'Superbad' to be a Classic Movie
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera Seek Out Beer, Girls in a Comedic Gem
In Superbad, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play two friends amidst an environment of girls, booze, and fast-paced hilarity. This raunchy comedy is sure to be a classic.
Superbad is a classic teen comedy: memorable, and exhaustively quotable and a DVD well worth adding to the collection.
It could have gone a few ways. If handled poorly – the writing, directing, and especially the acting – this would be nothing more than a forgettable straight-to-video release that would get picked up by accident at video stores. Instead the movie
Instead, Superbad has the potential to become a teen comedy classic, far funnier than any American Pie and full of much-needed heart as a way to catch one’s breath between the myriad of F-bombs and sex talk.
What is it About?
Jonah Hill (Seth) and Michael Cera (Evan) play two best friends convincingly and each has such a strong screen presence that it's easy to get lost in their banter. As the two go on a search for alcohol for a party that will be dry without them, the audience is introduced to Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), a.k.a. McLovin. His fake ID helps to create one of the more memorable movie personas in recent memory.
McLovin spends his evening riding with two of the most incompetent cops the world has ever seen. Played by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader, they add an extra wrinkle of hilarity that sends this movie right over the top, in a good way. The formula is there to make this a typical high school sex romp, but the quick wit and absurdity of it makes it…endearing, even after realizing that Jonah Hill grew up drawing penises and wants little more than a summer full of sex.
This is yet another victory for Judd Apatow (although it was written by Seth Rogen and his childhood friend Evan Goldberg - they based much of this on their own life experiences) and everyone associated in his merry band of friends and followers. Their reputations are quickly being built as comedic masterminds depite their sometimes formulaic films. Their recipe is as follows: fill a film with as much vulgarity as possible but always offeri a strong storyline with a heart. While the story is a little thin in Superbad, the underlying theme deals with the ominous feeling that college will swallow Seth and Evan’s friendship. Many people can relate to that feeling and it's a theme that is hinted at throughout the film.
Cera and Hill Having a Great Time
The best part about movies like Superbad is that it appears the actors are truly having a great time making the movie, and it's a treat for the audience to be let it in on the fun. Apatow and Friends have seized this idea and made it their own, perfecting the formula and instilling the dream in the audience that they too might have friends one day that are that hilarious.
There are few words to describe the varying array of obscenities in this movie, and it is undoubtedly going to offend some. But for those who do not find the F-word being used 1.6 times a minute offensive, this movie really is a gem. It takes a small degree of suspending one’s disbelief to appreciate Superbad, but it is two hours of solid, crude comedy that has rarely been topped.
If you liked Superbad, check out some of these other movies:
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