A boring trailer. A terrible (movie) title, putting one in the mind of smelly Che Guevara t-shirts, and ratty Castro caps. The only reason I persevered and eventually allowed Netflix to tee this one up was I was less interested in Casino Jack & The United States of Money that day. One can only watch so many documentaries without a snack break.And plus, hey, Michael Cera. I figured, "Yeah, I know what I'm going to get. Serve it up." But here he plays two characters: the Cera type we all know by now, and which I was looking forward to, and a more sinister, deeper-voiced Francois, who is funny merely because Cera is playing him. He even changes his slouchy physicality; it's an impressive bit of split-screen doppelganger-y. It's not Sam Rockwell(s) in Moon, a master class, but it's fun.
More, it's directed with a real sense of visual fun, incorporating some great stop-motion, slow-mo and animated sequences, which make a timeworn coming-of-age story seem fresh. And Miguel Arteta's got some real indie street cred, having directed Star Maps, Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl, not to mention my favorite Office episode ever: Diwali!
Anyway, catch this however you do what you do. It's worth every penny of the $1.09 you'd pay Redbox. Then watch Election again. And it's right up there with Assassination of a High School President. And if you've never seen The Chocolate War, give that a whirl too.
