Superbad

Posted by Ty Nelson (roner34@sbcglobal.net) on August 23, 2007

When I was in high school my friends and I would stay out all night and go wild. Sometimes we would drink, sometimes we would sneak around in dark clothing while performing the most idiotic and inane acts of petty vandalism, and sometimes we would just drive around. The best part of these misbegotten nights was the start of the evening, everyone leaving their houses and meeting up at a predetermined location. These moments were thick with excitement and the feeling that anything could happen.

As I got older those moments happened less and less. The group grew up, some married, some didn’t, some had kids, some didn’t, some friends drifted away while others stayed close, we all started working and life became full of routines. Then along comes a movie like Superbad and that feeling of unpredictability is back, at least for two hours.

Superbad tells the story of three friends. Seth, Evan, and Fogell have managed to make it through high school without getting laid and are worried their inexperience with woman will hurt them in college. Evan and Fogell got into Dartmouth but Seth is going to State. This complicates things as Seth and Evan are best friends and the thought of separating runs just under the surface of the entire movie.

After getting invited to a popular girl’s party the boys offer to buy the booze in an effort to score before leaving for college. Fogell gets a fake I.D. with the now famous “McLovin” moniker. But when he tries to get the alcohol trouble goes down. Seth and Evan bail at the first site of the police and get caught up in their misadventures, while Fogell is whisked away by two of the funniest and inept cops in movie history.

Officer Michaels: McLovin?
Officer Slater: [pause] That’s such a cool name.
Officer Michaels: I know. It sounds like a sexy hamburger.

What sets Superbad apart from most teen comedies is the balance of story and humor. Like John Hughes movies or Fast Times at Ridgemont High there is just enough plot and character development to get emotionally invested in these characters without sacrificing laughs. This isn’t just another night in their lives, it is a turning point for each of them, albeit in different ways.

The casting is pitch perfect. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are a great comedy team in the mold of Vince Vaughn and John Favreau. Hill plays Seth with so much vulgarity and obnoxiousness it’s almost over the top. But he somehow manages enough charm to get us to root for him.

Seth: [referring to Evan's mother] I am truly jealous you got to suck on those tits when you were a baby.
Evan: Yeah, well, at least you got to suck on your dad’s dick.
Seth: [shrugs] It’s a nice lookin’ dick.

Evan on the other hand has the same nervous calm and naivety that Cera perfected as George Michael Bluth on “Arrested Development”. Chistopher Mintz-Plasse as Fogell/McLovin, a part he was born to play, has delivered one of the most memorable catch phrases of the last several years, “I Am McLovin”!

Full of explosive laughs, vulgar language, and dick drawings this is yet another in a string of winners from producer Judd Apatow (”Freaks and Geeks”, “Undeclared”, The 40-year-old Virgin, and Knocked Up). By remembering how wonderfully awkward it is to be on the verge of growing up Apatow is able to find poignant humor in any situation. Superbad is the funniest movie of the year and well worth your time.

The Upside: Funniest movie of the year!

The Downside: You’ll wish you were young/cool enough to get into keggers again.

On the side: If you liked Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Knocked Up or Sixteen Candles, you should like Superbad.

Read more articles by Ty Nelson