Youth in Revolt isn't an accurate picture of teen rebellion to the letter of the law, and bless its heart, the flick never posits itself as such. But in as a colorful fantasy born out of the ennui of an Oakland teenager, Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Gustin Nash capture the spirit of youth in all its pretentious, horny, reckless glory.

Taken from the novel by C.D. Payne, Youth in Revolt flirts with disaster from the beginning -- there are animated sequences, mushroom hallucinations, and the whole thing is based around a very high (pun only slightly intended) concept. When teen outcast Nick needs to become something badder and more exotic in order to court fair lady Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), he invents a fearless, French alter-ego: Francois Dilinger.

With all this packed in, the film easily could have ended up another quirky indie mess, but past the deliberate character affectations, there's much more thought and feeling to Youth and Revolt than some of Cera's other works, namely Superbad and Juno.

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