Superbad

Two best friends in high school are preparing to go to college, but before they do, they both have to work up the guts to sleep with the respective girls of their dreams, with a party, lots of alcohol and two nutty cops all making their way into their wayward evening. What ensues is a funky potpourri of crude, immature and sexually-laced humor that hits the male G-spot square on!

Every now and again, a new teenage flick will hit the cinematic streets and amaze with its ability to make us laugh on a consistent basis, touch base with its teen core audience, remind the older folk what it was like to be a teenager with so little responsibility on the mind (other than looking to get drunk and laid – although some of us “older folk” are still chasing after those two rainbows as well) and turn the cookie-cutter Hollywood versions of a “teen flick” on their respective heads, and SUPERBAD is just that film! Of course it’s no surprise that the man behind one of last summer’s biggest comedic hits, THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN and one of this summer’s biggest comedic hits, KNOCKED UP, Judd Apatow, is involved in this one as well, with yet another great team assembled to deliver the laughs served up via the minds of the (Canadian) writing team of Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (who also plays the cop with the big-ass mustache in the film).

There are a number of things that click very nicely in this movie with its first half hour coming through as one of the funniest that I’ve seen in a long while with one-liners, crude and sexually explicit humor and behavior all striking bullseyes across the board. The film’s original soundtrack featuring an array of funky and 70s beats also separates it from your typical “insert latest Emo group here” sounding flick and while the movie is rated R for a number of reasons, I would say that its dialogue is probably some of the filthiest (and funniest) that I’ve heard in any film for some time. That said, I was extremely surprised to find no T&A in the movie, especially when you consider that it’s rated R anyway, so why not go all the way with that?! Not sure I understood that omission, but other than that, the film builds up a nice camaraderie between the two lead characters (named after the screenwriters) and played extremely well by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is also a nice third wheel to their best friend duo, and turns the one-word name of “McLovin” into one of the film’s many funny ongoing jokes.

The two older cops in the film, played by Bill Hader and Rogen, also add a little bit of balance to the teens’ immaturity, although to be honest, they might actually have been even more immature than the kids themselves! That was one part of the movie that sorta lost me, as the cops’ uber-recklessness is very funny at first, but after spending so much time with them, it sorta lost its lustre and to a certain extent, our connection with reality. It’s one thing for a couple of cops to fuck around on the side, but to take part in the many illegal things that they do in this film, it just went a little too far, at least…in my opinion. I think they could have cut some of their stuff out, since the flick also felt a touch longer than it could have been. But it’s the film’s consistent and creative humor that keeps this comedic motor chugging away, along with the palpable chemistry between all of the teenagers, the many hilarious situations in which the kids are placed (buying the alcohol with fake Ids, for example), as well as the fantasy sequences and ultimately, the parties, the drinking and the many attempts to score with chicks. As per most Apatow movies, this one also includes some heart with the two lead kids demonstrating a sweet friendship vibe, which ultimately becomes the film’s core…once you get past the period jokes, the penis drawings and the many funny references. Even though I had a couple of small issues with the film, I still recommend this movie very highly and foresee teenagers whacking off all over it…but in a good way!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian