Movie Review, Youth in Revolt

Youth in Revolt ***
Directed By: Miguel Arteta.
Written By: Gustin Nash, based on the novel Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp by C.D. Payne
Starring: Michael Cera (Nick Twisp), Portia Doubleday (Sheeni Saunders), Zach Galifianakis (Jerry), Justin Long (Paul Saunders), Steve Buscemi (George Twisp), Ray Liotta (Lance Wescott), Ari Graynor (Lacey), Jean Smart (Estelle Twisp), Rooney Mara (Taggarty), Fred Willard (Mr. Ferguson), Christa B. Allen (Karen), M. Emmet Walsh (Mr. Saunders), Mary Kay Place (Mrs. Saunders), Adhir Kalyan (Vijay Joshi), Erik Knudsen (Lefty), Jonathan B. Wright (Trent Preston).

C.D. Payne’s book Youth in Revolt is a beloved classic for teenagers about the trials and tribulations of Nick Twisp. Nick is a 14 year old boy, who is the course of a year falls in love with a young, manipulative goddess named Sheeni, and ends up going to great lengths to remain a part of her life. The book is funny and irreverent, and surprisingly honest about what it takes to be a teenager in this day of age. The movie based on the book, directed by Miguel Arteta (Chuck and Buck, The Good Girl) and starring Michael Cera as Nick is hilarious – a definite good night at the movies – but lacks the edge that made the book as good as it was. It is a fine film, but it should have been a new teen classic, and it isn’t.

Nick is stuck living at home with his divorced mother Estelle (Jean Smart), and her seemingly never ending line of boyfriends. The latest is Jerry (Zach Galifianakis), a long haul trucker, who pisses off some sailors by selling them a lemon of a car, and decides it is best to lay low for a while. So he packs up his car and takes Estella and Nick on a vacation to a rundown trailer owned by a friend. It is while on this vacation that Nick lays eyes on Sheeni, a beautiful, but pretentious, girl. She is obsessed with the French, and considers Jean Paul Belmondo, star of Godard’s classic Breathless, to be the ultimate sex symbol. Twisp tries to impress her with his own cinematic knowledge, but incorrectly indentifies Mizoguchi as the director of Tokyo Story, when we all know of course that Ozu directed that one. Who hasn’t been there? (Okay, so maybe that’s just something only me and Nick have in common).

When Nick is forced to leave Sheeni to return home, he is crestfallen – not least because he never actually got laid and Sheeni has a buff, poetry writing boyfriend at home (he writes Slam poetry, which by the sound of it in this movie is simply putting random words in random order). He wants to move closer to Sheeni, so they can be together, but the only way to do that is to get his father (Steve Buscemi) a job in the area, and somehow get himself thrown out of his mother’s house. Getting his father the job is the easy part. But Nick is too much of a coward to do anything truly bad to get himself thrown out. This is why he invites Francois Dillinger, his chain smoking, faux-French alter ego, to do bad things (like burning down half of Berkeley), to get him sent away. But every time he thinks he is getting closer to Sheeni, he is actually getting farther away, and he has to continue to come up with plans, each even farther out than the last one, to keep them together.

I know that some critics have tired of Michael Cera’s stumbling, shy, awkward comic persona, but to me it still works remarkably well. I always relate to Cera’s awkward delivery, and find him to be among the funniest actors out there. True, his recent films (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Year One and strangely Paper Hear where he plays himself, among them) have not allowed Cera to play truly interesting people, but in Youth in Revolt, the role of Twisp fits him like a glove. When he switches over and plays Francois Dillinger, he is also surprisingly effective as the calm and collected troublemaker. It is good to see him in a decent role again.

