A superior teen comedy.

Rating: 8/10 (4 January 2009)

I thought I'd grown out of these kinds of films the moment I turned twenty. Juvenile jokes and binge-drinking plot lines surely get old after a while - something to be enjoyed thoroughly at the time and discarded in favour of more "mature" pictures later on. I know I certainly feel this way about American Pie, and I only saw the first two of those.
Every so often though something like this turns up and puts a fresh spin on what is a faded and often cliché-laden tale. Something which comes close to being more than just another teen comedy which plays out with complete predictability and forces the more experienced movie-goer to grind their teeth at the same old archetypes being played out by actors who really can't. Superbad is one of those.
The plot is convoluted so much that it becomes part of the humour to see where it'll detour to next. This isn't a bad thing - for those who usually find this genre to be stale, it keeps you on your toes. Luckily this doesn't mean the story becomes so wacky it doesn't have a heart because it does, and there are actually some subtle lessons about not making mistakes that'll stay with you your whole life here, especially towards the end. It's a good balance and with any luck will prompt more than a few "I've been there" moments from viewers.
For those who seemed to think that the movie was expletive-laden - and worse, full of profanity to cover up poor writing and acting - think again. Yes there is a little, but so what? I've never met anyone of the age portrayed in the picture who doesn't cuss a little, and here the characters are witty and amusing when they're supposed to be. I can't often say that about members of the target audience.
Of course, having a likable story and witty jokes is one thing. Having a decent set of actors is quite another. Fortunately, the trio of Hill, Cera and Mintz-Plasse, a cast of relative unknowns, prove they can handle their own and bring spontaneity to their roles. I would wager that some of the more hilarious moments were partially ad-libbed, that the leads took an idea and just ran with it to see what happened, with the best takes ending up as part of the end product. Their interpretations of goofiness and the attempts to be more than just outsiders feel surprisingly realistic, and since they're not Hollywood gorgeous it makes for compelling viewing. Our three would-be heroes are backed up with panache with similarly memorable performances by Seth Rogen as one of two wayward police officers and Kevin Corrigan as the aggressive party host who doesn't suffer ANYONE gladly.
The overall impression I walked away with is that life often leads you down some unexpected alleyways when you're just searching for a good time, but if you keep an open mind and trust your moral instincts you'll turn out fine. The fact this is backed up with a really well-chosen multiple genres soundtrack, some excellent non-sequitur twists and a couple of the most hilarious slapstick moments in years (Fogel getting decked is just one) means I've already seen this twice and plan to see it again at some point.
A consistently humorous teen comedy with a heart of gold? Yeah, I thought they stopped making those too.