Movie Review: Superbad (2007)

Genre: Raunchy High School Comedy  

Director: Greg Mottola  

Starring: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogen, Emma Stone, Bill Hader  

Running Time: 113 minutes  

Synopsis: The excitable Seth (Jonah Hill) and the more circumspect Evan (Michael Cera) are best friends approaching high school graduation. Seth is obsessed with the idea of having sex, and thrilled when hot classmate Jules (Emma Stone) invites him to her house party believing he can use the fake ID of dorky unwanted friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) to bring alcohol. With Evan also sensing an opportunity to get intimate with classmate Becca (Martha MacIsaac), an evening of hunting for booze on the way to the party disintegrates into chaos.

What Works Well: Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg based on their high school experiences (with the two lead characters named after them), this is an unapologetically raunchy and often hilarious high school misadventure. With all events taking place on one day followed by a wild night, the  personalities of Seth and Evan are quickly established, and the script proceeds to capture a hormone-defined period in life when libidos, alcohol, the imperative to be popular, and end-of-high school disorientation collide. Hitherto unquestioned friendship codes are tested by diverging priorities, surprising behaviours emerge, and no matter how the night ends, not much will be the same afterwards. Christopher Mintz-Plasse achieves legendary status in adopting the fake ID "McLovin" (no first name) persona, while Seth Rogen and Bill Hader as less-than-upstanding cops add zesty sauce to the carnage.  

What Does Not Work As Well: With the profanity dial set on high throughout, this is very much a male-focused representation of teenaged awkwardness. Despite good work by Emma Stone and Martha MacIsaac, the girls are sketch representations.

Key Quote:

Evan: Stay calm, okay? Let's not lose our heads. It's... it's a fine ID; it'll... it's gonna work. It's passable, okay? This isn't terrible. I mean, it's up to you, Fogell. This guy is either gonna think 'Here's another kid with a fake ID' or 'Here's McLovin, a 25 year-old Hawaiian organ donor'. Okay? So what's it gonna be?

Fogell: I am McLovin!

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