Cera is surrounded by a top notch cast as well. Newcomer Doubleday is wonderful as Sheeni – smart and pretty, with the pretentious air that only truly beautiful people can get away with, Doubleday effortlessly convinces us why Nick falls for Sheeni in the first place. In smaller roles, Smart, Galifankis, Buscemi along with Ray Liotta as a cop, Justin Long as Sheeni’s stoner brother, Fred Willard as the left wing nut next door and M. Emmet Walsh and Mary Kay Pace as Sheeni’s parents are also quite good – good enough in fact to cover up the fact that their roles are not very well written.

Arteta is a sharp comic director. After his first three films, he has mainly worked on TV shows like Freaks and Geeks, Ugly Betty and Six Feet Under, and his has honed his craft quite a bit in recent years. Youth in Revolt is a fast moving, funny little movie. Since the book was quite long, some of the material inevitably had to go, and I agree with most of the choices made here - seriously, the book spent far too much time with Nick after he started cross dressing and pretending to be Carlotta (a reference to Vertigo perhaps? The only time I ever hear the name Carlotta is in association with Carlotta Valdez), something the movie has the good sense to limit to one scene. I do wish the movie had kept more of the comic edge that book had though. Nick and Sheeni were not nearly as sympathetic there then they are in the movie, but I suppose you do not want too much dark material getting in the way of this teenage romance. Youth in Revolt remains an uncommonly intelligent and funny teen comedy – something that is far too rare these days.

DVD Views: Paper Heart

Paper Heart **
Directed By: Nicholas Jasenovec.
Written By: Nicholas Jasenovec & Charlyne Yi.

Starring: Charlyne Yi (Charlyne Yi), Michael Cera (Michael Cera), Jake M. Johnson (Nicholas Jasenovec).

Charlyne Yi seems like an interesting young woman. I learn from her Wikipedia page that she is precisely the person that she seems to be in Paper Heart, a movie she co-wrote and stars in, playing herself, alongside Michael Cera, also playing himself. She is a stand up comic, who doesn’t really tell jokes – or at least seems not to. She is also a musician and a songwriter, and has become one of the few (perhaps only?) female member of the Judd Apatow stock company who can play just one of the boys. She seems like someone that if you met them at a party, she would be the most interesting one there. Too bad only pieces of her lovability seem to come through in this movie.

Paper Heart takes the form of a documentary, although it isn’t one. Yi plays herself, who along with her friend Nicholas Jasenovec (played here by Jake M. Johnson), decided to make a documentary about Yi and how she doesn’t really believe in love. She interviews people with their own tragic, or heartwarming little love stories as they crisscross America, but nothing really seems to faze Charlyne. That is until she gets to LA and meets Michael Cera, playing himself. The two hit it off and begin dating, changing the focus of the documentary onto their burgeoning relationship. But can it really survive if everything they do is one camera?

Yi and Cera are as adorable together as they are apart. They have a natural chemistry, perhaps because they have been rumored to have dated at one point, or maybe just because they’re good friends. Whatever the reason, these two work well together. Yi is naturally quirky, and Cera continues his series of stumbling, bumbling, tongue characters that he does so well, even if it has started to get a little tired (perhaps because he is not often given the types of roles he had in Superbad and Juno).

For me though, Paper Heart never really gets off the ground. Like many American Independent films, it seems to be intent on being just as overtly quirky as possible, turning the movie into a series of situations where the two characters try to act clever and witty, but simply grows tiresome after a while. More tiresome is Yi’s puppet shows where she acts out the stories being told, that drag on seemingly forever. Sometimes less is more, and although it appears that Paper Heart was made for almost nothing, it still could have used a little bit less.

DVD Views: I Love You, Beth Cooper

I Love You Beth, Cooper **
Directed By: Chris Columbus
Written By: Larry Doyle based on his novel.
Starring: Hayden Panettiere (Beth Cooper), Paul Rust (Denis Cooverman), Jack Carpenter (Rich Munsch), Lauren London (Cammy Alcott), Lauren Storm (Treece Kilmer), Shawn Roberts (Kevin), Jared Keeso (Dustin), Brendan Penny (Sean), Marie Avgeropoulos (Valli Wooley), Josh Emerson (Greg Saloga), Alan Ruck (Mr. Cooverman), Cynthia Stevenson (Mrs. Cooverman), Pat Finn (Coach Raupp).

