Superbad

This could be for the late nineties what Dazed and Confused did for the mid seventies (except Superbad is a little bit more extreme). Every so long a movie comes along that is truly iconic, and I think this may be one of those movies that sums up a generation. I've seen two teenage comedies in the last week, Superbad and Bratz. I could not think of a single person who could possibly relate to Bratz, whereas I could not think of a single person who could not relate to some part of Superbad.

Judd Apatow has to be one of the hardest working people in show business. For the past year every Apatow movie I'm seen is preceded by trailers for the next one he's involved with. This can all be a little misleading, however, seeing as he neither directed nor wrote Superbad (It was directed by television veteran Greg Mottola, and penned by longtime Apatow collaborators Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg. This isn't a problem, though, since it is easily the funniest movie that has come from that crew.

Jonah Hill stars as Seth, and Michael Cera stars as Evan, two best best friend seniors who lacking a better term, are losers. The movie takes place over the course of a single day, as the two of them try to work of the courage to approach the girls they like, and somehow actually get invited to a party (under the impression that they are providing the alcohol). Said alcohol will be obtained by Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is in possession of a fake ID with the hilarious moniker- McLovin. Just McLovin, no first name.

One thing about movies from this group, is that they are apologetically extreme. Most teen comedies try to aim for a PG-13 rating. I think every Apatow movie thus far has received nothing tamer than an R rating- clearly because of the language. Every other word uttered in this movie is either profane, or sexual. As realistic as the conflicts were in Mean Girls, the language is even more dead on in Superbad.

Seth and Evan spend a terrible night trying track down alcohol, and realizing their love-lives, all while coming to terms with the idea that they are going to different schools next year. Fogell/McLovin had a slightly more interesting evening. After the liquor store he was trying to buy booze at was robbed, he goes off on a joyride with the two police officers (Seth Rogen and and Bill Hader) who responded (evidently they felt a connection with McLovin). These scenes were the funniest in the movie.

No, this isn't Shakespeare. It's the story of three desperately uncool high school seniors in their last ditch effort at enjoying their childhood. Their exploits may not be the most realistic, but the characters themselves are- and they're so damn funny, with a Bootsy Collins and Van Halen infused funky soundtrack. This is one of the best movies so far this year, and the funniest one in the past several years.

Watch the Trailer

5/5