What do Michael Cera, sex-crazed teenagers and gratuitous violence have in common? They are all mashed up in the new film “Youth in Revolt,” a teen sex comedy opening nationwide in theaters tomorrow. You may have, by now, been exposed to the subtly salacious trailer or seen the posters with Cera’s boyish face around campus.
The movie involves anti-teen heartthrob Michael Cera as the cynical and sex-crazed 16-year-old Nick Twisp, vying for the affections of Sheeni Saunders (played by newcomer Portia Doubleday). Saunders is not into the wimpy, quiet type, so Twisp creates another persona, a French persona, named Francois. Francois is a badass with a mustache, but he ends up making Twisp a wanted criminal.
This film was not plucked out of obscurity. It’s actually based on a series of books written by Harvard-educated author C.D. Payne. Payne was 44 when he wrote the first book in 1993 and has been writing the Twisp story ever since, with book six released in 2006.
“Youth In Revolt” was written 16 years ago. Since then, there has been the advent of beepers, cell phones and Internet porn, to name a few things Twisp didn’t have in the early ‘90s.
“It could be argued that Youth in Revolt had such a convoluted trek to the screen because it was ahead of its time. It was very close to receiving a green light at one studio when an executive killed the project because he said R-rated teen comedies couldn’t find an audience. This was a few months before ‘American Pie’ roared onto the scene,” Payne wrote in an e-mail.
Payne’s series focuses on male teenage sexual angst, and he drew inspiration from his disturbing middle school experiences, which he calls the nadir of his life, to create Twisp’s character.
“One does not forget such traumas, even when one has reached the lofty age of 40,” he wrote. “I would say about 23.7 percent of Nick is actually me. The rest is entirely made up.”
With Michael Cera’s Tiger Beat popularity and every-guy awkwardness, it’s easy to see why he was chosen for the role of Twisp. The question burning in the minds of females everywhere is: What is he like in person?
“Micheal Cera is even more adorable in real life than on the screen. He’s a very funny guy with a razor-sharp dry wit,” Payne wrote.
It’s not hard to see why Hollywood has come knocking on Payne’s door — it’s a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties. If the movie is a success, there are a wealth of novels to march down the aisle as sequels. And as for the author, it can’t hurt book sales. Payne said he wants people to walk away from the movie with an “extreme and overwhelming desire to read the novel.”
Thankfully for Payne, there’s a lot of press surrounding this movie. CollegeHumor.com is hosting a contest in which you dress up like Francois and “wreak public havoc.” Whoever submits the most revolting video wins a trip to Vegas.
Payne has a good reason for wanting this movie to do well.
“The first sequel, ‘Revolting Youth,’ has been optioned by Weinstein Films, so if the movie does well, there might indeed be a follow-up. I hope so, ‘cause they’re on the hook to pay me considerably more this next time. Even more reason for everyone to see the movie!”