I Love You, Beth Cooper is a lot better than it has any right to be. That doesn’t mean that the film is in anyway a good movie just that considering the material that they had to work with, the film is a passable teenage comedy. Walking around the video store the other day, looking for something that I have not seen, this was one of my only choices. Feeling lazy, I rented it, not expecting very much, and at that, I guess the movie delivered. It is your typical teenage comedy – geeky guy graduating high school as valedictorian uses the opportunity of his speech to proclaim his love for the most popular girl in school Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere), and get revenge on everyone who made his high school life hell. What follows takes Denis (Paul Rust), farther then he thought possible all in the course of one crazy night.

The problem with the movie is that it never quite decides on a tone. For the most part, the movie is content to be a regular teenage sex comedy – lots of gross out gags and jokes about bodily fluids. But then, at other times, the movie tries to be something a little deeper – and this doesn’t really work. I appreciate the fact that the movie tried to make Hayden Panettiere’s Beth Cooper into more than just a teenage boy’s wet dream – giving her depth and insight, but it comes across as hollow and phony. And the subplot involving Denis’s friend Rich (Jack Carpenter) and whether or not he is gay, just never really goes anywhere.

There are good moments here to enjoy though. Rust is not your ordinary leading man. He looks like a geek. Acne scarred with a huge nose, but he has decent comic timing, and you find yourself rooting for him almost in spite of yourself. Panettiere is not the best actress in the world, but by this point, she has pretty much gotten the popular cheerleader thing down cold, and she does a fine job. And despite the films efforts to try and make her more, she is still every teenage boy’s wet dream fantasy girl. The rest of the cast does what is required of them, and not much else. Their characters are paper thin, but they still have their moments.

I Love You Beth Cooper is the latest in the long line of teenage sex comedies that will pretty much be forgotten, if it hasn’t already been. Yes, it is passably enjoyable in fits and starts, but it does nothing to transcend its genre. It is what it is.

Movie Review: The White Ribbon

The White Ribbon ****
Directed By: Michael Haneke.
Written By: Michael Haneke
Starring: Christian Friedel (Lehrer), Leonie Benesch (Eva), Bernard Klausner (Pastor), Maria Victorira Dargis (Klara)Rrsina Lardi (Baronin Marie-Luise), Mercedes Jadea Diaz (Evas Schwester), Michael Kranz (Hauslehrer), Sebastian Hülk (Max), Marisa Growaldt (Magd), Janina Fautz (Erna), Leonard Proxauf (Martin), Thibault Sérié (Gustav), Theo Trebs (Ferdinand), Anne-Kathrin Gummich), Kai-Peter Malina (Karl), Marvin Ray Spey (Hans), Enno Trebs (Georg), Levin Henning (Pfarrerssohn Adolf).

Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon explores life in a small, insular town in Germany right before the start of the First World War. The film centers on five families, who patriarchs are all identified solely, based on their job descriptions that deconstruct the class system- Baron, Pastor, Doctor, Steward, and Farmer. The entire town is so perverse, that the kids in the movie do not realize just how screwed up everything they are being taught really is. The Pastor in particular, systematically tears down his kids, humiliating them by making them feel ashamed of masturbation, or even rowdy behavior. He makes his children wear a white ribbon to remind them of how they are supposed to be - pure and innocent. He rules with an iron fist - in one chilling sequence, he whips two of his children simply for showing up late for dinner one day. Instead of focusing on the violence of this scene itself, Haneke’s camera stays outside the room where the abuse is happening, instead tracking outside as the son has to go get the whip that will be used on him, and then lingering outside in the hall, where we hear the results. The Pastor gets his children to buy into his rigid belief system by completely breaking them down, and then providing just a single crumb of respect - whether its by removing the white ribbon and hand restraints of his son (the restraints he is forced to wear at night so as to stop him from masturbating), or by allowing his daughter’s confirmation to go through, even after her shocking act of violence on his pet bird.

