Arrested Development

Youth in Revolt

*1/2 out of ****

Directed by: Miguel Arteta

Starring: Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi and Zach Galifianakis

Running time: 90 minutes

There are two ways you can tell it’s January. Either walk outside or check out what new releases are being rounded up at your local cinema.

One of those disposable options features the reliable teen actor Michael Cera. Unfortunately, the Brampton native, who’s milked his sweet teenage vulnerability and awkward deadpan comedy abilities to perfection, has finally run dry.

In Youth in Revolt, he once again plays a lankily built, socially uncomfortable nice guy with a crush. His name is Nick Twisp, he lives in Oakland with his boozy mom (Jean Smart) and her boyfriend, Jerry (an even more hungover Zach Galifianakis), and he’s a virgin.

While on vacation at a trailer park, Nick meets a beautiful girl named Sheeni Saunders (newcomer Portia Doubleday) who adores French culture.

Nick’s equal in discussing foreign art-house cinema and Frank Sinatra records, he falls for her. Unfortunately, she isn’t nuts about him, although Nick’s a well-needed escape from her religious-fanatic parents (Mary Kay Place and M. Emmet Walsh).

Meanwhile, the vacation ends and Nick still hasn’t done the deed. Out of sexual frustration, he invents an alter ego named Francois Dillinger, a deep-voiced, cigarette-puffing bad boy with a penciled moustache.

Francois helps our young protagonist break out from the humdrum of simple life and pursue the girl of his dreams.

There’s a rule in narrative comedy that the story comes first, and the jokes later. In Youth in Revolt, adapted from a journal-type novel by C.D. Payne by director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl), that order is reversed. Too bad very little ends up being all that funny.

Cera can be excellent when given a sharp script (Juno, Superbad). The material he receives here is tired, and thus his performance feels stale.

Even the quest-to-climax doesn’t have much in the “rising action” department. Cera sulks from one scene to the next, without developing very much – even as an alter ego tempts his desires.

The comedy ends up becoming merely situational – sneaking into Sheeni’s dorm at an all-French institution or befriending her drug-rattled brother before consuming a bagful of mushrooms. Even then, not much progresses in either the story, the protagonist's development, or even the jokes department. At the end of each try, Nick is essentially back at square one.

Not only does Youth in Revolt seem to be stuck in neutral for much of the running time, there are no redeeming characters or moments that keep our attentions occupied.

Nick’s dad is bitter and irresponsible. His mom is trash, disposing of boyfriends faster than bottles. His stepmom (Ari Graynor), a bodacious trophy-wife, doesn’t step up to be anything more than her description. Moreover, Sheeni’s parents are poor ultra-Orthodox stereotypes.

These people are despicable and unpleasant to be around, and furthermore, enter and exit without making much of a dent on Nick’s journey.

It's a shame, since Cera and Doubleday are immensely enjoyable together. The opening third, focusing on Nick and Sheeni's blossoming relationship, is the film’s only saving grace. They are smart characters with charming personalities, and their banter is lively and sharp.

If only the rest of the film had the effortless likability of those opening scenes, Youth in Revolt could have been something we would remember once all the snow has melted. Instead, it's a film about revolting that is revolting.