play out, just as long as the film gets made.

Nick’s outlandish adventures in trying to get to his girl are, at times, enjoyable to watch, but it is something that we have seen so many times before, making this film unoriginal and quite boring.