Youth in Revolt is a new comedy based on the novel of the same name by C.D. Payne. It tells the story of Nick Twisp, an awkward, outcast teenager. Like many teen comedies the central character, and his equally outcast friends, are obsessed with that teenage Holy Grail, sex. When Twisp, played by Michael Cera, goes on a forced vacation to a caravan park he meets the girl of his dreams, Sheeni (Portia Doubleday), and falls head over heels in love with her. Due to this love interest the goal is not just sex, but a happily ever after scenario with the girl of his dreams, this thankfully moves the story slightly away from Twisp’s virginity issue. Twisp realises that Sheeni is more interested in bad guys than sweet boys so creates an alter ego for himself, Francois Dillinger, who begins to get Nick into all sorts of trouble whilst apparently trying to get him the girl. The story is a sort of weird hybrid of American Pie and Fight Club.

Whilst I wouldn’t describe Youth in Revolt as an ‘indie’ film it certainly has all the credentials of one. The awkward teenage boy who likes literature and old records, the quirky girl, the nutty, estranged and unhelpful parents, an animated title sequence, a comical scene of mild drug use and Michael Cera. However, these now familiar ideas do not constantly bombard the viewer, like they do in some other films, but provide a reasonable aesthetic background for the film and actual contribute to the story to an extent. Although these aspects of the film are slightly tired and boring they aren’t really a problem, just slightly unimaginative.

Apart from this there is really only one other problem that I had with Youth in Revolt. This problem is that it is an adaption of an epistolary novel and this comes across in the film slightly too much. There is no real flow between the episodes in the film, it just comes across as a series of events that are never properly introduced or concluded. Whilst this can work in novel form it doesn’t work as well in cinema. Obviously there is a coherent story line running through the film, but it is made up of lots of different scenes that don’t always coherently lead onto one another and are never properly justified. A similar problem can be seen with some of the characters in the film. Youth in Revolt as about five central characters yet a great deal more drop in and out of the story. Although they do add some star studded comic scenes to the film they often come across as unnecessary and too many sub-plots are left unresolved. This adds to the unexplained element of the film and unfortunately comes across as either unnecessary or simply lazy.

However, apart from these problems Youth in Revolt is great fun. It is an understated and light hearted comedy that finds new humour and intrigue in an age old tale. It isn’t a ‘split your sides laughing’ film, but it provides a constant supply of gentle amusement. The other thing is that despite Twisp’s strange self imposed scenario it is an incredibly believable film. The ridiculous is kept to a minimum and this helps to connect the audience with the story without being boring. Even the more unbelievable bits are presented to the audience in that understated and matter of fact way so it is easy to follow them. The surprisingly recognisable cast do not disappoint and all contribute their various comic styles in a suitable and amusing manner. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the film is Cera’s alter ego character. With Dillinger Cera has shown that he doesn’t have to be type cast as the weedy, nerdy teenager. Although he doesn’t completely pull of the wry, insensitive, cool character he makes it work well. I also think that the reason why it doesn’t quite work is that we are constantly reminded of Cera’s more recognisable persona so it always seems strange when we see him as Dillinger; overall I was impressed by the diversification and would like to see him try something different again.

To sum up I would recommend going to see this film if you’re in the mood for a light hearted, easy comedy. It isn’t ground breaking and won’t be the most memorable comedy you’ll see, but it’s worth a watch and a good one to see with a group of friends or your own special someone.

For more reviews, check out the Fresh Air Film Show, when the broadcast starts again on Feb 10th.