Youth in Revolt (film)

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Youth in Revolt
Youth in revolt.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Miguel Arteta
Produced by
Written by Gustin Nash
Based on Youth in Revolt 
by C.D. Payne
Narrated by Michael Cera
Starring
Music by John Swihart
Cinematography Chuy Chávez
Editing by
Studio Permut
Distributed by
Release date(s)
  • September 2009 (2009-09) (DAFF)
  • January 8, 2010 (2010-01-08) (United States)
Running time 89 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $18 million[1]
Box office $19,623,544[2]

Youth in Revolt is a 2009 coming-of-age film adaptation of C.D. Payne's epistolary novel of the same name starring Michael Cera.

Contents

Plot [edit]

Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), a shy, socially inept teenager, lives with his mom, Estelle (Jean Smart), and her boyfriend, Jerry (Zach Galifianakis), in Oakland, California. When Jerry owes money to a group of sailors, he takes Estelle and Nick to a trailer park in Clearlake. There, Nick meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), a bright and quirky young girl his own age, with an interest in French culture and who shares Nick's musical tastes, and despite Sheeni's boyfriend, Trent Preston (Jonathan Bradford Wright), they become romantically involved. Nick purchases a dog for Sheeni named Albert (after Albert Camus), but the dog rips up the family bible and Sheeni's parents (Mary Kay Place and M. Emmet Walsh) ban it from the house.

Jerry needs to return to Oakland and takes Estelle and Nick with him. Sheeni promises to arrange a job in Ukiah for Nick's father, George, while Nick will get his mother to kick him out so he can return to Sheeni.

Back at home, Nick creates an alter-ego named François Dillinger, a suave, rebellious troublemaker. Immediately after Nick makes the decision, Jerry dies of a heart attack. Under François' influence, Nick mouths off to his mom and her new boyfriend, police officer Lance Wescott (Ray Liotta). Nick takes Jerry's Lincoln, crashes into a restaurant, which starts a fire. Lance agrees to lie and report the car stolen. In return, Nick must live with his father (Steve Buscemi).

In Ukiah, Nick phones Sheeni and tells her he had to blow up "half of Berkeley" to return. Sheeni's parents overhear and send her to a French boarding school in Santa Cruz, forbidding Nick ever to see her again.

In his new high school, Nick befriends Vijay Joshi (Adhir Kalyan), and they take Vijay's grandmother's car to visit Sheeni. After being allowed into Sheeni's room, Nick goes to the restroom and meets Bernice Lynch (Jade Fusco), Sheeni's neighbor. Nick claims Trent said terrible things about her. Bernice brings the matron to Sheeni's room and the boys flee. On the way home, the car dies and Nick calls Mr. Ferguson (Fred Willard), his dad's idealist neighbor, to come pick them up; he tells Ferguson that Vijay is an illegal immigrant whom Nick is trying to "free from persecution".

When he returns home, Nick meets Sheeni's older brother, Paul (Justin Long), who tells him that she will be returning home on Thanksgiving and invites him for dinner. Nick begins to send Bernice letters asking her to slip sedatives into Sheeni's drinks to make her fall asleep in class, thereby getting Sheeni expelled.

Nick finds Lacey (Ari Graynor), George's 25-year-old girlfriend, Paul, and Ferguson, lounging in the living room of his house, high on mushrooms, which Nick also ingests. George finds them and punches Ferguson, which results in Paul punching George. Lacey leaves the house to live with Paul. On Thanksgiving Day, Nick receives a call from his mother explaining Lance left and will not cover for Nick anymore. Nick goes to Thanksgiving at Sheeni's. Trent unexpectedly arrives and explains Nick's letters to Bernice; Sheeni is horrified and Nick leaves.

Nick steals his father's car to escape the police. He then removes his clothes and drives the car into a shallow lake in front of the police station. He buys a wig and a dress and impersonates one of Sheeni's "friends". He fools Mr. and Mrs. Saunders and goes up to Sheeni's room. Upstairs, Nick tells Sheeni that he understands what loneliness is like, and that everything he has done, including burning down Berkeley, destroying his parents' cars and having her sedated were all so that they wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Sheeni forgives Nick, and the two make love, finally achieving Nick's dream of losing his virginity. Trent barges in, telling Nick he's brought the police with him. Nick beats Trent up and asks Sheeni to wait for him; Sheeni reassures him that he will only be in juvenile detention for three months.

The animated closing credits show Nick in jail with François helping him. When Nick is released, Sheeni shows up in a car and they drive away into the sky towards the Paris skyline, as various characters appear to make amends with the two and give them their blessing.

Cast [edit]

Reception [edit]

The film has received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 69% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 155 reviews, with an average score of 6.4/10.[3]

Home release [edit]

Youth in Revolt was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 15, 2010. Special features include deleted scenes, animated sequences, an audio commentary by Arteta and Cera, and audition footage.[4]

Soundtrack [edit]

Youth in Revolt: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by Various Artists
Released January 5, 2010 (2010-01-05)
Length 29:39
Label Lakeshore Records
Producer Miguel Arteta, Anne Litt
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars[5]

Youth in Revolt: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on January 5, 2010 by Lakeshore Records. The film itself contained 19 songs, leaving 9 out of the official soundtrack. The score was composed by John Swihart who also did the score for Napoleon Dynamite and The Brothers Solomon.

No. Title Artist(s) Length
1. "When U Love Somebody"   Fruit Bats 4:31
2. "I Willn't Be a Prisoner"   Little Wings 1:21
3. "Les Cactus"   Jacques Dutronc 2:41
4. "I Have a Boyfriend"   Michael Cera 0:39
5. "What's Up Fatlip?"   Fatlip 3:22
6. "Popular Mechanics for Lovers"   Beulah 3:03
7. "Light of Love"   Fleshpot 2:30
8. "Keys"   John Swihart 0:46
9. "Happiness Trigger"   Fleshpot 3:06
10. "T'ain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)"   Fun Boy Three & Bananarama 2:52
11. "My Romance"   Jo Stafford 3:24
12. "Nick and Sheeni Make Love"   John Swihart 1:24

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Movie projector: 'Avatar' to dominate three new competitors". Los Angeles Times. January 7, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2010. "[...] which the Weinstein Co. financed for about $18 million." 
  2. ^ "Youth in Revolt (2009) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-01-20. 
  3. ^ "Youth in Revolt". Rotten Tomatoes accessdate=2010-05-29. 
  4. ^ "Youth in Revolt (US – DVD R1 BD RA)". DVDActive. Retrieved 2010-04-17. 
  5. ^ Youth in Revolt – Various Artists. Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-04.

External links [edit]

Films directed by Miguel Arteta
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