The key performances in the movie are by Burghart Klausner as the Pastor, and Maria Victoria Dargis as his daughter Klara. Klausner is scarily good as the Pastor, who completely dominates his children. His children are scared to death of him, and because of the way Klausner looks at them - and delivers his lines - it is no wonder why. Klara is the one child in the village who seems to rebel actively against her parents. She is one of the kids who gets beaten for being late, and later in the film, the Pastor will be some unduly cruel to her in front of her classmates, that she is pass out. The shockingly, violent act that Klara does to bird is the one moment in the film where one of the kids seems to truly be angry about their treatment, and is also the one moment in the film where something seems to break through the Pastor’s tough as nails façade. These two performances are brilliant, and although the rest of the cast is also great, these two stand out above the others.

In Haneke’s view, the treatment of the children in the town by the adults is how not just National Socialism took hold in Germany a few decades later, but really all terrorism. Because the kids only see one view of reality - the one provided by their parents - it becomes easier to make them true believers. When differing viewpoints are eliminated, and everyone acts the same way, it because easier to believe a fanatical viewpoint.

The children are gradually reduced to something out of a movie like Village of the Damned - an emotionless army of fanatics. The shocking acts of violence (which, in typical Haneke style, happens almost entirely off-screen), functions much the same way the videotapes did in Haneke’s Cache, in that they are meant to break the town out of their complacency. From the attack on the doctor that opens the film, to the abuse visited on the son of the Baron, and the “retarded” son of the midwife, the sins of the parents are being visited upon their children. Haneke also continues his view of sex as a tool of humiliation. In one shocking, cruel scene, the doctor dismisses the midwife, who has been his lover for years, by listing all of her flaws in painstaking mean detail. When he moves onto abusing his daughter, who has just turned 14, it functions the same way as the Pastor’s abuse. She knows no better, so to her it is normal. Her poor younger brother seems to have no idea what is going on. The film is novelistic in its approach, as the film is full of characters. It is narrated by a teacher, who as an outsider to the town is able to see the perversity of the town, but remains too timid to actually do anything about it. His relationship with another outsider - the nanny who works for the baron - is almost sweet in comparison to everything else that happens in the movie.

Shot in stark black and white, the film is meticulously composed and framed, and contains some amazing imagery. The film is a masterpiece about how emotional repression and class conflict that gave rise to the Nazis, and how, the same thing plays out around the war, where ever a set of absolutist values is taught to children, who do not know any better. The White Ribbon is certainly not for everyone. My three companions were all thoroughly unimpressed with the film. For many it will be too slow, and the fact that Haneke does not feel the need to spell everything out will certainly frustrate viewers more used to Hollywood storytelling. But for fans of Haneke’s work it is a must see.

DVD Views: December 20 and January 5

With everything going on last week, I got behind and never did get a chance to do a video views column, so this week, I’m pulling double duty and doing two weeks worth of DVD releases.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs ** ½
There is a lot of manic energy in this animated film about an inventor who finally invents something that works, when he comes up with a way to turn water into food, and the sky starts dropping hamburgers and any other type of food his small island town wants. The film is fun, and is probably something that kids will want to watch again and again - it is colorful and fun, but it doesn’t go anywhere and sooner and later all the constant movement gave me a headache. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/09/movie-review-cloudy-with-chance-of.html

The Final Destination 3-D **
As with all the Final Destination since the first one, the only reason to watch this movie is the cool death sequences where strange events all culminate in a grizzly death. The deaths here are fine, and fun in a cartoon like way. Other than that, the film is almost painful to watch as the writing and directing are atrocious. Seeing this movie in the theater in 3-D was fun, if not satisfying, but I think watching the film at home, even if they give you 3-D glass, won’t really be worth it. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/08/movie-review-final-destination-3-d.html

