Finally, someone has made a teen rebellion movie for your parents!
Michael Cera is back with another laugh out loud, eye tearing gut splitter. Note the sarcasm. Nick Twisp spends his days servicing himself, discussing male genitalia with other males and generally living at the mercy of his mother who is partial to losers. A twist of fate sends him on an abrupt vacation and throws him in the path of Sheeni who is searching for her very own French bad boy, like other 40 yr old women trapped in 16 yr old bodies. Now the commercials suggested that this is a tale of unrequited love, with Nick instantly cast into the "friend zone" due to his overly nice, safe nature. The actual plot has Nick falling in love with Sheeni, who does willingly make out with him and seems genuinely interested. Go figure. Eventually, Nick is forced to return home and hatches a plan to commit dirty deeds in the hopes his mother will kick him out and force him to move in with his father, putting him closer to Sheeni. To be able to actually pull off something "bad", he creates a sort of swishy Giligan's Island character to channel his inner nasty. Seriously, how awkwardly dorky do you have to be that THIS is your evil alter ego??!!
Yes, the silver bracelet, white, high waisted pants and pencil thin mustache are pretty bad ass. He looks like Tyler Durden's kid touching cousin who owns several small dogs and obsesses over a stamp collection. It's like they got the idea for "Francois" after watching Tony Curtis in "Some Like It Hot." All he's missing is the ascot and captain's hat.
The film drones on with moments the creators want you to identify as hysterical by pausing so you don't miss a minute of the fun amid the gails of laugh. Maybe half a laugh. Lau. Inexplicably, we are treated to odd animation throughout, cementing the thought that this probably would have been an art house indie 5 years ago. Instead, we get in impressive cast delivering horrible dialogue, the bulk of which sounding like bizaro versions of Diablo Cody characters. Instead of talking in freaky made-up twin speak, they force out 5 dollar words like Americanized Jane Austen characters.
The actors can't be blamed for the unrelenting boredom. Cera seems perfect for this role and is all the Cera he can be. The rest of the cast isn't unlikeable or inadequate, either. It's simply, completely unfunny, lacking any moments that would..say...ENTERTAIN an audience. What segment of America they were targeting with this one note fiasco is beyond me. Youth In Revolt is American Pie for 60 year old people. It's Fight Club for the geriatric set. When you can't muster laughs with Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi and Fred Willard on your team, it's time to rethink your process.
