Hill's Fast Comedy Style and Cera's Awkward Timing Make For Comedy Gold

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2007)

With only a few weeks of school left, two losers are invited to a party being thrown by a girl. They decide not to tell their even more of a loser friend about the party, until he mentions getting a fake I.D. Now they are able to buy booze for the party. The rest of the film follows their antics in trying to get booze and to the party.
Superbad was, much like Snakes On A Plane, a much hyped film on the internet. A red band trailer (uncensored) played on the internet and people left right and centre thought it was hilarious. With the success of Knocked Up, another Apatow production, Superbad looked to be not only a hilarious film, but a financially successful one as well. Now that the film has arrived, it seems to have lived up to that hype and better both 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up.
While I haven't seen Knocked Up yet, I stated that the 40 Year Old Virgin was the funniest movie of the last couple years and now you can put Superbad right beside it. With the comedic writing style of Seth Rogen, who also has a starring role and Apatow as the producer it was hard for this film to fail, considering the current high ride these guys are on right now. Add to the mix Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as two unknown leads with comedic style just waiting to be seen and you have one funny movie.
Hill's fast pace comedic style reminds me of Vince Vaughn and he fits perfectly here in the Apatow crew. Cera's comedy style is clearly in his actions and awkward pauses. Any fan of Arrested Development can see the same style here, which plays off very well with Hill's fast style. The third wheel Fogal, played pitch perfectly by Christpoher Mintz-Plasse, has a style that we've seen before, but taken to another level. Yes, he's a nerd that even nerds find nerdy, but Plasse takes that role and made it his own. It makes one think if they wrote it like that, or he simply took it over. Both Rogen and Hader play the not too old to party police officers who take Fogal, who's actually best known as McLovin, for a ride. With the trailer playing it up big on these two guys and the whole McLovin joke, one would expect it to run it's course fairly early. Yet these three make it fresh and funny with each scene.
While it is certainly not original by any means, it earns points for taking a tired genre (highschool kids wanting to get laid and drink booze) and make it relatable to all generations. Something that films from the 80's can't do with kids these days, but Superbad is able to do with the older crowd. It may be the whole retro feel the film has to it, from it's party styles to the clothes our two characters wear.
While Hill get's most of the good lines, Cera is the one who gets most of the laughs. His awkward sex moment plays as one of the funniest scenes. It's weird that they are both out-shined by Plasse. Who gets a little too excited in one scene when he has a boner. While both leads have had small fame before hand, with Cera on the hilarious Arrested Development and Hill as 'the fat guy' from recent comedies; it's easy to see this film as their breakthrough roles.
Much like Virgin, and I'm assuming Knocked Up, Superbad has a message. Yes, in this raunchy vulgar comedy there is a message about being yourselves and letting some things go in life. You can see these messages coming from the start, but that doesn't effect the film in any way.
There are too many moments of hilarity to pick just one. Whether it's Cera awkward singing or Hill's leg being used as a tampon, every scene is just as funny as the one before. The comedy doesn't really let up and is consistent all throughout. With Virgin running a bit too long and Wedding Crashers third act failing horribly, it's hard for comedies to stay consistently funny these days. Superbad doesn't have this problem and if you're a fan of the comedies I mentioned earlier, this film will not disappoint.