Entertaining and Candid

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 2007)

To preface this I HATE teen sex comedies. I think movies in which I am supposed to cheer on some insensitive teenage boy gets laid, as masculinity is defined by how many women you sleep with, are pathetic and pointless. However this was far from the average teen comedy and it was written with warmth and care for all the characters. The dialogue was realistic (sorry if crassness offends but honestly people have always been crass it's a fact) but the point was even though these boys were obscene their sexual behavior wasn't.
So how is this movie the nonstandard teen sex comedy? First of all, like I said, the characters are likable and relatable. Casting Michael Cera was a wonderful choice to play Evan as his character is the awkward yet adorable one. The dialogue shows how inept these boys are sexually and that makes them much more interesting. I remember my male friends speaking to each other like this when I was seventeen and several of my male friends who are my age (early twenties) felt like this was an exact representation of their teen years. Secondly, the film does not act like sex is something people can do and be detached. The humor is in how vulnerable all parties are in sex. It exposes the true awkwardness of most people's first sexual encounters and the characters redeem themselves not by "getting laid" but by being good friends. That being said, this is a very old fashioned comedy, were it not for the cursing this is eerily similar, to the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's. Thirdly, the girls are smart and realistic. They are independent and funny. They are welcome additions to this film but they do not have too much of a personality because I think the writers focus was to celebrate being boys and a real definition of what being masculine is, immature, funny, but lovable. It is rare to see a film that addresses issues these kinds of issues.
Also, since the film combines screwball elements and realistic dialogue makes it quite engaging. The film is hilarious and honestly it takes a lot for me to laugh out loud and this film did that quite often. Please go to the quotes page if you are in doubt. I would suggest everyone see this film as it is hilarious.