8.22.2007

The Superbad Post

You know a movie is going to be good when you sit-down to see it and the previews that run before it have taglines like “From the guys that brought you Superbad comes…” From the second Superbad started I knew I was in for a gem of a movie. Having savored trailers and internet previews for most of the summer I finally caught the hilarious teen comedy last night, and can assure you that Superbad is the new American Pie of this generation, and will be quoted and referenced more than Napoleon Dynamite and Old School combined. McLovin will finally dethrone Harold and Kumar, and Stiffler’s Mom will be forgotten.

As they did with Knocked Up, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg have taken the everyday loser’s life (and his friends) and fleshed it out in a hilarious comedy that draws parallels with all who see it. The phrase ‘it’s funny because it’s true’ has never applied to movie more than this one. If felt like I was watching my life on screen meshed with the lives of everyone I’ve ever known. There isn’t a single character in this film that you didn’t go to high school with. Not a line delivered or a situation presented that doesn’t drip with plausible implausibility.

On the negative side, Superbad’s plot is simple and blown out of proportion by its characters (due to their adolescent nature) and as a result delivers a lackluster climax and a tacked on ending that fails to deliver. However this is all entirely excusable and won’t phase 99% of the audience. Also the cop duo are just too inconsistent throughout the movie to the point where you end up wondering what they are going to do next. What initially starts as a jab at lazy cops spirals out of control into a string of bizarre occurrences and random situations that do little other than entertain the already laughing audience and confuse anyone who was looking for a point to their inclusion. But whatever, go see this movie.

If you don’t like this film you are either too old or are just not fun. Perhaps you have an opposition to the f-word, in which case you’d have somewhat of a basis for disliking this film, as Superbad drops the f-bomb every other word. The sheer vulgarity of many situations and the lines Seth and Evan deliver is perfected to a level that without it the movie would be but a shell of what it is. The movie cements Seth Rogan as a comic genius and will guarantees that Michael Cera and Johna Hill will become much more that ‘the kid from Arrested Development’ and the ‘wiener guy’ from Accepted. I look forward to not only another Superbad (they would be crazy not to do a college spin-off at this point) but more movies featuring these guys in the not so distant future.

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