Winging It
Written: Sep 11 '07
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Good story and performances
Cons: Script and direction are all over the place
The Bottom Line: It's better to be yourself than to be superbad.
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| pmills1210's Full Review: Superbad |
Going to the movies can sometimes provide some interesting experiences. As I was recently waiting for a movie to begin at a small independent theater, the projectionist came to my seat and informed me I had been the only paid admission. I had the choice of either seeing the film or getting a refund or two free tickets. Since I had plans on other evenings, I opted to see the movie. My decision turned out to be a fortuitous one for several other patrons who arrived after the opening credits. Perhaps these patrons, all of whom were young, might have been trying to acquire some underage liquor or a fake ID, just like the main characters in Superbad.
Superbad tells the story of a group of high school seniors who have been classmates and best friends since kindergarten. To most of their fellow students, they are brainy and nerdy outcasts. Seth (Jonah Hill) is a heavyset and talkative know-it-all whose worst habit is his preoccupation with sex. Evan (Michael Cera) is Seth's introverted best friend. They're close friends with Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who's the most introverted of all. They spend most of their weekends together, since most other students at the school live to openly display their contempt for them.
One fateful Friday, the boys appear to run into some luck. Seth, who's the only student in his home economics class who works by himself, gets a partner for the day in Jules (Emma Stone), whose partner is not in class. Seth and Jules make a connection, and he learns she's throwing a party that night. Seth promises to bring the booze for the party, while Fogell goes out and gets a fake ID card. Jules even gives Seth permission to bring his friends.Evan invites Becca (Martha MacIsaac), one of the few girls who likes him. Fogell has had his eyes on Nikola (Aviva Farber), who also has plans to attend. With money from Jules, Seth promises to deliver libations, and gets requests from everyone they learn are coming.
Things go wrong, once Fogell gets an ID that is obviously fake. Seth and Evan accompany Fogell to the liquor store, but wait outside while he makes the purchase. Fogell is able to convince the cashier he's of age, but as he pays, a robber enters, punches Fogell, and steals money from the open cash register. Officers Slater (Bill Hader) and Michaels (Seth Rogen) come to the store to investigate. Seth and Evan think the police have come to arrest Fogell. Instead, the officers offer to take Fogell where he's going.
Believing Fogell's in trouble, Seth and Evan flee the scene. As they do, a driver named Francis (Joe Lo Truglio) backs into Seth, who claims an injury. In order to stop them from hailing Slater and Michaels, Francis offers to score them some liquor. They crash a party where the host, Mark (Kevin Corrigan), immediately starts a fight with Francis, then orders him to leave. The teens, meanwhile, sneak into the party, which is clearly adult-oriented - and a bit dangerous. Evan leaves, but Seth is determined to stay until he takes some of the drinks and head to Jules's. Evan comes back for Seth just as Seth's leaving. Slater and Michaels, meanwhile, still have Fogell with them when they are called to Mark's house in response to a disturbance call. Fogell rejoins his friends, they head to Jules's, where things continue to not go as planned.
Overall, I found Superbad to be an enjoyable diversion. The main problem I have with Superbad, though, is that director Greg Mottola, who has done work on television for this film's producer, Judd Apatow, doesn't seem sure of what kind of comedy he wants to make. There are elements of Apatow's directorial efforts, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, where men make choices that, ultimately, are life altering. Mottola, though, doesn't set a clear tone. I can see bits of the gross humor of the Farrelly Brothers films, the idiot humor of the Police Academy series, and the sweetness of John Hughes's teen comedies. The screenplay by Rogen and Evan Goldberg doesn't help, as they seem to have drawn inspiration from every young adult comedy made in America since Porky's. Certain story angles go nowhere, such as most of the parts with Seth and Evan before school, and a lot of the parts where Fogell is on patrol with Slater and Michaels. Mottola could easily have shortened the movie and focused on the party planning and preparations, but I suppose this television veteran looked at his producer's films as blueprints on feature film making.
The quality that is the strength of Superbad is that these kids are good kids, looking for a good time and trying to make friends before they go to separate colleges. People can look at Seth, Evan, Fogell, and their friends and perhaps see a bit of the teenagers they used to be in these characters. The boys want to know what it's like to be popular with people other than each other. They want to know the taste of liquor before the law says its okay. They think, mistakenly, that a way to be the life of the party through alcohol. They are just young men whose hormones outrace their brains at every waking moment. They want to know intimacy, and the sooner they know, according to them, the better. The only actors playing the teens I can remember seeing before Superbad are Hill (in Knocked Up) and Cera (in Arrested Development). Hill, Cera, and the others are always engaging in their performances as youngsters who are often surprised at what they learn about themselves - including some truths about drink that might not have occurred to them. Hader and Rogen have some funny lines, but as law enforcement officers, they keep the streets about as safe as the characters in the Police Academy movies.
I can't say for sure what made the other patrons late, but if someone else had been in my position, that person may have decided to cancel the show, get a refund, and take in two at later times. I can sit in a theater and enjoy a movie by myself. I've done that a few times previously. I'm glad I made a decision that allowed others the chance to see Superbad. Maybe, like me, they had other things to do. I hope I gave them the chance to enjoy a film I liked. Maybe they liked it more than I did. Superbad is a fun film about teens trying trying to emulate adults, and having their plans go wrong. In the end, though, the teens learn that the most important things about the evening went right.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Funny Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Pacing
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pmills1210
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Member: Pat Mills
Location: East Chicago, In.
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"Nothing in moderation." - Ernie Kovacs. Read and enjoy!
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