American Pi, It Isn't

Rating: 4/10 (11 April 2008)

If you're going into this movie looking for a better version of the "American Pie" trilogy, stop right here. "Superbad" is not going to give it to you. Seth Rogen is one of the most overrated people in Hollywood and he can't really write. Thanks to Judd Apatow (a somewhat mediocre director/producer) and The Apatow Company's newly-found clout combined with the studio's publicity department, "Superbad" somehow did really well at the box office (as did the equally mediocre "40 Year Old Virgin", and the somewhat better "Knocked Up", thanks to good acting).
Not coincidentally, the two main characters of Superbad are named Seth and Evan (after Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg.) Jonah Hill, playing Seth, couldn't act to save his life. For 2 hours, all he/his character does is rant and yell. Michael Cera, playing Evan, is a bit better, but not much. The men of the hour in "Superbad" are newbie Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fogel aka McLovin, and SNL's Bill Hader as Cop #2 (Seth Rogen plays Cop #1 - and he wisely trimmed his usual Cabbage Patch Kid hair for the role). Plasse plays the quintessential geeky high school misfit (who, like Finch of the American Pie movies, has a wild side that is uncovered over the course of the movie.) The best scenes are the ones with Plasse and Hader, particularly the great liquor store sequence - the chick who plays the cashier and the Mexican employee are EXcellent. The rest of the movie is filled with Kevin Smith-style filth (only the storyline is nowhere near as good as any of what's in Kev's films.) Nearly all of the humor is very forced and exaggeraged - a beautiful case in point being the party sequence where the tone-deaf Cera sings to a room full of coke addicts, and when Hill gets (oooh!) "period blood" on his pants while dancing with the fiancée of the guy throwing the party. I just about puked when the party guest put his finger on Hill's pants to see what that "curious red stain" was. YUCK.
Now, let's address the issue of the chicks. Could they have gotten two UGLIER, less-appealing girls to play Becca and Jules?! The actress who plays Jules almost seems lesbionic (not that that's a bad thing at all, but it was definitely miscasting.)
The best aspect of the film is the relationship of Seth and Evan, and how they deal with the impending separation as they go to different colleges. There are some touching moments - especially the ending. But other than that, plus the scenes with Hader and Plasse...."Superbad" really doesn't cut it.