Raunch with a little intelligence

Rating: 7/10 (23 September 2007)

Superbad is like reading Playboy for the articles as well as the retouched pictures. If you like a little intelligence with your raunchy dick jokes and crotch rubbing, if you go along gleefully with completely implausible situations and hit-or-miss American Pie-ish humor, Superbad is the movie for you. The dick that had me laughing the hardest was juxtaposed with Tiananmen Square on screen, if you can believe that.
Evan (Micheal Cera) is the voice of reason that keeps the core of the film real, and he has enough chemistry with his blustery buddy Seth (Jonah Hill) to make the resolution satisfying and believable.
The girls all have personalities, which is a plus for a film like this.
The weakest parts of the film are those that include the writer, Seth Rogan, who along with Bill Hader play cops who are less competent and more broadly ridiculous than their Keystone Kop ancestors. But Fogell, a.k.a. McLovin, (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who transitions from timid and panicked in their company, keeps some of these scenes from hurting the film.
All in all, a fun time, if not a top-notch movie.