SYNOPSIS:
Nick Twisp is a 16-year-old who is an outcast of his generation.
He meets Sheeni Sounders, an intellectual and beautiful girl.
The only things really standing in his way are Sheeni's poetry-writing
ex-boyfriend Trent, Nick's temperamental divorced parents and
Nick's mom's boyfriends. When Nick realizes she is not interested
, he comes up with an alter-ego named Francois Dillinger who
resembles Nick but has blue eyes, a mustache, a deeper voice
and a player/bad boy attitude to help him with his pursuit of
Sheeni. But when Francois makes Nick a wanted criminal, everything
spins out of control.
MOVIE REVIEW:
After
much contemplation, this reviewer has finally come to terms
with the fact that he won’t be Prince Charming material
– ever. There are only so many Zac Efrons, Channing
Tatums and Chad Michael Murrays the world can have. So he
turns to the next best alternative – to be the loveable
loser. No dashing good looks, no sculpted hot bod, no killer
flashy smile – just a charming personality to sweep
girls off their feet. So we have this young actor Michael
Cera who seems to be hogging those roles which define the
loveable loser (Juno, Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,
Paper Heart), and in this movie based on C D Payne’s
novel, he does what he does best, and further becomes an inspiration
to this reviewer.
The
Canadian actor plays Nick Twisp, who wants nothing more that
his dream girl Sheeni Saunders to be the girl to take away
his virginity. There are better looking guys who are obviously
better choices for the sweet young thing, so how will this
skinny and scrawny dude edge his way through? He has the help
of his alter ego Francois DIllinger, who sports a sophisticated
accent and a suave moustache. With other problems like quarrelling
parents and college woes, will our hero be able to come out
triumphant?
Everyone
loves a loser turned champion story plot, which is why this
tale of fighting all odds to become the cool dude is a winner.
And yes, Cera does a great job of translating that awkwardness
on screen. Sure, viewers will be reminded of his previous
roles in movies (the soft spoken, timid and sometimes cowardly
character), but there is something in all of us which connects
with an underdog tale.
It
also helps that the quirky and sometimes darkly funny approach
to the movie is a nice departure from those saccharine sweet
teen dramas. While we hear that the source material is far
more superior to this screen adaptation, we are not complaining
because we were suitably entertained for 86 whole minutes.
The chaotic and hilarious twists and turns of events may not
be what most consider realistic, but the make believe elements
are what most of us wish to escape to sometimes, just to get
away from the stressful despair of the real world.
Cera
is joined by a motley crew of actors who seem to have fun
being in this production. There is the somewhat alluringly
seductive Portia Doubleday who plays Twisp’s dream girl,
the almost obnoxious Jean Smart who plays his trailer trash
mother and the loud and crass Ray Liotta who takes over the
role of the man of Twisp’s house. Also, watch out for
the comical Justin Long in a hilarious cameo.
When
the end credits roll, you’d realise it is not that bad
being a loser, a loveable one, that is.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There
is nothing to complain about the movie's visual transfer.
It is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 English.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted
on 2 August 2010
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