Youth in Revolt Blu-ray Review

Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) is your average high school boy, raging with hormones and no female company. He likes to listen to old records and read books and yes he is a virgin. Nick and his mother are force to flee to because of a bad car sale that Jerry (Zach Galifianakis), Nick’s mother’s boyfriend, has made. With the promise that in a few days everything will be forgotten they set out to have some vacation time in the “cabin” by the woods. To their surprise the cabin turned out to be an old rundown trailer, Nick’s life couldn’t get worst. Suddenly, Nick meets Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) a local girl who is beautiful and smart that makes his world has turn completely. He quickly gets to second base and when he finally starts to be happy it’s time to go back home. Nick creates a double personality by the named Francois Dilinger, a man who is everything Nick isn’t, in order to gain the courage to return to his love. Nothing will stop Nick to return to his dear Sheeni and forever be in love, but before all this can happen he must run away from all the mischief Francois has caused.

Superbad…er, Juno…no? Ah yes its Youth in Revolt. It’s easy to compare Michael Cera’s character because that’s really all he has played during his acting career. However, even though I enjoyed the movie I am able to see a few shortcomings. Youth in Revolt is funny, yes, but it also includes long segments that are so redundant that the film could have possibly been done without them. They spend too much time on things that don’t really hold up very well along the story line. I enjoyed the film; much of it was because I enjoy seeing Michael Cera’s same old character. Yes, that nerdy dweeb that is desperate to get some action. Michael Cera does an incredible job at it and if you have seen some of his previous films you will instantly see all the same way of acting, all the mannerism, way of carrying himself, and the same way of talking. I personally enjoyed Cera’s impersonation of a bad boy and paired with the clever writing (at times) resulted in major laughter. I suppose this is the perfect role for him, but I’d like to see him brake away from this same role before people begin to get tired of it.

The movie features a good cast with Ray Liotta, Justin Long, and Portia Doubleday who all turn in good performances with the material they were given. However, the film doesn’t allow them to fully develop the characters. They never really seem to evolve as much as I had hoped for as the story is moving along. I have to mention that Portia’s performance was great with her kind and innocent yet a bad girl deep inside portrayal of Sheeni. It was a perfect match for Michael’s character. I feel that examining the film further will only cause the film to be ruined, it’s a comedy and is not trying to be anything serious so please enjoy it for what it is. The comedic sequences will have you laughing and yes the long sequences that do nothing for the film are rather boring, but ultimately the film as a whole is enjoyable. If you liked Superbad, Juno, and Year One then you most likely you won’t find a reason to miss this title.

Youth in Revolt arrives on Blu-ray with a beautiful 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 1.85:1. While it’s not the most impressive video transfer in the market it certainly does an excellent job with the task at hand. Youth in Revolt features an impressive high level of fine details all throughout the film; you will rarely miss the skin texture of the actors during close up shots, the details on the trailers, cars, clothing, etc. Colors are finely reproduced, even with that pale look they have most of the film, otherwise it feels fitting. Black levels are well rendered, except for some lack of depth in a few scenes, otherwise they are deep and well reproduced. Skin tones are warm, but again they feel fitting the way this comedy title looks. Rounding out this title is a fine layer of grain. Despite the look of the film, Youth in Revolt looks fantastic on Blu-ray.

Youth in Revolt arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. Youth in Revolt is a narrative driven film with very few scenes that contain anything that will make your home theater work. Despite the lack of loud booms, the track does an excellent job with the rest of the material. The dialogue is clean, clear and crisp at all times. The ambience and atmospherics are subtle throughout the film, but nevertheless they help create a much more believable environment. There are a few instances in which the audio would produce loud sounds especially during the explosion scene and let me tell you the track handles it with perfection. The music score is nicely implemented and sounds magnificent. Overall, Youth in Revolt sounds good in Blu-ray.

Youth in Revolt arrives on Blu-ray with a decent set of supplements. So check below for a breakdown of everything that is included in this release.

Audio Commentary – Features Director Miguel Arteta and Actor Michael Cera in a discussion about the shooting of the film, the cast, anecdotes, some aspects of the film, and more. This track only touches on the surface of things and doesn’t go in depth.

Off the Chain Deleted and Extended Animated Sequences – Features some of the cast members like Zach Galifiankis, Portia Doubleday, Adhir Kalyan, Erik Knudsen, and Jonathan B. Wright.

9 Deleted Scenes

BD-Live Connectivity

MovieIQ

Movie Trailers – Featuring Chloe, The Bounty Hunter, Harry Brown, The Runaways, A Prophet, and A Single Man.

While I enjoyed segments from Youth in Revolt there may be others who completely dislike the film. There are several segments that could have possibly not been included and the film would of been just as funny. Michael Cera takes on the same role he usually takes on and he does an excellent job with it. Michael Cera did a fantastic job with his bad boy role of Francois and I hope he soon takes on something new. The cast that acts along Michael Cera turn in solid performances as well.The Blu-ray looks and sounds great and is paired with a decent set of supplements to round up this release. For those looking for a Superbad-like film in terms of comedy, this is for you, otherwise I’d suggest a rental.

The screen captures are only a small representation of what the Blu-ray looks like and are not representative of Blu-ray’s true quality.