'Superbad' review

Rating: **** out of ****

There is a shot in ‘Superbad’ that summarizes the whole movie’s mentality. It’s a stedi-cam shot that features the movie’s three heroes, Seth, Evan and Fogel on a city bus heading to a liquor store in an attempt to buy booze with a fake ID that will never pass. The team sits there among the masses, looking dejected and yet the whole scene is played to ‘Are You Man Enough’ by The Four Tops. It lets us know that being ‘Superbad’ is a state of mind; the folks on the bus can’t see it, but once our heroes get off the bus and back into high school life, they will be superbad because, after all, they have a fake ID.

‘Superbad’ falls in the tradition of movies like ‘Dazed and Confused’ where the whole story is self-contained in one day, culminating on that epic night where the characters’ lives will be changed forever, at least in their minds. This time around, it happens to be the night of the final high school party before the summer. Seth and Evan (Jonah Hill & Michael Cera) have been friends since grade school. They are now planning to go to separate colleges and be apart for the first time in their friendship. Their plans for the final party night includes getting booze for a whole party, having sex (or at least getting to third base) and secretly cherish their last times together – though in that true superbad way, they both know it without saying it. Meanwhile, their nerdy friend Fogel (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is caught up in a wild ride with some police officers (Rogen himself and Bill Hader of ‘SNL’) who commit more felonies than they prevent. A series of interlocking incidents occur and the adventure eventually leads everyone – even the officers – to the same party. Before getting to the party however, the boys go through a series of adventures that lead to car crashes, fistfights and detergent jugs filled with beer.

For a while, the high school of the movies was the most unbelievable place in the world. It was the place where mid-thirties actors played eighteen year olds, everyone was having sex, kids drove Mercedes’ to school, and every kid was wheeling and dealing drugs. ‘Superbad’, on the other hand, is the most realistic high school comedy since the original ‘American Pie’ and one of the most authentic ever made. In fact, Christopher Mintz-Plasse had to be tutored during production because he was actually in high school. ‘Superbad’ captures the youthful dreams of parties and third base that many films either fail at, or blow extremely out of proportion. Sure, some of the film is exaggerated, but that is understood; the characters in ‘Superbad’ though, like in real life, talk big but act small. They claim to be able to get booze and girls before they ever have either. There is a scene in which Seth says he’ll go get booze and fantasizes about an old woman buying it for him and then the two of them being murdered by a security guard.

Even though it does not say ‘based on a true story’ in the opening credits, you can tell that ‘Superbad’ is somewhat of an autobiographical tale, based on the high school careers of Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, the film’s writers. Everything about ‘Superbad’ feels authentic, from the way the teens speak to the way they interact and their immediate goals; the latter comprised of ways to get girls and alcohol.

The film has an absolutely filthy mouth, with more profanities than a Tarantino flick I’m willing to bet. Nevertheless, its heart is pure. There is a bond between Seth and Evan that comes across so naturally on screen. I believe that these friends have been together since childhood. There is a scene in which Seth and Evan are lying drunk on a floor, and in their inebriation, have a genuine moment of platonic love between friends, summarized in the simple act of a hug and a pat on the back. It comes across as more authentic than hundreds of screen kisses I have seen. The film also ends perfectly, with a quiet resolution that simultaneously offers an understanding between Seth and Evan as to the future of their relationship and gives a message of hope for our heroes.

‘Superbad’ is the latest collaboration between Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow, the dream team behind ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’ and ‘Knocked Up’. Apatow isn’t in the director’s seat this time, rather as producer, but still, this film has his name all over it. It is the funniest film I have seen all summer and I found myself laughing aloud frequently in a packed theater. Entire lines of dialogue were lost to the laughter. After ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’, ‘Knocked Up’ and now ‘Superbad’, I can confidently say that the Rogan/Apatow team is the North American equivalent of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.

(NOTE: A positive detail I noticed about the film: none of the character’s we’re supposed to care about does drugs in the film. Aside from a scene with some stoners at a party doing cocaine, there are no drugs in the film, not even marijuana. I thought this was a pleasant surprise as compared to most high school movies, which have kids casually smoking (cigarettes and pot), drinking and having sex. I know that may be the truth, but the whole point of going to the movies is to escape.)