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YOUTH IN REVOLTMovie Reviews
Romantic comedy about an intelligent and awkward 16 year-old boy who meets his romantic match while on a family vacation and invents an alter ego in order to win her affection and, later, to reunite with her. Cast:Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, Ray Liotta, Jean Smart, Steve Buscemi, Zach GalifianakisDirector:Miguel ArtetaRelease Date:January 8, 2010DVD Release:June 15, 2010From:The Weinstein CompanyRating:RLength:1 hr 30 min
Youth in Revolt played to good not great reviews. • Tom Keogh wrote in the Seattle Times, "...uniquely comic and compassionate... this is the rare movie one doesn't want to end." • And Curt Holman wrote in Atlanta Creative Loafing, "...director Miguel Arteta soft-pedals some of the plot’s morally disturbing implications, but gets points for revolting against the clichés of most youth comedies." More Reviews Below...
Youth in Revolt Positive Reviews (45 Reviews, reviews below)
Mary Pols, Time: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...uneven but occasionally quite funny... there are moments when you are surprised and delighted by Michael Cera's soft, subversive delivery..."(See all of Mary Pols's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 829 words, 01/07/10
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "Unfortunately, there's little actual rebelliousness in 'Youth in Revolt.' It's really just another young-geek-wants-to-get-laid movie.... feels like a 'Juno' rehash."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 709 words, 01/07/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the movie misses the dark hilarity and herky-jerky energy of C.D. Payne's 1993 young-adult novel on which it's based; there's too little color amid all the mayhem."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 01/08/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a small miracle.... Director Miguel Arteta ('Chuck & Buck'), working from a tight script by Gustin Nash, tinges the mirth with malice. Sweet."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 134 words, 01/08/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Edgy coming-of-age stories are almost a genre in themselves, and their arch cleverness can border on cliché. But 'Youth in Revolt' sidesteps that pitfall..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 458 words, 01/08/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Michael Cera is not a sissy. It's more like he's unusual... diffident. Laid-back to a point approaching the horizontal. Yet he yearns."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 01/07/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the tone is uneven, the satire is blunt, the comedy rarely generates more than feeble laughs, and the lead character never comes fully to life."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 916 words, 01/05/10
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Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "Director Miguel Arteta significantly softens his source, C.D. Payne's mischievous young-adult novel.... [but] he never gets a handle on Payne's darkly comic voice..."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 278 words, 01/08/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD "I laughed a fair bit.... Without Cera, 'Youth in Revolt' wouldn't be much of anything, even with a supporting ensemble featuring Jean Smart and Steve Buscemi..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 01/08/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "I have little doubt that 'Youth in Revolt' will sail far over the heads of most of today's youth, to their eternal shame and taste-damnation."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 567 words, 01/08/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Cera and Doubleday can be charming, and the movie's sweetness comes through, despite the inconsistencies. Still, the film could have used more adult supervision."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 321 words, 01/08/10
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: EXCELLENT "...goes beyond leering, beyond sexism, to the core tension of a culture that ricochets between Puritanism and promiscuity. And it has in Michael Cera a sterling mascot."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 363 words, 01/11/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "Michael Cera is not a sissy. It's more like he's unusual... diffident. Laid-back to a point approaching the horizontal. Yet he yearns."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 651 words, 01/07/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "When Dillinger's on the screen, painting the town red with flames or setting Nick's nerves on edge, the movie really becomes something more than just the same old..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 593 words, 01/08/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "Cera bellies up to the same table once too often. His fresh-faced act is starting to look really stale. Admittedly, the actor gets no help from the script here..."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 662 words, 01/08/10
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an occasion for super-articulate humor and deft character bits, especially Zach Galifianakis..."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 01/08/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: MODERATE(cg) "Equal parts inspired and irresponsible... turns C.D. Payne's books (script by Gustin Nash) into a hit-or-miss homage to that French classic of outlaw love, 'Breathless.' "(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 01/08/10
Rob Nelson, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "Michael Cera gone super bad is almost enough to recommend 'Youth in Revolt'.... [but] it has too many unfunny moments to justify more than a rental..."(See all of Rob Nelson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 406 words, 01/08/10
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...hundreds of movies have driven down to the crossroads of virginal and clever, and the bald patches are starting to show."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 614 words, 01/08/10
Stephen Whitty, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MODERATE(cg) "...the mumbling and perpetually adolescent Cera is once again wandering through scenes like a 10th-grader in search of the attendance office."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 537 words, 01/08/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "Arteta is completely at home with this kind of DIY-scale production. It's not earth-shaking, but it's diverting and polished."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 230 words, 01/08/10
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...bursting with smart dialogue, surprising situations and humor that springs from richly imagined characters.... the first great comedy of this decade."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 01/08/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: FAIR(cg) "Let's hope that Michael Cera grows up soon. The shy, sexually inhibited dork routine from 'Juno' and 'Superbad' is wearing thin."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 441 words, 01/07/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...this is Cera's movie (actually it's Cera and Cera's movie), the first time the 'Superbad' and 'Juno' star has been absolute front and center in a film. And he kills."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 01/08/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: POOR(cg) "...the filmmakers try really hard to be hip and inventive but aren't. Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, and M. Emmet Walsh are among the indie casualties."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 146 words, 01/07/10
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...it's rare and a little wonderful to see a comedy about the sex lives of teenagers that suffers from an excess of ideas and ambition instead of a dearth."(See all of Nathan Rabin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 339 words, 01/07/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...director Miguel Arteta soft-pedals some of the plot's morally disturbing implications, but gets points for revolting against the clichés of most youth comedies."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 438 words, 01/06/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "The movie teeters but never loses its comic poise.... it's basically an absurdist ramble, but a terrifically likable ramble with several stretches of lively farce..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 01/08/10
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "Here, for the umpteenth time, is the tale of a nerd who wants to get laid. The telling of the tale, to be fair, has patches of sprightliness and zip."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,244 words, 01/04/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "I laughed a fair bit.... Without Cera, 'Youth in Revolt' wouldn't be much of anything, even with a supporting ensemble featuring Jean Smart and Steve Buscemi..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 01/08/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "I laughed a fair bit.... Without Cera, 'Youth in Revolt' wouldn't be much of anything, even with a supporting ensemble featuring Jean Smart and Steve Buscemi..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 395 words, 01/08/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: VERY GOOD(cg) "Michael Sera renders such a dominant and charismatic performance that he single-handedly elevates the coming of age comedy way above its genre and familiar themes."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,327 words, 10/16/09
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: GOOD "The movie teeters but never loses its comic poise.... it's basically an absurdist ramble, but a terrifically likable ramble with several stretches of lively farce..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 01/08/10
18.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Youth in Revolt's reviews are separated by an average 18.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Youth in Revolt (45 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Youth in Revolt's reviews cover 77.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 23,435 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 521 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 27.5 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Youth in Revolt's reviews on average broke 27.5 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Youth in Revolt's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Youth in Revolt (45 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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