Funny but... (not a comedy milestone)

Rating: 6/10 (18 August 2007)

It's been a summer of successful advance marketing campaigns for disappointing comedies.
Superbad is certainly funny, but I had hoped for a movie that suggested or heralded the next era in comedy, as I had with the Simpsons movie. The P.R. machine hinted at something special. Instead it's just a comedy. The Simpsons Movie wasn't a comedy milestone & neither is this. It mixes humor with off-color language very well (Noone's gotten a hand-job wearing cargo-shorts since 'Nam!) But to deliver "special" as it promised, the movie might need a less trivial plot, a shorter running time, a plot that went productive places, fewer cop scenes, a more daring pretext (other than just setting a record for F-bombs), and leads that are enjoyable to identify with. I'll forget Superbad in 2 months, in a way I'll never forget Rushmore, which WAS a comedy milestone and covered similar ground.
The 'superbadness' of the title refers to the McLovin' storyline more than the other two lead characters, who have much more typical story arcs. Superbad tries to parlay Evan's "first time" into a sentimental, not a "superbad," moment. Without a hook this storyline is the least interesting and forgettably conventional. Who cares if Evan wants to 'respect' Becca? This isn't a movie I came to see for a hackneyed message & she's a drip. He'll forget this dingbat a few minutes after he leaves for college. And he'll have to abandon his square ideas about females (or come out). Only closet-cases talk like this about girls in high school. That aside, Michael Cera, as Evan, continues to find ways to make bumbling, adolescent awkwardness funny & endearing. If you missed his role as George Michael in Arrested Development (He was amazing) this is your chance to see that technique. Not since Benjamin flopped at "playing it cool" with Mrs. Robinson has someone been this good at being casually awkward. Dustin Hoffman was great but I think Cera is better. Really! He is unbelievably good at embodying high-school self-consciousness. You'll enjoy his performance of "These Eyes" under duress in a room full of cokeheads.
But I worry about where a young likable actor can go when he has so mastered a certain type of small character. I hope there are good roles in his future, but I bet Hollywood will either ignore him or require him to play this type of character 20 more times. They certainly won't know what to do with his atypical looks. A challenging role like Sandler in Punch Drunk Love, that requires him to be funny & shy but deliver depth, would be great. I hope we can see something like that.
Less funny, but memorable is the movies conclusion which makes you recall how awful it was to say goodbye to your buddies.