Quick Review: Youth In Revolt

Question: can Michael Cera break out of the mold of sensitive, soft-spoken, sort of cute in a pale, skinny, hairless sort of way teenager that he's filled in "Juno" and "Superbad" and "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"? All of those are fine movies, but still, is there more to Cera than meets the eye? We don't quite get an answer in his latest film, "Youth In Revolt," but we can see he's trying to branch out. Here Cera plays 16-year-old Nick Twisp -- another typical Cera character -- who falls for Sheeni, a beautiful girl he meets at a mobile home park where his mother (Jean Smart) and her boyfriend of the moment (Zach Galifianakis) have dragged him to. Alas, Sheeni's just not that into Nick. She likes the bad boy type, and has a jones for all things France. Enter Francois Dillinger, an alter ego Nick creates in his mind to help win Sheeni over. Cera plays Francois as well (with a pencil-thin mustache, tight pants and cigarettes), and the imaginary Francois goads Nick into some drastic actions that have serious consequences. There are some good laughs, particularly after Francois shows up. It's not an enormous stretch for Cera, but it does bode well for his future. My grade: B.