Jennifer's Body ** ½
I find it a little strange that one of the only horror films written and directed by a woman in recent memory turned out to be every teenage boy’s wet dream. Smoking hot Megan Fox plays Jennifer who becomes possessed and seduces boys and then eats them. The only one who can stop her is her best friend Amanda Seyfried. I cannot say that Jennifer’s Body is a good movie, because it isn’t. It is sloppily directed, and despite the presence of some of the trademark Diablo Cody one liners (some are great), not very well written either. But Seyfried is quite good as the heroine, and Fox is a hell of a lot of fun as the demonic Jennifer. This is not a good movie, but it is a hell of a guilty pleasure. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/09/movie-review-jennifers-body.html

Julia *** ½
One of the year’s most criminally overlooked films, Julia stars Tilda Swinton in an amazing performance as an selfish alcoholic who gets drawn into a kidnapping scheme that goes horribly wrong. Swinton is fearless in her performance, making Julia into one of the least sympathetic characters in recent memory, but one that we completely and totally understand. Director Erick Zonca (The Dreamlife of Angels) creates a wonderful film around Swinton’s performance, even if there are probably too many twists and turns near the end of the film. A must see. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/10/movie-review-julia.html

9 ***
A dark, wonderful animated film about the end of humanity, and the only things left on earth are a group of rag dolls created by a scientist, and the evil machines that now run everything. What the film lacks in originality – the story is pretty much predictable at every turn – it more than makes up for it in style. Produced by Tim Burton, and directed by Shane Acker, this is a must see for fans of animation not aimed at children. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/09/movie-review-9.html

Paranormal Activity *** ½
The year’s scariest film will probably not lose all that much on home video. The movie is shot entirely with a video camera by a young couple who thinks that their house is haunted. The footage the camera captures, particularly at night when they are asleep is subtle, yet terrifying. This is a movie that gradually ratchets the suspense higher and higher until it becomes unbearable. Watch this one alone, late at night in the dark. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/10/movie-review-paranormal-activity.html

A Perfect Getaway ** ½
An interesting little thriller about two couples who hike to a remote tropical paradise the whole time suspecting each other of being murderers. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich are good as the lead couple – a screenwriter and his wife – who meet ex-Army ranger Timothy Olyphant (even better) and his girlfriend on the trail. A series of grisly murders have taken place, and Olyphant seems suspicious. The film is well made by David Twohy (Pitch Black, Below), but the story is far too predictable to make this a truly satisfying film. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/08/movie-review-perfect-getaway.html

World's Greatest Dad ***
Robin Williams once again proves why he is a far better dramatic actor than a comedic one. Here, he plays a mild mannered teacher with an asshole of a son (brilliantly played by Daryl Sabata). When the son kills himself while masturbating, Williams, a frustrated writer, decides to write a poignant suicide note for his son, and soon the kid that everyone hated has become a martyr on which everyone sees themselves. Written and directed by Bobcat Goldtwait (yes, that Bobcat Goldtwait), the film doesn’t quite push itself as hard as it could in the final act, yet is still a dark comedy gem. For my original review please see: http://davesmoviesite.blogspot.com/2009/11/movie-review-worlds-greatest-dad.html

2009 Year End Report - Schedule

You are forgiven if you think that with all the critics releasing their top tens lists around this time that mine is just around the corner as well. Sadly I am not a professional, I do not get to see films early, and neither am I sent screeners. Which means that my own year end report will be a little later than most.

At this point, I still have 4 films I have classified as Must-Sees before I post my list. At this point, it appears like The Lovely Bones and Crazy Heart will both be released on January 15th. Since this is only two weeks after the end of the year, I am going to hold off until I see both of them, as they could both impact by lists of best films, performances and other Oscar categories. The 3rd film is The Last Station, which currently has a release date of February 5th in my area, no doubt to capitalize on the expected Oscar nominations. The fourth film is the Romanian film Police, Adjective, which has no release date listed for my area. If these releases for the other films hold, then I will not be waiting for The Last Station or Police Adjective. I can only wait so long before posting these lists. I should start my year in review the week of January 18th. It will be an all week affair, as I will release my list of my 25 favorite films (in order), as well as my ten worst list, lists of the ten best performances in each Oscar category, and then an explanation of what I think should be nominated in each other Oscar category.

