Film Review: Superbad (2007) B+

Date Viewed: 12/13/07
Venue: DVD

Superbad is pretty simply the best teenage sex-comedy to arrive since 1999's American Pie. Written by childhood chums Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, this tale revolves around two high school virgins (named Seth and Ethan, of course. Played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera respectively) desperately seeking to smuggle alcohol into a graduation party in the hopes of getting girls drunk enough to have sex with them. Nothing goes as planned and the guys embark on an epic hi-jinks-filled quest to fuel their alcoholic dreams.

On the surface, there's not much to differentiate Superbad from other teen romps. There's vulgarity aplenty, some crude gross-out humor, and heavy alcohol and drug use. What really sets this apart is an honest and natural attention to character. I buy that Seth and Evan are (very co-dependent) best friends with a long history. I buy their quick-witted and hilarious exchanges. A lot of the credit for this goes to Hill and Cera, but much should be given to Rogen and Goldberg. This is so very obviously a labor of love and personal experience that you can't help but admire it.

In addition to the strong work from the leads, Superbad boasts an excellent supporting cast. Christopher Mintz-Plasse nearly steals the movie as fake-ID geek Fogell (aka 'McLovin,' or so it says on his Hawaii(!) driver's license), plus Bill Hader and Rogen himself are amazingly funny as two of the world's worst police officers.

Superbad succeeds not because of the outrageous situations our characters find themselves in, nor is it due to the sheer volume of obscenely funny dialog. Superbad works because its kids are genuine, their relationships are genuine, and their fears, motivations, and eventual growth, are genuine, too.