Comedic Gold
Judd Apatow's 'Superbad' is by far the funniest movie of 2007.by Corey Butler Jr.
Issue date: 8/28/07
Section: Movies
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"Phenomenal" is certainly a lofty term, but "Superbad" is by far the funniest film of 2007. It's funnier than producer Judd Apatow's other two films, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," both directed and written by him. "Superbad," however, is only produced by him, and written by Seth Rogen, star of "Knocked Up" and co-star of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."
Confusing? Well, the reason this is relevant is because Apatow has been building a brand of comedy for the last nine years using many of the same actors from his critically acclaimed, but audience-avoided and short-lived TV comedies, like "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared."
This success has been a long time coming and anything Apatow touches, whether written by him or not, is turning into gold.
Also assisting in the triumph of "Superbad" is everyone's favorite George Michael - no, not the gay British singer, but Michael Cera of "Arrested Development," another brief but brilliant sitcom. Cera has built a cult following from both "Development" and his online "V" show, "Clark and Michael." In "Superbad," it's more of the same with Cera, which is not a bad thing, as the 19-year-old Canadian has become a master of deadpan and the uncomfortable pause. Cera has the innate ability to take the least likely situation for a comedic moment, and work it with a blank stare and stammering, to make it comedic gold.
In "Superbad," Cera portrays nice guy Evan, a virgin who, we find out later on, has had a desire to do the dirty, but succumbs to his good guy personality by respecting women.
On the other end of the spectrum, Jonah Hill plays the brash, foul-mouthed Evan, a guy interested in losing his virginity at any cost.
Hill, like Cera, has been building a reputation through solid performances in "Knocked Up" and "Accepted."
Although those two men headline the movie, it is newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who embodies the now infamous McLovin, that brings a lot of laughter. McLovin is somewhere near the middle of the other two in personality, using Evan's nerdy, anguished attractiveness blended with Seth's sudden bursts of excitement.
The latter two leads teeter on annoyance at more than one point throughout the movie, but the balance of all three wipe that slate clean, finding equilibrium.
When it comes to comedy, direction usually isn't the focus point. The success depends on the writing and the execution of the actors.
Writers Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who wrote this story in high school based loosely on their own experience and elaborated, have a solid screenplay. They, along with Apatow, found three leads that could manifest words to screen. Assisting in the acting was Rogen and "Saturday Night Live's" Bill Hader, who play two lax cops that make the night interesting.
The plot is simple enough and in comedies it is just an excuse to have a string of jokes. It's the same here, but the plot does actually navigate where our stars go.
With two weeks left of the school year, the trio of friends want to score with some respective beauties at the last party of the year. Like fellow great high school movie "Dazed and Confused," "Superbad" takes place over approximately a 24-hour span.
The goal is to score alcohol, via McLovin's fake ID, bring said alcohol to the party, and bask in the glory of being the almighty supplier of the party, ergo, impressing girls and engaging in sexual relations.
This movie has a lot of potential to offend people, but college students are probably already well-accustomed to this type of humor.
This movie trumps any comedy in quite some time and should be viewed many times, as you will miss many things as laughter carries from one joke to the next.
THE GRADE: A "Superbad" is on a level of its own as a comedy.
Corey Butler Jr. is a Reporter staff writer
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