Youth in Revolt

Running Time: An hour and a half
MPAA Rating: R

Nick Twisp wants what every high school guy does when portrayed in an R-rated movie: to lose his virginity. He is kept from fulfilling his goal by his unusual tastes in pop culture and passive attitude, turning off most of the girls his age that he comes across. When beautiful Sheeni Saunders enters his life, sharing his love for Frank Sinatra and obscure films, the only thing keeping them apart is his inability make a definitive move to steal her heart from her current egotistic boyfriend.

Youth in Revolt sets itself up in the same way (500) Days of Summer did last year. Boy meets girl who seems extraordinarily perfect for him, falls in love, and the relationship is brought to a sudden halt, leaving the boy reeling. However, instead of the limerent obsession Joseph-Gordon Levitt's character kept for Zooey Deschanel's, protagonist Nick Twisp creates an alternate personality named Francois (Sheeni's imaginary French lover) to express his rebellious side in an attempt to overcome circumstances and win the girl.

This movie is one of a rare few that manage to outperform their source material. Youth in Revolt strengthens the comedic timing and storytelling in its adaptation, making it feel more like Superbad than any of the other "high school virgin comedy" genre of films. The coming-of-age book that it is based on is about and targeted toward an age group that won't be able to purchase their own tickets at most theaters, which is a bold move from the filmmakers.

To nitpick a little bit, it does pull me out of the experience whenever people in their 20s (or, unfortunately, older) play pubescent high school kids in movies. Michael Cera seems to be eternally trapped in high school (what a nightmare) as almost all of his movies have placed him back into his angsty, yet witty and intelligent student character role. But that is far from enough to not recommend this movie.

Youth in Revolt is a great love comedy that will likely appeal to fans of (500) Days of Summer without being redundant or stereotypical. It is sweet, funny, and over all a great way to start off the movie-going year.

Jennifer's Body

Running Time: An hour and 45 minutes

MPAA Rating: R


Megan Fox is an evil, soulless succubus. In this movie she plays Jennifer, a relatively satirical version of herself as a high-school cheerleader turned satanic demon. Needless to say, the casting directors didn’t need to look for an actress with a lot of range. Jennifer’s body is sacrificed to the devil as a virgin (ahem) sacrifice by an indie band trying to gain fame and fortune. Plans go awry when the whole “virgin” part gets overlooked, and Jennifer becomes doomed to feed off of human flesh for eternity. She finds hormonal boys to be the easiest targets, and a string of murders begins to overtake the small town of Devil’s Kettle; the culprit unknown to anybody but Jennifer’s best friend: “Needy”.

The horror genre is satirized by one of its own here, a bit like the “Scream” movies of last decade. High school stereotypes are ever present; Goths and quarterbacks all try to date Jennifer, and all have their souls consumed indiscriminately, class memorials are interrupted by Jennifer’s unsubtle apathy, and sexual tension is paid off with one of the longest lesbian kissing scenes in mainstream movie history. The movie does follow the annoying trend of having college graduate-aged adults playing high school kids, but unlike other films that use this gimmick, Jennifer’s Body doesn’t drive that point home at every opportunity.

Diablo Cody wrote this movie, and the premise of a horror film written by the author of “Juno” shows very much. Quirky lines and obscure references are mainstays of Cody’s writing and are delivered in even the most dire of situations. I’d like to emphasize that last point as by “dire situations” I mean people will give off-the-wall comments even while missing half of their neck. The abundance of these quips tends to throw off the balance between horror and comedy in humor’s favor, and can leave those expecting a scary movie still wanting satisfaction.

The humor in the writing is fantastic, but many of the actors frequently and unfortunately misfire their lines. Some of the actors, such as Amanda Seyfried and Adam Brody are completely immune to this phenomenon, but others, especially Johnny Simmons, seem to flub every joke. It is one of the most terrible things that can happen to a comedy when an actor doesn’t understand what is funny about what they are saying. The problem could likely have been avoided with a little more discretion in the casting department.

The movie provides closure to the story, but the ending turns out somewhat clunky as a result. There were at least five times in the last five minutes when I was expecting the movie to cut to black and roll the credits, leaving space for a sequel. However, all loose ends are tied up and the show proves to be a standalone picture. Jennifer’s Body is much better than most scary movies that come out nowadays, and more original to boot. The fact that it works so well as comedy only sweetens the deal and, in the end, most of the audience will be left with a satisfying movie experience.