Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg score Hat Trick with Superbad!
Written: Aug 24 '07 (Updated Aug 24 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Bang For The Buck |
 |
|
|
Pros: A funny teen comedy
Cons: Actually an adult comedy
The Bottom Line: Very funny adult comedy about teens coming of age.
|
|
|
| shopaholic_man's Full Review: Superbad |
The folks that brought us 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked up go for the Hat Trick with Superbad and score. Although Judd Apatow isn't the writer of this teen comedy, it still has the same sort of charm and salacious and sophomoric humor as Virgin and Knocked Up.
The Story
The story has been done many times before, two social misfits try to lose their virginity before graduating high school. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are the protagonists of this comedy together with their misfit friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). All they know about girls they have learned from pornographic websites, so they have little actual knowledge of what makes the opposite sex tick, let alone what it would take to actually have sex with one of them.
Seth and Evan hit upon a plan when Fogell tells them that he is getting a fake ID. By some chance or fate, or sheer luck one of the girls in their high school, Jules (Emma Stone) has asked Seth if he will be at a party, and he tells her about Fogell's upcoming fake ID. Soon he has promised to bring all the alcohol to Jules party. Of course in his teenage sex obsessed mind, he assumes that if he plies the young lady with alcohol, he will be that guy she shouldn't have slept with because she was so drunk. Politically correct, no, but what teen comedy is. Meanwhile an actual girl, Becca, (Martha MacIsaac) likes Evan, but he is too painfully shy to realize this. Nevertheless, Evan is quite excited that Becca will also be at Jules party.
What makes this comedy a cut above many teen comedies is that it actually does have a heart. Despite the kids obsession with sex, and their inappropriate means of obtaining the object of their desires, they manage to inspire sympathy and pity. At heart, you can tell the two don't mean to objectify women, it's just that they really don't know any better. In fact, they hurt themselves more than the girls they fantasize about. In watching the film, I wanted them to be able to actually hook up with the girls of their dreams, not for quick sex and the fulfillment of their singular sexual desires, but to realize that there is more to relations than sex and actually get to see the girls as real people with hopes and fears the same as them. Without giving away the ending, I will say that I was pleased with the way things were wrapped up at the end of the film.
Adding a really funny comedy element to the film were Seth Rogen and Bill Hader as two outrageous police officers who pick up "McLovin" (Fogell with his fake ID) after a liquor store robbery. Their adventures were almost as hilarious as Seth and Evans adventures trying to get alcohol to the girls party.
Rating
This movie may not be for everyone. Like 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, the movie is full of very vulgar language, much talk about sex from a puerile point of view, and other various crude and rude humor. However, it avoided many of the sophomoric jokes that are the staple of other teen comedies, such as bathroom humor. American Pie this film was not. Surprisingly, for an adult coming of age comedy, there was also no nudity.
Humor
Although I didn't laugh quite as loud as I did at 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, this film had many laugh out loud, coke through my nose, choking on popcorn moments. It is rude, crude and very funny movie. It is a coming of age film, and it manages to stand on its own, despite dozens of similar coming of age films.
Acting
Seth Rogen, no stranger to these comedy films was hilarious as Officer Michaels, and brings his off brand sense of humor to the role. His partner Bill Hader, reminded me of Dan Ackroyd the way he delivered his lines.
Jonah Hill who was also in Knocked Up was good in his role as Seth. I haven't seen such a naive high school kid as Michael Cera's Evan since Brian Bracker as Mark Ratner in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Both Hill and Cera created believable characters that you could laugh at, but feel sympathy for at the same time. Perhaps you will even see a bit of yourself (although not any part you'd admit to) in their characters.
Writing / Direction
I didn't find Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's writing as sharp as Judd Apatow, nor did I find Greg Mottola's direction as witty, but overall, it was a well done job that is in the same overall feeling as Apatow's films. In some ways I feel it is a bit of a misnomer to say it's by the same people who brought you Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin, because THE person who had the most influence on those films was Apatow, who wasn't present in this film. That is probably why I would give the previous films 5 stars, while giving Superbad 4, but nonetheless, it is a good showing. By the way "the folks that brought you" actually means that Rogen and Goldberg were co-producers of the previous films. Producers are the ones that hire the directors, get the screenplay and the talent for the film.
Summary
This isn't one of the most excellent coming of age comedies I have seen, but it was very good, and I gave it 4 stars.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Funny Movie
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.