Warning: Spoliers below the fold.
I had nothing against Michael Cera until he took down Nick Twisp. Now, Cera is on notice.
Fuck man, I had such high hopes for this movie. Although, the pushed back release date and Superbad comparisons should have tipped me off that this was going to be ... not good.
First off, too much was left out. I understand a 3 1/2 hour teen comedy (although I don't know if you could call it a comedy if you don't laugh) isn't feasible, but they left out 1) almost everything involving Lefty (the faked suicide, the sex in the woods/mountains, the practice blow job [WHICH I REALLY WANTED TO SEE, AHEM]), 2) Nick's sister and the whole Wart Watch stuff and 3) more of Nick's life undercover as Carlotta. I loved all this, and they left in the most basic elements to move the Sheeni adoration plot forward (which, although is the base of the movie is still ... YAWN).
And Cera was terrible for Nick. In age and appearance yes, he was a decent fit, but in acting and attitude he was totally off. Twisp is an obnoxious yet meek asshole that stumbles onto his criminal record. Cera played him as a loser doormat that stumbles onto his criminal record. Although Cera did a good job as François Dillinger. I'll give him that.
And what a waste of a supporting cast! Steve Buscemi! Zach Galifinakis! Justin Long! Meh. I didn't get laughs out of any of them.
As poorly cast as Cera was, and as wasted as the supporting cast was, Portia Doubleday was perfectly cast for Sheeni: she was beautiful and insufferable.
Overall I feel like, when I first read the book, it was vibrant. It made me laugh out loud. The implausible seemed plausible. But in this movie? Nothing made sense. It felt muted in tone, and attitude. My favorite book, reduced to a mess that barely earned its R rating. And it could have been epic.
