What could possibly go wrong when three helplessly misguided, uber-geeky teens try to score booze for an entire party, in hopes of getting their hottie crushes inebriated to the point of making the boys their "mistake"?
Well, that was a rhetorical question. Everything in "Superbad" goes wrong, and it goes wrong brilliantly, just as one can come to expect from producer Judd Apatow — the man behind other such (equally successful) sexual farces as "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up."
The highly promoted feature has been described as a racy coming-of-age comedy about two high school seniors suffering from separation anxiety due to their forthcoming departure to different colleges. And sure, that theme is sprinkled around the edges, but the real humor gravitates toward the boys' overcharged hormonal urges. Thus, "Superbad" is less about the strangely close relationship of the BFFs a la "Knocked Up," and more about their endearing (and I mean endearing) quest to get laid.
Directed by Greg Mottola ("The Daytrippers") and based off the script by childhood pals Seth Rogen ("Knocked Up") and Evan Goldberg (executive producer of "Knocked Up") when they were just thirteen, "Superbad" serves a loaded gun of slapstick spoofs with a no-holds-barred policy on outrageously funny, sometimes borderline uncomfortable, crude humor.
The film follows the jagged course of one night, starring Jonah Hill ("Knocked Up") and Michael Cera (TV's late "Arrested Development") as Seth and Evan, respectively. They are joined by newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the four-eyed Fogell, who despite his previously empty résumé, manages to upstage much of the cast with his portrayal of the iconoclastic nerd.
This assessment of Mintz-Plasse's rockstar performance is backed up with moments such as his joyful announcement of the arrival of his boner to the girl he's with. It is this brand of humor that sets Apatow and company apart. The unforgivingly realistic awkwardness of each situation comes paired with a cleverness and wit worthy of the gut-wrenching laughter it produces.
The storyboard of "Superbad" is not as fresh as the raunch it drives, however. The trying-to-get-some-action plot is unoriginal, as is the idea of teenage boys leading with their penises rather than their brains. Although the lead characters' ultimate redemption from sexual repression seems evident, Team Apatow certainly doesn't make it easy for them.
Rogen and Bill Hader ("Hot Rod") make appearances as unconventional cops who don't take protecting the law seriously. It is with these two that Fogell gets stuck for a period of time, not because his fake Hawaiian ID simply reading "McLovin" doesn't fly, but because he is, well, just that cool. As Rogen's character explains, McLovin "sounds like a sexy hamburger."
Some viewers — and likely a handful who rate the film without ever seeing it — will inevitably deem "Superbad" childish, immature, gross and just another teen movie, but others will love it for those same reasons. The movie succeeds in recalling all those socially awkward high school moments and motives while maintaining an unbroken chain of stupid, silly humor. Yes, it's raunchy. But it's also classic, in an "I-can't-believe-that-just-happened" kind of way. This is the rare Hollywood genre exercise that easily deserves the $33 million it garnered in its opening weekend.
Grade: 4 stars (out of 5)
