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Superbad (2007)
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Reviews Counted:195
Fresh:170
Rotten:25
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Deftly balancing vulgarity and sincerity while placing its protagonists in excessive situations, Superbad is an authentic take on friendship and the overarching awkwardness of the high school experience.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image - all involving teens.
Runtime: 1 hr 59 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:14-09-2007
Synopsis: Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen--both of 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP fame--SUPERBAD is the story of two horny teenage geeks looking to lose their virginity before... Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen--both of 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP fame--SUPERBAD is the story of two horny teenage geeks looking to lose their virginity before college. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are hoping to end high school on a high note, and when one of their crushes (Emma Hill) invites them to a graduation party, the boys are ecstatic. That is, until they become responsible for supplying the party with alcohol. They hurriedly concoct a scheme to use their friend Fogell's (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) horrendously fake ID, but trouble soon arises when Fogell becomes the victim of a liquor store robbery. The cops (Rogen and Bill Hader) show up, and the evening quickly disintegrates into a hilarious mess of misunderstandings, crackhead sing-alongs, and beer mixed with laundry detergent. Hill is a riot as the wild-haired and foul-mouthed Seth, and Mintz-Plasse is great fun as the uber-geek Fogell. But Michael Cera (formerly of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) steals the show as the sensitive and levelheaded Evan. His oddball line delivery and excellent comic timing make for some of the most bizarre but best moments of the film. The sexual humor can be pretty graphic at times, which is no doubt what earned the movie its R rating. Yet, despite gross-out jokes involving menstrual blood and penis drawings, SUPERBAD somehow manages to fly far above frat-boy, AMERICAN PIE-style humor. This is partly due to the comedic skill of the actors, but also because the characters--silly and absurd though they can be--are so well-written. Watching these bungling outcasts is a vivid reminder of the horrific lows and supreme highs of high school life, and their antics rather poignantly capture how age 18 can indeed be super bad, but also super good. [More]
Starring: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Kevin Corrigan
Starring: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Kevin Corrigan, Joe LoTruglio, Martha MacIsaac, Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Director: Greg Mottola
Director: Greg Mottola
Screenwriter: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Producer: Judd Apatow, Shauna Robertson
Composer: Lyle Workman
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Reviews for Superbad
By turns funny and charming, heartfelt and horny, Superbad is a teen comedy that understands the awesome power of awkward.
Its keen sense of self-criticism makes it the superbaddest one of all.
The main idea behind Superbad is to put all the stupid things boys and girls do into one night of mayhem. Most of it is fuelled by drink and hormones and nearly all of it is from life.
I find myself reflecting not upon the hilarity (of which there is more than enough here), but upon how desperately sad so much of the film is behind the booze and boob jokes.
Hill, who I predicted big things for in my review of "Knocked Up," is perfectly cast.
It does contain some funny moments and even a few, really funny moments, but overall I didn't find it to be nearly so good as it has been built up to be.
Ribald repartée is the engine that drives the script, and the lead duo are nimble with the often-foul one-liners and fearless with the go-for-broke comic situations.
Perfectly honest about the late adolescent male experience, in all its hilarious ugliness.
...subversively spry...one will come away with a strange sense of raunchy resonance that hasn't been quite felt before in aimless fratboy flatulent farces.
Every teenage boy's fantasy is covered in this critic proof imbecile comedy that is crammed with gross-out humour, foul language and superbad taste.
Absolutely filthy, but in an intelligent kind of way, "Superbad" storms onto the screen with chaos, profanity and hilarity.
Whenever it centers on its teenage characters, Superbad is a likable coming-of-age comedy; whenever it focuses on the tedious antics of the cops, it turns into a bad SNL skit.
Superbad has one detail I've never seen in a teen movie before: The sight of kids drinking alcohol and gagging after every swig.
A critical mass of these kinds of flicks argues for a new subgenre: "nerdsploitation."
In spite of the film's startling deluge of dirty dialogue and sight gags, tender notes are struck.
Superbad may not linger in the memory, but its often riotous comedy is engaging and the journeys that Evan, Seth and McLovin take are, believe or not, eventually heartfelt.
'Superbad': 'American Graffiti Redux,' only updated with the usual raunch and a major penis fixation
Latest News for Superbad
October 07, 2009:
Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
After kicking off her movie career in Superbad as the high-school hottie throwing the cool party, Emma Stone is rapidly carving a niche for herself as a young actress with good... More...
January 09, 2009:
UK Critics Consensus: Indifference For Defiance, Whilst Slumdog Millionaire Shines
A trip to the cinema is a sure-fire way to beat the January blues, but which film should you be shelling out to see? Vying for your pennies this weekend we have Daniel Craig in... More...
September 12, 2008:
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August 08, 2008:
Superbad/Pineapple Express Sequel Mashup Coming? ![]()
Interest has been expressed in sequels to both Superbad and Pineapple Express -- and, as James Franco tells MTV, they might both happen, in the form of one movie with two... More...
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