It’s likely that you’re going to know quickly – given that Michael Cera can be heard masturbating over the film’s opening “Universal” logo - whether you’re going to enjoy Youth in Revolt. Cera’s awkward nerd persona has become rather long in the tooth by now, and so in this adaptation of C.D. Payne’s acclaimed novel, he thankfully sends it up, supplementing it with something a little more challenging.

16-year-old Nick Twisp (Cera) is a socially inept pariah who, while on vacation, chances upon on the beautiful Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday), who shares his creative flair and an interest in Jean-Luc Godard’s films. However, Nick learns that she has a boyfriend, in the pretentious, sweater vest-wearing douche Trent (Jonathan B. Wright), while also having to contend with his own divorced, overbearing parents, George (Steve Buscemi), and Estelle (24’s Jean Smart). As a coping mechanism, Nick concocts what he terms a “supplementary persona”, hilariously named François Dillinger; a moustache-donning, bad-mouthed, irascible upstart who just might be bad enough to win Sheeni’s heart once and for all.

Youth in Revolt’s opening sections very much play off against Cera’s persona built-up in films such as Superbad and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, reinforced here as the socially inept, sex-starved kid who thinks that the prick always gets the girl. However, director Miguel Arteta also manages to aptly satirise the pompous nature of “hip” romantic comedies (which Cera himself has starred in before, both with the aforementioned Infinite Playlist, and Paper Heart), indulging Twisp in a slow-motion shower cutaway after he first meets Sheeni, and then also having him be shown up as pretentious when he attempts to discuss Godard films with her. In every way, Sheeni has Nick outfoxed, and as the sexy temptress, it’s refreshing that she has no time to stop and coddle him through his irksome, self-conscious neurosis.

This is far from your traditional love story, if only because the boy doesn’t spend 80 minutes chasing the girl; he gets her before the first reel is over, but the tension lies in the fact that this is just a holiday for Nick and his mother, and they’ll be going home soon. Nick is naturally melodramatic about the whole affair, making their fling out to be more portentous and valuable than it actually is, while Sheeni is far more pragmatic about the whole affair. As a mockery of romantic-drama conventions, it is mildly amusing if rather fleeting.

The film really hits its stride once Nick’s François surfaces, who is without doubt a welcome rebuke to Cera’s increasingly-stale usual persona. François urges Nick, “it’s time to rebel”, and it’s true of both part and player. Though not in the film as much as you might hope, François’ badass subset allows Cera to test himself, deepening his voice, washing out his ears, and delivering some real zingers.

Things do lose steam by the end of the second reel, though, and some hokey plotting – such as a ridiculous scheme by Nick to get Sheeni kicked out of her all-girl school – just isn’t “bad” enough, but it still features enough reckless abandon and drug use (with one of the oddest mushroom-inspired scenes you’ll ever see) to satisfy. The absurdity ratchets up suitably for the finale, which amusingly lampoons Bonnie and Clyde-esque runaway scenarios, but it ultimately winds up more silly than surreal, despite plenty of good scenes sprinkled throughout.

Ultimately, the film is more subtly amusing than outwardly hilarious, managing a few ripping one-liners but not much more. Instead, much enjoyment comes from the cast of bit-players that Arteta has assembled, including Steve Buscemi, The Hangover’s Zach Galifianakis (as Estelle’s boyfriend), Ray Liotta (as a demented cop), Justin Long (as Sheeni’s older brother), Jean Smart, and Fred Willard (in one of his oddest performances yet). It doesn't live up entirely to its pulpy potential, but Youth in Revolt offers some dark, offbeat humour amidst a brilliant cast, with a notable performance from Michael Cera that sees him take a baby step away from his usual business. Still, it's all too slight to be what it should.