Written and Directed by Mike Judge
Opens Today (Sep. 4th 2009)
Youth In Revolt = C-
Written by Gustin Nash based on the novel by C.D. Payne, Directed by Miguel Arteta
Opens Oct. 30th 2009 (Review based on an early screening)
I still have friends that have only recently discovered and/or started watching Arrested Development. 8v|
...
One even asked if new ones were being made? And when I told him it was cancelled, he asked why? "It's so good". Seriously, I've just about had it... (maybe if people actually watch the shows when they actually air? The networks get the numbers they want and won't cancel it. Sheesh).
Anyways, since Arrested Development has ended, the brilliant Jessica Walter moved to 90210 where they didn't know what to do with her (or anybody for that matter, more on that later), Portia de Rossi moved to the brilliant but underwatched (ahem, that means WATCH. It's FUNNY AND CLEVER. Maybe it might actually last 2 seasons even if you do!) Better Off Ted which is basically Arrested Development in the office. Meanwhile, George Michael Bluth himself Michael Cera has become a bonafide box office star (thanks to Juno and Superbad), while "dad" Jason Bateman continues to prove his comic prowess on the big screen (also in June) while throwing in some dramatic flair (The Kingdom, State of Play). Who knew Jason Bateman had that much talent back in the Hogan Family days?


Jason Bateman is the self-made owner of his Vanilla Extract factory, with JK Simmons (Law & Order and every movie out there including Juno, is there anybody who wasn't in that movie?) as his trusty management, Clifton Collins Jr. (Capote) is a trusty worker, Beth Grant (All About Steve) is a chatty worker uh huh!, Mila Kunis (That 70's Show) is the newest temp, Kristen Wiig (SNL, Adventureland) is his sex-depriving wife, Ben Affleck is his chill best friend, and so on and so on. His life isn't exactly bad, but it isn't exactly great either, but things get set in motion to make it worse and worse.
But if Office Space was to rally around us poor plebes out there, here's a story to empathize with the boss, as Bateman's Joel attempts to juggle the numerous characters he calls employees while dealing with his sad upper-middle class suburban life. Oh the pain of a huge mansion. Poor baby. If you're looking for Office Space hilarity, this will be a huge disappointment, much like life has been for Joel, but Judge constructs a film that slowly builds and builds, that while it never really reaches a high as it could/should go, the movie settles for a happy medium that sort of reinforces the message within the movie itself.
At least the cast is game to make it all entertaining, with Bateman playing Bateman playing a more morose version of Bluth. Ben Affleck seems to have a ball in a movie not resting on his loosened shoulders. Kristen Wiig turns what could have been a harpy wife character into a fully dimensional likable person. In fact, there's quite a nice indie small-town drama in this until Judge throws in a plot-turning device in Mila Kunis (below with Collins Jr.) who is a grifter on the hunt for the next con, enlisting the help of nice but naive Clifton Collins Jr. (who turns yet another lovely performance of a simple dim-witted character), probably the most mainstream plot driven device in the movie.


Youth In Revolt, based on the graphic novel by C.D. Payne, puts dear Michael Cera as Nick Twist, the youth in question. Now, Cera revolt you say? How atypical!


Alas, Youth In Revolt tries too hard to be cool, hip and different, that in the process, becomes predictable and cloying as the next counter-culture movement. Seeing Cera play the anti-Cera is amusing for a few moments, but the whole idea runs out of steam, and the thrown in wacky side characters (Think. Buscemi, Smart, Willard and Liotta are the adults in the movie. It's like they were begging for over-the-top acting. Galifianakis by contrast gives a subdued performance) aren't enough to fill the movie, and instead, are mere distractions to an unfocused movie about an unfocused teenager. Or was that the point?
Vance at http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com
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