While current comedy king Judd Apatow’s earlier films (“The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up”) centered around characters trying to create a better life for themselves, whether it be through discovering love or preparing for a first child, new release “Superbad,” which he produced, lacks such noble intentions. “Superbad’s” plot is simply about two high school boys trying to get beer and get laid. However, with a cast delivering lines with pitch-perfect comedic timing and a script destined to be quoted for years to come, “Superbad” effortlessly takes the mundane and turns it into nonstop, unforgettable comedy.
The film follows high school seniors Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) as they focus their last two weeks of school on sleeping with the girls of their dreams. Rather than shower them with compliments or woo them with gifts, the two decide the best way to accomplish their mission is to get the girls drunk at an upcoming graduation party. Money and alcohol list in hand, the only thing standing in their way is their age ““ that is, until their dorky friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) scores a fake ID listing him as a 25-year-old Hawaiian named McLovin.
In the midst of putting his new identity to use, Fogell runs into some unusual trouble with the law and is forced into the hands of two hysterical excuses for law enforcement, Officer Michaels (Seth Rogen) and Officer Slater (Bill Hader). Seth and Evan end up on their own crazed adventure, and the night slowly but surely progresses to epic proportions.
While many of this summer’s most successful films, such as “Spider-Man 3″ and “Transformers,” have been highly stylized and hyped, “Superbad” works so well because it delivers the antithesis of the blockbuster popcorn flick. At the core, it is about two longtime friends dealing with departing for college and leaving each other for the first time. The acting is completely natural, with special kudos to Hill, whose character is a reminder of the obnoxious class clown we all knew in high school, and Cera, whose awkward silences and gestures bring the term “painfully shy” to a whole new level.
At times, the movie gets caught up in its own gags and temporarily loses sight of the main theme of friendship, and Rogen and Hader’s hilarious cops can seem far too outrageous and over the top. But most viewers will be too busy laughing to complain about these minor deficiencies.
Director Mottola is another major strength of the film, managing to keep a good pace as well as a strong balance between the comic heavyweights on screen. His subtle yet distinct retro flair, added in everything from the opening company credits to the music in the movie (at one point Evan starts belting a ’70s classic), makes the film unexpectedly quirky and overall even more enjoyable.
If the last few weeks of senior year were typically like the adventures of “Superbad,” maybe people would speak of high school in more loving terms.
““ Kate Stanhope
E-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.