Superbad

B

My expectations for this movie were lowered after seeing Judd Apatow's other 2007 movie (with some of the same cast) Knocked Up. However, where that movie had a plot and characters that I didn't particularly care for, this movie avoids a plot altogether and just shows three geeks trying to make it to a party. It was written by some friends of Apatow's when they were in high school and it kind of feels like that. It is immature, silly beyond all belief (particularly two policemen, including Seth Rogan who co-wrote the movie and starred in Knocked Up). However parts of it also feel very genuine in terms of what life is like for social outcasts in high school. It has a little bit of a feeling of Napolean Dynamite and is very much similar to Apatow's TV series Freaks and Geeks. A lot of the acting is improvisational, which I generally don't like.

Still if you can get past the shortcomings there is a lot of funny stuff in here. Not just situations but how things are presented and what they are saying. Jonah Hill is the weak link, choosing yelling, expletives, and vulgarity over actually acting. Michael Cera is very good playing the same type of character he played in Juno and three seasons of Arrested Development. A third geek, named Fogell, is at first annoying but soon comes into his own as an alter-ego guy named simply McLovin. The two policemen, who wouldn't last 15 minutes on any police force (some compare them unfortunately to Police Academy) say and do some pretty funny stuff going against type.

Other characters are just there, feeling like cameos played by people I don't recognize, like maybe I wasn't in on the joke. This isn't up to the bar set by the similar Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but is going for a much broader and more vulgar humor (only, surprisingly, without the nudity). It works in its way and undoubtedly will be appreciated by its target audience of young males. B.

The DVD I rented had a lot of good extras including alternate line readings.

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