Today’s post is a review of the movie Superbad. I couldn’t really find a suitable image so I chose a fractal called Stairway 2 Heaven. It seemed at least peripherally appropriate since I’ll be reviewing a movie about teenage boys trying to get laid. Ah well--on with the review!
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The “Teen Sex Comedy” is a strange animal: the makers are trapped within a single, narrow formula so it is up to the dialog and acting to raise it above the mundane. The last truly “good” Teen Sex Comedy was American Pie released way back in 1999: it took eight more years to bring out Superbad.
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It hardly seems necessary to mention the plot (but I need to fill up some space so I will). Fat teenagers Seth (Jonah Hill who had a snall part in Knocked Up) and his skinny best friend Evan (Michael Cera) are complete nerds obsessed with sex. (Is there any other kind in the movies?) They find themselves invited to a party and end up promising to bring the booze. They enlist their friend Fogel (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) to by the booze but his liquor store is robbed which puts him in contact with two crazy cops--Officers Michaels and Slater (Seth Rogen--of Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin fame and Saturday Night Live veteran Bill Hader) while Seth and Evan encounter a parade of crazies and bad guys. They finally end up at the party but find that their sexual experiences don’t come out quite like they expected. A tacked on happy ending makes everything right.
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Yes, it’s a formula that is as old as the genre itself but Superbad manages to rise above utter crap. There is no nudity (and that’s a good thing in most cases) but the language is raw in the extreme. The humor is crude and often wince-inducing but I still found myself laughing so hard my face hurt by the time I walked out of the movie. (The adult crowd we watched with were all laughing their guts out as well so I guess it is a pretty universal reaction.) Superbad is not for those of delicate sensibilities but those who enjoy a little raunch in their movie then check it out.
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FINAL GRADE: A-
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The “Teen Sex Comedy” is a strange animal: the makers are trapped within a single, narrow formula so it is up to the dialog and acting to raise it above the mundane. The last truly “good” Teen Sex Comedy was American Pie released way back in 1999: it took eight more years to bring out Superbad.
-
It hardly seems necessary to mention the plot (but I need to fill up some space so I will). Fat teenagers Seth (Jonah Hill who had a snall part in Knocked Up) and his skinny best friend Evan (Michael Cera) are complete nerds obsessed with sex. (Is there any other kind in the movies?) They find themselves invited to a party and end up promising to bring the booze. They enlist their friend Fogel (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) to by the booze but his liquor store is robbed which puts him in contact with two crazy cops--Officers Michaels and Slater (Seth Rogen--of Knocked Up and The 40 Year Old Virgin fame and Saturday Night Live veteran Bill Hader) while Seth and Evan encounter a parade of crazies and bad guys. They finally end up at the party but find that their sexual experiences don’t come out quite like they expected. A tacked on happy ending makes everything right.
-
Yes, it’s a formula that is as old as the genre itself but Superbad manages to rise above utter crap. There is no nudity (and that’s a good thing in most cases) but the language is raw in the extreme. The humor is crude and often wince-inducing but I still found myself laughing so hard my face hurt by the time I walked out of the movie. (The adult crowd we watched with were all laughing their guts out as well so I guess it is a pretty universal reaction.) Superbad is not for those of delicate sensibilities but those who enjoy a little raunch in their movie then check it out.
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FINAL GRADE: A-
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