“Superbad” (Sony Pictures)
“Not Superbad, But Not Good Either”
Any movie titled “Superbad” is just asking for some smart mouth critic to holler, “You said it!” But in actuality “Superbad” is not superbad. It just isn’t supergood. Plus it is kind of sad that the sense of humor in movies today is directed below the belt in both language and actions. Still if bathroom humor is your thing you are going through a cultural renaissance slanted that way.
This movie is all about high school seniors and their desire to get drunk and have sex. Along the way the movie does show how important it is to lie about your age to get alcohol, and also how to destroy property both intentionally and unintentionally. In short there are no role models here.
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play Seth and Evan. They have been best friends forever but now Evan is going to Dartmouth and Seth didn’t get in. This puts a strain on their friendship, but they put that issue on the back burner while they work on getting alcohol to take to a party – one of the few to which they have been invited.
Another friend, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has a fake ID so they get him to get the booze. While he is in the process of getting it there is a robbery and Fogell ends up with the police. Seth and Evan end up with some party guy who takes them to a wild party where there is alcohol for the taking.
Some of this is funny and some of this is boring, but maybe I am not the age to be entertained by streams of profanity and endless discussions about sex. Still this seems to be Judd Apatrow’s trademark. He is one of the producers of this film and he seems to have put his imprint on it. It has a lot in common with “Knocked Up” and “The Forty-Year Old Virgin” though at least they did concern adults.
Seth Rogen of “Knocked Up” fame is in this film as a cop. He is also one of the co-writers of the script. It seems he would have given himself some better lines. He and Bill Hader who plays the other cop are two of the weakest actors in the film.
Hill and Cera throw themselves into their roles, such as they are. They let the profanity roll off their tongues with ease and don’t seem embarrassed by even the most ludicrous acts they have to perform. In some ways they are like the Caucasian version of “Harold and Kumar.”
The movie is rated R for profanity, violence and sexual situations.
There has always been a place for movies of this type but they usually don’t dominate the box office. “Superbad” has the name of Judd Apatrow attached to it so it gets a bigger boost than usual. Now we will have to see how long it lasts at the top.
I scored “Superbad” not so good 4 out of 10.
