Much better than the usual teen comedy

Rating: 7/10 (8 September 2013)

I always heard a lot of buzz about 'Superbad', apparently one of the best teen comedies of the last few years. Yet, as pretty much every film in that genre, the plot is merely a bunch of teens obsessing over partying, alcohol and sex (no drugs this time around, thankfully). How could this be any different?
I finally saw this film, and it was a somewhat pleasant surprise. The dialogue is the true highlight here: it is not forced, flowing easily and being funny without trying hard (Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are often hit-or-miss, and in here they succeed more often than not). It manages to be crude at times without upsetting, particularly in the cop scenes; however, some of the buddy dialogue between Jonah Hill and Michael Cera towards the end tends to get overly sappy and not funny at all.
There is not too much buffoonery like in 'American Pie' or other teen comedies (thankfully); even when there is, it is rarely overdone and tends to be overshadowed by the witty comedic remarks that accompany it.
The cast is mostly good. Having known the actors from their more recent films, I knew a bit what to expect. Michael Cera (whose acting capacity seems reduced to awkward teenagers, and not fun ones at that) wasn't good, but actually very irritating. Jonah Hill was surprisingly funny as a stereotypical tough-wannabee nerdy guy, and actually compensates for Cera (strange how Cera got all the buzz for 'Superbad', though considering how pretentious Hill ended up now him receiving it could have been worse). He also makes for some rather funny visual gags.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse is the one true stand-out from the cast (making it more surprising how he is the one with the weakest post-'Superbad' career), and the whole police spoof (cops played by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader) was hilarious (even the visual gags where good); the best part of the film to me. Emma Stone is excellent too, one of the few who managed make it big while keeping her talent, while the other girls (Martha MacIsaac and Aviva) make the little screen time they have be very worthy.
Easily one of the best teen comedies I've ever seen, it is good to see some of these actors before they made it big. The easy, laid-back and unforced dialogue by a mostly very funny cast is what makes this stand out.