Going in to Youth in Revolt I knew next to nothing about the books that the film was adapted from. Evidently they must have been somewhat popular, as the adventures of Nick Twisp have become somewhat of a cottage industry. But going in blind I had no idea what to expect, though the trailer at lease gave me a hint that the film would be a bit of a satire on the standard romantic comedy.

What I didn’t expect was the film to be a scathing rebuke of teenagers. According to Youth in Revolt, teenagers are self-aggrandizing, narcissistic douche bags of the highest order, who also operate under the false assumption that they are intellectuals and romantics of the highest order. And adults, they simply stand in the way of their happiness. As does responsibility and accountability. To say I ate this premise up would be a major understatement.

Leading the way is the great dual performance of Michael Cera as Nick Twisp an his archangel alter ego Francois Dillinger. But a bevy of character acting heavyweights like Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Zach Galifanakis, Jean Smart, Fred Willard, Mary Kay Place and M. Emmet Walsh turns this film into a tour de force of acting talent and the world of Youth in Revolt into a vibrant and memorable playground of absurdity.

And while Cera doesn’t get to display as much acting range as the trailer might hint at, he does finally get a chance to have a character go through a full fledged arc, evolving and changing through the course of the film. Though that may not exactly be for the better for Twisp, though he’s far too ignorant to realize that anyways, which is exactly why Youth in Revolt is so damn entertaining.

Tags: alter ego, film, Francois Dillinger, fred willard, jean smart, justin long, m emmet walsh, mary kay place, michael cera, movie, Nick Twisp, ray liotta, satire, Steve Buscemi, trailer, youth in revolt, zach galifanakis

We’re friends right? I mean, in a few weeks this site will hit its first anniversary and during this past year I think we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. So I think it is time I finally reveal just how crazy my family is.

Now I’ve already mentioned my schizophrenic grandfather in an earlier review. Not that I would know (I never met him) but evidently he was a very nice man who merely thought he owned Detroit, was convinced his family was trying to kill him, which resulted in him quite the short temper and thus he decided to sleep with a shotgun under his bed. Pretty standard really. But make no mistake, he is hardly an outlier in our family.

Take for instance my older sister Kristen. While many of her exploits are unfit for print, she did have a very unique imaginary friend as a child, a Miss Karate Potty. Kristen and Karate Potty did all sorts of things together, in which they became the dearest of friends, culminating in Kristen being named Maid of Honor for the wedding of Miss Karate Potty to a Mr Judo Poop-o. The entire ceremony occurred in the backseat of our station wagon during our annual Christmas trip to Ohio. And have I mentioned that she tape recorded the entire ceremony for posterity?

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So the story goes something like this; well respected actor wants to make a movie. He pitches the idea of a quirky working man’s opera to studios and one eventually decides to take a flier on it. Then when the studio views the film, they realize their idea of a working man’s opera is Chicago, when the actor turned director in question had more of a pseudo-musical that emasculates Tony Soprano type of vibe in mind. So the studio, realizing they have no idea how to market the film, promptly shelves it and hopes it will fade into obscurity. The actor/director frustrated that his artistic vision is collecting dust on some warehouse shelf, battles the studio to try to get them to release it. After two years the studio relents and sells the film back to the actor/director, so he can release the film with his own money. So without further ado, I present to you John Turturro’s anti-musical Romance and Cigarettes.

Nick (James Gandolfini) is a New York iron worker married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon) but he is having an affair with Tula (Kate Winslet). When his adulterous behavior is discovered Nick must decide if the pain and monotony of marriage is what his heart truly yearns for. (more…)