Directed by: Greg Mottola
Written By: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
Cast: Jonah Hill & Michael Cera
Runtime: 114 min.
Rating: R
Trailer

If there was ever a class action lawsuit brought against Hollywood by conservative Americans hoping to uncover society’s moral wrongdoings, then Superbad would be their exhibit A, revealing the corrupting influence of Hollywood over children too small, or too dumb, to think for themselves. Those conservatives would look to the film’s sinful trifecta of indecency (axis of evil, perhaps?): sexual promiscuity, underage drinking, and wilful indifference to authority. Oh, and did I mention wicked language by the bucketful? Open and shut case, right? Well, as with all trials, the defence would be given ample time to tell the court why Superbad, with all its supposed indecency, is one of the summer’s best films.

The story of two best friends, Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) – so named after screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who purportedly wrote about what they experienced as teenagers – trying to get laid before leaving each other for different colleges is a story told a thousand times before, but not with the wit, enthusiasm, or the ease of dialogue. Every second word out of the energetic and hypnotic Seth is “fuck”, “cunt”, “prick”, “motherfucker,” or a combination of the four. Same goes for his shy, introverted best friend, Evan, who is played with sensitivity unmatched by most films aimed at, or depicting the life of, undersexed high school teenagers. Sure, they are crude, but man, are they ever funny. Much of Superbad’s crudeness comes from its frank and honest discussions sexual behaviour, but what elevates Superbad into more than just a raunchy teen sex-comedy, are the two leads and their genuine affection for each other.

In a summer of threequels, special effects dominate. Whether they are CGI spider men, pirates, ogres, or transforming machines, special effects wizardry has come to define summer thrills. How refreshing it is, then, that Superbad’s most impressive special effect is also its cheapest and most rewarding: dialogue. Even from its opening credit sequence, depicting silhouettes of Seth and Evan dancing to a 70s beat, the nostalgia and pastiche of the 70s casts an inviting cloud over the film, not just in its use of strong dialogue, but includes everything from sexual liberation to Seth’s Richard Pryor t-shirt. Despite the laugh-a-minute opening, the film does sag a little in the middle as the story drifts away from Seth, Evan, and their tagalong, Fogell (a terrific Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who uses a fake id with the name McLovin’ – a joke that somehow elicits a laugh every time it is used – to concentrate on two police officers, played by Seth Rogan and Bill Hader) who simply want to prove to teenagers, and themselves, that they are cool, despite their age and profession. While there is warmth and sadness to these characters, representing their inadequacy as adults, too much time is spent placing them in situations that stretch the boundaries of believability and silliness, even for a film like this.

More important than all of that, however, is just how good the comedy is when it works. For most of the first half of Superbad, the theatre was laughing so hard, I routinely missed some dialogue after the initial joke. Just to reiterate, conservative parents will hate the drug use, underage drinking, cursing, moral ambivalence, mild homosexual undertones, and flagrant sexual promiscuity. Sounds like a winner to me.

Richard X
© Cinephile Magazine, 2007