What this means is that the next few weeks may be quieter than normal at the blog. I will continue to post new reviews, and do my best to keep up with video releases, but other than that, I would not expect too much except for the occasional Oscar update. In addition to writing the massive year end report, I will be working on my list of the decades best 30 films. (Why 30? Well, I started with 100, but found that too unwieldy, so I decided on a top 25 instead, but when I went to make the list, I had 28 films I could not part with, so I added 2 more and made it 30).

Movie Review: It's Complicated

It’s Complicated ***
Directed By: Nancy Meyers.
Written By: Nancy Meyers.
Starring: Meryl Streep (Jane), Steve Martin (Adam), Alec Baldwin (Jake), John Krasinski (Harley), Lake Bell (Agness), Hunter Parrish (Luke), Zoe Kazan (Gabby), Caitlin Fitzgerald (Lauren), Mary Kay Place (Joanne), Rita Wilson (Trisha), Alexandra Wentworth (Diane).

Nancy Meyers has specialized in making romantic comedies about women of a certain age. Her most successful film before It’s Complicated is Something’s Gotta Give, where Diane Keaton played a divorced woman who falls in love with Jack Nicholson, a man who mainly loves much younger women. It’s Complicated follows a similar trajectory. In the film, Meryl Streep plays Jane, a woman who has been divorced from her husband Jake (Alec Baldwin) for 10 years. Jake left her for Agness (Lake Bell), a much younger woman. The divorce not only devastated Jane, but her entire family. It has taken her years to get over it. Now, with the last of her children going off to college, she finally feels comfortable in her own life. Then two men come into her life. The first is her ex-husband who frustrated with his marriage, has decided that Jane maybe the answer to his prayers. While celebrating their son’s University graduation in New York, they get drunk and fall into bed together. Jane feels guilty, but not guilty enough to stop the affair. The other man is Adam (Steve Martin), an architect working on an expansion to her house. He is also divorced, and understands Jane in a way that Jake never has.

In a way, the film is refreshing. Most Hollywood movies sees any woman over 50 (or if we’re going to be really honest, 40), as merely mothers in supporting roles. But It’s Complicated sees Jane as a complex, sexual being - someone still searching for something in her life. Life does not end at 50 - in her case, perhaps its just getting started.

The performances in the movie keep the film interesting. Streep is a great actress, capable of playing drama or comedy with the same ability. At well over 50, she remains one of the best actresses working in the world right now. It must be frustrating for other actresses her age, because there are so few great roles for women their age, and Streep seems to get most of them. As Alec Baldwin has proven in the last few years, he is a comedic genius, and Jake is a perfect match for his sensibilities. We like and hate him in equal degrees, and Baldwin plays the contradictions well. Martin has the least interesting character, a sweet man struggling with divorce and romance, who in Jane finds a kindred spirit. Strangely, as he is the actor most known for comedy of the three of them, he essentially plays the straight man here.

The problem with It’s Complicated, what keeps it from becoming a much better film than it is, is the same problem I had with Something’s Gotta Give. It’s that while Meyers is talented at coming up with interesting concepts for her movies, and creating funny moments (and there are some hilarious ones in the film), she doesn’t do as well as completely fleshing out her story. Once the concept has been established, she simply repeats it in scene after scene. It’s a fascinating idea of a formerly married couple having an affair, but Meyers takes the easy road with the film.

That’s not to say that It’s Complicated is not enjoyable from beginning to end. It is. It’s just that after Meyers came up with a great concept, she doesn’t quite follow through on it. It’s Complicated is a fine film, but it should have been better.