Superbad

SUPERBAD
Released by Columbia Pictures
Starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera

If you're a follower of Apatow flicks, you'd probably know about how his movies typically work: profanity, profanity, some great jokes, profanity, real human emotion, good message, credits roll. This one is no different, but at least I like it better than the disappointingly overrated Knocked Up.

Based on the real life trevails of writers Seth Rogen (Yes, the Seth Rogen) and Evan Goldberg, it's about 2 teen best friends aptly named Seth and Evan who promise their friends alcohol for the party they're holding on the last day of senior year. They take up on that request just so they could have a night of drunk fantasy... "to become 'king' when they enter college" so to speak, but thing is, they're not of legal age, so they depend on another person named Fogell who has a fake ID to just get in, go out and have a good time. But if a fake ID has the name McLovin' written on it, can anyone believe this? Will they get to the party on time?

Seriously, the situations here are so wacky and so exaggerated that it's hard not to laugh, but personally, Jonah Hill's character, Seth, is pretty annoying and loud. Still, that's supposed to be his character so I respect that. Anyway, the writers themselves appear as the cops who befriend McLovin along the way and errr... I didn't exactly get the connection of these scenes with the main story, that is, until the latter part of the movie. Well, each of them have pretty distinct properties and personalities that set them apart. Seth is loud and foul-mouthed, Evan is apparently a nerd, but Fogell is the ultimate nerd who ironically gets all the glory.

It's mostly idiotic, but later you find out that the outing is deeper than it seems. It covers the difficulties of going separate ways, it deals with awkwardness and teen angst, crushes, sex, alcohol, the strength of friendship, the works in a manner that is not obvious at all. In fact, it's pretty smart when you look at it another way, but it manages to entertain as well. It deserves many kudos solely for actually being able to convey the awkwardness of teenhood on screen so perfectly, so realistically that I swear I was in their shoes!

I mean, all told I would still say that I was pretty put off by the excessive swearing and sexual references that are insanely cluttered in the beginning, and some scenes just seem pretty uncomfortable. I mean, it is indeed a notable highlight of the teen comedy genre since it's actually watchable, but I'm not sure that it would actually be regarded a classic 10 years from now as one critic noted. Then again, American Pie is regarded as just that, so it's not impossible.

It depends upon taste. If you've got a friend who has a copy, you could always rent it. I mean, it doesn't have jokes that are as horribly crass as that of Smother (oh wait, it does have one part that's pretty similar to it), but unlike that piece of crap, it has a heart and it has real substance and that's what matters. It's either you buy it, or you don't. For me, it's decent enough to get a high 8.5, so sue me if you disagree.

RATING: 8.5/10

Posted with LifeCast