Youth in Revolt

In this dark comedy about love and surviving puberty, over-bright, under-sexed teenage intellectual Nick Twisp (Cera) meets dream girl Sheeni (Doubleday) in a trailer park and is determined to be with her at any cost, no matter how absurd. Along the path to her heart, he lies, cheats, steals, invents a French bad-boy persona, destroys a city block, and becomes a fugitive from the police, all while dealing with his divorced parents (Smart, Buscemi), sleazy authority figures, and oddball peers. Cera puts a funny twist on the "awkward teenager" cliche as Nick and his remorseless alter ego, Francois, whose bad judgment, faux-Frenchman accent, and raging hormones turn dysfunction into chaos wherever he goes. Based on the cult novel by C.D. Payne, the zany moments abound but the manic pace sometimes misses the biting satire and insight of the source.