Superbad was released on August 17, 2007, and was one of many hits by producer Judd Apatow. It was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, produced by Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Shauna Robertson, directed by Greg Mottala, and stars Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (in his first, and breakout role), Seth Rogen, and Bill Hader.
Judd Apatow is the main man for comedy nowadays. In the last decade, he has been involved with essentially every comedy made, except for the Hangover series. I think a big reason for this is his comedies are identifiable with the internet generation, who are essentially a bunch of overweight, intelligent but lazy, young guys with no luck when it comes to the ladies. No offence, but that's a generalization of what we are. The only real difference with Apatow's films is that these guys get the ladies, and they get the hottest of the hot. This film is a little bit different, warranting it's spot on the list. In this film, the guys want the girls, and the girls want the guys, but they don't end up together. It seems like they will, but as far as we can tell, they don't. That's what makes this film stand out, compared to his others.
Admittedly, this isn't my favourite Apatow film. That would be the 40 Year Old Virgin. Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen in a supporting role, the 80s soundtrack, and Kat Dennings. All a good recipe for a great film. Unfortunately, that film isn't on the list. So instead, we have Superbad, which is also great. This film was based off of writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's childhood. It's about these two teens, Seth and Evan (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, respectively), who, in attempt to have sex with their crushes, Jules and Becca (Emma Stone and Martha MacIsaac, respectively), attempt to buy alcohol for a graduation party. They do this with the help of Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, in his debut role, and is without a doubt, the best part of the film), who recently acquired a fake I.D. On his fake I.D., it says he is 25 years old, lives in Hawaii, and his name is McLovin. No first name, just McLovin. Absolutely hilarious.
While Jonah Hill and Michael Cera do good jobs, playing young friends who are unfortunately going to be separated by their post-secondary education, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is the show stealer. He is tremendous, superb, even sublime at points. He plays a complete nerd, trying to be a gangster, who looks like he's 15 years old, and a pedophile in training, and calls himself McLovin. While he initially tries to buy alcohol for his friends, he gets mugged, and ends up hanging out with two policemen (played by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader), who show him a phenomenal time. I highly recommend this film, if only for his performance. It's absolutely brilliant.
The writing is also fantastic. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have done the majority of writing for Apatow films, and they've all been pretty good because of it. This is probably their best film, because they based it off of their own experiences, as teenagers. Supposedly, they started writing this film when they were 13 years old. The main underlying conflict of the film is Seth and Evan having to go to different colleges. It's handled rather brilliantly, and the end scene is rather fantastic, showing the honest truth of what will happen, but showing it in a good light. That scene, I would argue, is the main reason why this film is on the list.
Overall, this is a hilarious film, one of the best comedies of the last decade, as well as a touching film on the matter of two best friends going to different colleges. But McLovin is what makes it. Overall, I give this film a 9.5/10. If you want a good laugh, check it out. Your sides will split. Mine did. (No really, they did. It really hurt.)
Next time, I'm watching Breakfast at Tiffany's, an adaption of Truman Capote's novella with Audrey Hepburn in one of her most famous roles.
P.S., I'm moving to Vancouver soon, to attend university, and I couldn't help but notice that everytime a street is mentioned in this film, it's a street in Vancouver. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg came from Vancouver. That was pretty cool. :)
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