Super-awesome -- a miracle of crudeness and charm that counters its coarseness with sincerity.
Superbad (2007)
Tomatometer
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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
Even this middle-age hausfrau can appreciate the zonkered comic force behind Superbad, whose rambling plot and profane bull sessions reminded me of Danny Leiner's Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
The writers shoot often and copiously, and they're obviously in love with their ability. Now, if they could just get some sort of focused, confident rhythm going, they might make things more satisfying for the audience as well.
It isn't super, as it intersperses crudely funny gags with an equal number of dry spots.
I wanted to find this as funny as audiences did. But it mostly made me understand the case for staying a virgin until you're 40.
I can't get over the misogynist undertones of yet another teenage sex comedy despite the presence of some very funny scenes.
If you ever wondered what Sixteen Candles...would look and sound like fashioned after the aesthetic mindset of someone like Kevin Smith, Superbad is the answer
The fun, misery, insecurity and idiocy of high school are depicted with vulgar, imaginative and almost heroic excess.
I like the fact that this one-note comedy -- OK, two: sex and booze -- makes no pretense of being anything other than a titillation-entertainment ride for the young and those who still remember how to think that way.
... crude and sweet, rife with vulgarity yet redeemed by its generous spirit and intelligence. However filthy it is, it is not misanthrophic or even misogynistic.
Way ahead of the 2007 comedy pack so far with enough major laughs to make you cry and hope that you were never this pathetic in high school.
Rogen and co-screenwriter Evan Goldberg are attempting to create a teen-angst comedy along the lines of 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' and 'Risky Business'... In the best sections of 'Superbad,' Rogen and Goldberg hit their targets.
At the film's core is a poignant message about teen male friendships that smartly balances the bawdy nuttiness that surrounds it.
It’s the film’s consistent and creative humor that keeps this comedic motor chugging away, along with the palpable chemistry between all of the teenagers.
A crazed odyssey of booze, lust, thwarted sex and undying friendship.
...this is one long dirty joke. In fact, at nearly two hours, it's a very long dirty joke. If only it was funny.
Formulaically, Superbad is nothing you've never seen before: what makes it special is that wonderful and miraculous alchemy of the words, Apatow's craft, and 3 leads who are simply beyond compare.
A guided tour of what it's like to live in the crucible of dealing with teenage hormones, impulses, desires, and curiosities while always having your self-esteem put at risk.
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