Nick Twisp (Michael Cera) is a 16 year old virgin living in Oakland with his divorced mother Estelle (Jean Smart) and her lying trucker boyfriend Jerry (Zach Galifianakis). They run off to camp in Ukiah to escape the 3 sailors that Jerry sold a lemon car to. Nick is hopeless with girls and falls for the flirtatious Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday). Her brother Paul (Justin Long) is a slacker druggie type. Nick moves back to Oakland. Jerry dies. Nick has to figure out how to go back to Ukiah. He has to help his jobless father George (Steve Buscemi) get a job in Ukiah and get his mother to throw him out despite her need for the child support money. He creates an alternate personality Francois Dillinger to make life difficult for his mother and her new police boyfriend Lance Wescott (Ray Liotta). Sheeni finds a job for George with her boyfriend Trent's father. It's general mayhem as Francois has his way and causes massive destruction. Estelle sends him away to George and his girlfriend Lacey (Ari Graynor) to hide from the police investigation. Sheeni is send away by her religious parents (M. Emmet Walsh, Mary Kay Place) to a french boarding school to keep her away from the wild Nick.Michael Cera is getting a little too old to play the awkward 16 year old. It would have been funnier if he's an older 18 year old. At least it would be more pathetic. The movie is undeniable quirky. Evil Michael Cera is very disorienting at first, but he becomes one of the reasons to watch this. It's weird and fascinating. I wish that Jerry doesn't die and Zach Galifianakis could have a few more scenes. There is a general continuous rotation of characters in this movie as new people keeps showing up. This is more quirky than funny.

Like some previous reviewers have noted, if you don't enjoy Michael Cera, stay away from this one. I would also recommend that if you don't like some of John Hughes earlier films, you might also not enjoy this movie. I like both but Cera more than Hughes. However, I don't know how long that will be true. I first saw Michael in Arrested Development and I don't know if I have seen him play anything except for George Michael since. That is fine for awhile but I get the sense that I might grow tired of it eventually. This movie was enjoyable for its absurdest sensibilities and for some decent casting. Nothing really blew me away but I genuinely believed that everyone in it was who they were playing. I didn't appreciate the end message which seemed both disingenuous and heavy handed. Still, its nice to see a movie about unabashed love and teen awkwardness portrayed w/o a high degree of shock value. Maybe I am a little old fashioned but I can still appreciate a good (mostly) clean coming of age film.

A teenage Fight Club? Cera creates a split persona to do all the things he is too scared to do. Mostly revolving around a girl. Youth in Revolt is entertaining quirkiness, but the quirkiness does become sickly at points. There's only so much weird for weird's sake you can take. The film is also like a drunken rambling teen, obviously taking a lot of stuff from an episodic book. I'm sure it gels together better in text form. What is on screen is entertaining and often funny. Cera should be given credit for managing to make two clear personae, even though up until now he has played the same character. Plenty of older actors stepping in for small roles, but they're never appreciated.

OK, lets get the biggest bugbear over and done with....I do like you Mr Cera, but the important point for me is the amount of films you have now done, means you are Mr and not Master. Yes, you have boyish looks and a weedy body, but how long are you really going to play a 15 year old?!? I would expect a jump into more mainstream films, but it's yet to really happen, so for me every time a movie like this comes along with Michael Cera in, i'm immediately thinking here we go again. It's always a slightly different plot, but same old story - weedy boy likes girl, girl likes athletic tall guy, weedy guy thinks of a great idea to overcome said athletic tall guy, athletic tall guy takes revenge, he doesn't win...YAWN! This one involves a caravan and a french school a few hundred miles from said caravan.....Please stop treating me like an idiot.If you want a movie to waste a couple of hours, then its an OK watch, bearing in mind there is nothing to wow you, but if you want a good strong film, re-watch 'Juno', the acting is better and it feels more believable.And if you're reading 'Mr' Cera, please look at better scripts, you have the talent, you just need to step up!