Superbad

Yes, it's funny. It's silly, it's crass, it's irreverant, and it has all the makings of a mindless adolescent farce like the ones I grew up with from American Pie to Revenge of the Nerds and all their sequels. But when this movie ended and the credits rolled I was left speechless in awe. And not just because of all the penis drawings during the credits.

"Superbad" is, as you may expect from any film produced by Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, etc), on the raunchy side. So don't be surprised if you see a penis drawing or 2. But what makes this an amazing film is that despite all the raunchiness and partying and horseplay it actually delivers some powerful human and sentimental themes.

In the hands of an inferior cast, it would have flopped and come across as cheesy. But with these actors, each delivering a larger than life performance despite playing high school seniors, it's magnificent. I'll give you just 1 example of what I'm talking about...

There's a scene where 2 characters are gearing up for a sexual encounter (their first). But one of them (and arguably both) are not ready for it. Unlike all the teen romps that I grew up with, where the goal is for the guy to bed the girl, this scene makes us put the brakes on and consider: Wait... Why is the goal always for the guy to bed the girl?? And at the same time it's really funny and does not sacrifice the film's momentum. I won't ruin the ending of the scene, but let's just say it's satisfying on every level and punctuated with a great gag to make us laugh.

"Superbad" is truly an evolution of the genre. It's every bit as crass and wacky and full of horseplay as all the others since Porky's, but this is the first time one of these mindless comedies dares to make us think and feel on a deeper level. Like I said, it's largely due to the great casting. Michael Cena, if you're not familiar, plays his signature role of an awkward deer-in-the-headlights kid but with a strong sense of who he is, even though nobody else seems to understand. Jonah Hill plays his best friend, sort of the antithesis: a loser who thinks he knows what he wants but he's really quite confused. Emma Stone knocks it out of the park with a great role that's quirky, cool, rebellious and responsible all at the same time. Rounding out the troupe are Bill Hader and Seth Rogan who play a pair of despicable yet loveable cops whose combined IQ is around the same as their blood alcohol level.

This flick has it all. It's definitely for mature audiences in terms of language (at least the unrated cut I watched), but ironically it has some great messages for teens and younger viewers, if you can see through the tomfoolery. There aren't many films I can compare this to, but if you've seen "Easy A" with Emma Stone (somewhat tamer than this), I'd say "Superbad" has the same vibe. A seemingly silly teen comedy that packs a serious punch under the surface.

The Good:

In the spirit of a horny teenage boy awkwardly confessing his love to his crush of forever, I'm just going to list everything I love about this comedy classic.

The ambiguous time period. Superbad looks, sounds, and feels like the 1970s (hence the title), with warm browns and oranges, a grainy "shot-on-film" feel, and a killer funk inspired soundtrack. Yet, it's clearly a movie set in the 2000s, with the cellphones, and the PS2s and the cars in the background. It's almost as if the movie is sub-communicating how timeless it would eventually become. Which, whether intentional or not, is telling as to how brilliant this raunchy, vulgar comedy truly is.

Jonah Hill and Michael Cera's chemistry in this film is UNREAL. They sound, act, and feel like actual friends and the reality that they've never done another movie together sort of propels their dynamic in this film to LEGENDARY status. There's nothing to compare them to really; they are one of cinema's all time duos in this one, perfectly balancing off one another.

It calls back to another amazing aspect of this film; how realistic the teenagers look and act in this film. Clearly everyone is in their mid 20s, but most of the teens look like seniors on the cusp of graduation. More than that, they ACT realistically. One thing American high school films always get wrong is the "clique." They're really not as rigid as films and TV portray; people frequently talk to, hang out with, and befriend people outside of their clique on a regular basis. Superbad nails how high school isn't a straightforward tribal hierarchy. It's a web of relationships.

I know that sounds like a weird thing to praise this movie for, but it all culminates in one of the best party montages I've seen put to film. It's super satisfying not just to see our heroes finally get to the Promised Land, but for it to be a party filled with generally realistic people. It harkens back to parties I went to back in the day; maybe that's why this movie speaks to me so much.

Speaking of realism, this film managed to impact pop culture going forward with the inclusion of the iconic Christopher Mintz-Plasse as McLovin. It's kind of appropriate he came and went; I'd be surprised if he could ever top this role, to be honest. A testament to exceptional casting throughout this film, there's no one else I could imagine possibly being McLovin than this dude.

What else can I say? The writing is basically perfect, with so many jokes crammed into this that you can watch it dozens of times and still find new things to laugh at. The performances are top notch from absolutely everyone, whether they're minor characters or romantic interests. The movie's real message about friendship and growing up is unbelievably heart warming.

AND THAT ENDING. Would anyone have expected a movie about two horny teenage boys trying to deliver alcohol to a party for the express purposes of getting laid to end like this? For it to tug at your heart strings and wish there was another movie right after? I don't think so.

Bad: It's Super.

The Ugly: I'm going to say it. Superbad is probably the last great American comedy film. There have been good comedies since, for sure, but do any of them even come close to Superbad? It'll be 15 years in 2022 since this movie came out, and honestly, it hasn't been topped. All hail the baddest of them all.

Maybe back then you couldn't tell what would become of Jonah Hill eventually (an Oscar nominated actor, playing with/against Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio) ... actually if you told anyone back then this would happen, they'd have written that in the script, because it would have sounded hilarious.

Speaking of hilarious: That's something that can be said about this movie. Of course many will start comparing this with American Pie, Porkys and what not. But the movie stands on its own two feet and has been copied a lot itself. Never to that success and never as good as "Superbad" obviously. If you like your teen comedies to be raunchy and dirty, this is exactly your cup of tea. After watching this, you might also be McLovin (this) ... no relation to any Fast Food chain by the way ...

Normally I don't like this kind of film about teenagers trying to act like adults, but this film really works. It is funny, it has brotherhood, friendship and romance all in one. It is impolite at times but it is not over the top. It doesn't feel annoying or stupid either, which is actually quite impressive.

I like the bit where the cops get drunk and do silly things