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Printer-Friendly ModeSuperbad provides big laughs, bigger heart
August 24, 2007 —
The teen sex comedy is a movie genre full of convention. Most of them go as follows: a group of three misfit teenagers (usually played by a cast of twenty-somethings) scurry around the screen for 90 minutes in a desperate search for their first sexual encounter, and what follows is usually a series of scenes that guide the viewer, more or less telling them when to laugh, when to cringe, and sometimes, when to cry.
There are many movies like this, and then there is Superbad, a film that very well may come to define the teen comedy.
While on the surface Superbad does share many of the genre's traits, at its core it has something more that sets it above the rest: honesty.
There are a lot of contributing factors to this, mainly the strong on screen chemistry between the film's two heroes, Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera). The two (perhaps named for the film's writers, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) are lifelong best friends who are facing the fact that they both have been accepted to different colleges, leaving them apart for the first time. The plot concerns their final weeks of high school in which they, along with their eternal third wheel, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) attempt to prepare themselves for college by hooking up with a few classmates in the summer.
Cera plays the nervous but well-meaning Evan, who longs for Becca (Martha MacIssac), a classmate whom he idealizes as the perfect women. Hill's character, Seth, is more boorish and loud, but seems utterly devoted to his friendship with Evan. After a chance meeting the school's resident hottie, Jules (Emma Stone), he is invited to a party at her house, pending that he provides the alcohol. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to ready themselves for college, the two along with Fogell spring into action.
In what became one of the funniest scenes in the film, the three decide to use Fogell's fake ID, which gives him the identity of a Hawaiian organ donor named simply "McLovin," to purchase the alcohol. Their trip to the liquor store results in a hilarious side plot in which Fogell becomes involved in a strange night with two police officers that seem to be straight out of Supertroopers.
This is a very real-feeling high school comedy. That may be in part because of the very young cast (some of whom are actually still in high school). Many of the genre's heavyweights woefully attempt to pass women in their mid 20s (when American Pie came out in 1999, Tara Reid was 24, Alyson Hannigan was 25, and Shannon Elizabeth was 26) as naive, inexperienced 18 year old girls. In contrast, every highschooler in this film looks quite young, and it makes it all the more convincing. The choice in casting really gave me the feeling this story wasn't so far fetched, unlike many of its predecessors.
One can't help but think that the films writers, Rogen and Goldberg, drew heavily from their own high school experiences to give this film the true-to-life feel that makes it so great. Perhaps it is their own relationship that shines through in that of the fictional Seth and Evan, which is responsible for much of the film's comedy.
Much like producer Judd Apatow's previous work (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up) there is a very tender side to this raunchy, vulgar comedy. The story of Seth and Evan's parting relationship is actually quite touching. There are several things driving Evan and Seth apart, yet even as Evan at times seems content to let it happen, Seth does everything in his power to make sure his best friend remains just that. It is this realistic scenario that sets this movie apart from the rest of its genre.
This film does come with the label of teen sex comedy. But it also does enough to avoid the genre's pitfalls. There are no pacts to stay together forever; there is no jock with a heart of gold, and most importantly, there are no pies. What we are left with is one of the best comedies of the year, and a very real depiction of the last days of high school, and the toll it can take on the strong relationships we develop there.