Authentic and hilarious

Rating: Null/10 (16 July 2008)

I don't think anyone is going to claim that "Superbad" is a film of extraordinary thematic depth or anything (although the script has more depth than most high school-based comedies, certainly), . What I will go ahead and say is that "Superbad" DOES have a great comedy script. It is not only funny quite frequently, it is also astonishingly accurate regarding high school life. Sure, the scenes with McLovin' and the cops are slightly indulgent and lack believability, but the rest of it is thoroughly believable, realistic, and authentic. It's also perfectly directed, with great use of music and terrific comic timing with the editing and direction, as well as excellent performances from the entire cast.
It is the sense of authenticity that makes "Superbad" different than and superior to most teen comedies. Evan and Becca's relationship is far more authentic than it would be in a more clichéd teen comedy script and is encapsulated perfectly in their first conversation in the film, where Evan is a bumbling idiot and Becca has a natural reaction of bewildered amusement to him as opposed to what you would have usually gotten in this sort of movie: she stares at him awkwardly and blows him off. Moreover, the actual conversations aren't based on what the writer THINKS teens sound like, it IS what teens sound like.
Admittedly there are several jokes that fall flat but for the most part this is a hilarious and honest script. Sometimes too honest, I don't recall anyone in the theater laughing much at the scene where Becca and Evan almost have sex, not because it isn't funny on a basic level but because it is such a brutally honest filming of the sort of event casual sex is at this age. You rarely see scenes like that in Hollywood movies, where everything is idealized. One doesn't need to look beyond the "American Pie" movies to see how that scene would have played out in most teen movies.
"Superbad" is an excellent movie. It will be remembered and it will be popular a long time from now, I expect as popular as something like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is now, if not more popular. With all the limitations of making an out and out comedy about teen life (which is often too melancholy to examine properly without veering off too much into drama), "Superbad" manages a surprising juggling act and if as I suspect the fact that the names of the writers match the names of the lead characters is no coincidence, that is perhaps not so surprising.
8.5/10