Vulgar yet hilarious

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2007)

Superbad is another one of those crude comedies in the tradition of Knocked Up, The 40 Year old Virgin, and American Pie. The story was written by Seth Rogen (yep that guy from Knocked Up) and his friend Evan Golberg. By all accounts it seems based on their lives in high school, and yes it is very vulgar, but that doesn't stop the movie from still being hilarious.
Two teenagers Seth and Evan (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) who have been friends forever are finally graduating from high school. After Seth is invited to a graduation party by Jules (Emma Stone) the girl he's been wanting to get with for a long time, both he and Evan are suddenly on a mission to provide alcohol for the party. Evan is of course not sure at first, but when Becca (Martha Maclsasc) the girl of his dreams tells him she's going to be there, he gladly accepts.
With the help of their nerdy friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who's getting a fake ID that will make it possible to get the alcohol, the plan is set. However, things quickly start to go wrong when Fogell returns with the fake ID with the hilarious one word name McLovin, and an absurd date of birth. It gets even worse when Fogell goes in to buy the alcohol and is assaulted by a robber who punches him and robs the store. The troubles just escalate when Fogell finds himself suddenly hanging out with two goofy police officers (Seth Rogen and Bill Hader in two hilarious roles) who were called to the crime scene and are glad to take Fogell where he needs to go, but maybe just not right away. Seth and Evan, who believe that Fogell is about to be arrested, panic and take a ride with some sinister individual who takes them to some seedy house party where some dangerous individuals are at. Do the three finally get to their destination? Do Seth and Evan hook up with the girls of their dreams and lose their virginity? I'll not spoil it.
Of course the story isn't just about the three guys troubles with getting the alcohol for the party. It is also a story about the friendship between Seth and Evan. You see the two have been friends forever, and after graduation, Evan will be going to some big out of state college whereas Seth will be going to a local school. Both have issues on the subject, and both are frightened of what life will now be like without the other. The movie may be profane, and there are a lot of vulgarities to back this up, but it also has a heart. The underlining theme though, through all the crudeness, still falls back on true friendship.
The acting was very well done, and the story, though unbelievably over the top, never lags. Both the writers (Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) and the director (Greg Mottola) manage to make this one of the better comedies of the year. I found that I liked it a little more than Knocked Up (another good comedy), but that is just one person's opinion.