SUPERBAD: The Film Review

Here's a review of the recently-released film by Judd Apatow, by one of Third and Long's regulars, SILENT BOB.

Superwatchable

Superbad is the misnamed fourth movie from Judd Apatow, who has brought you the trifecta of top comedies: The 40 Year Old Virgin, Talladega Nights and Knocked Up. Looking to take over as top dog on the comedy troupe circuit, Superbad unfortunately brings the Apatow clan back down to earth. Trying to following in the footsteps of the comedy juggernaut, the Adam Sandler troupe, and currently attempting to knock the Stiller/Wilson Brothers/Ferrell team off their top perch is Superbad producer Apatow and friends.

This high school coming of age movie about two super normal, if not super geeky best friends and their final days in high school. Attempting to be accepted by the ladies, while crashing parties, getting drunk and having sex definitely has its funny points. I admit that I laughed when I was supposed to, however, I didn’t feel like it gave me much more. Michael Cera, best known for his portrayal of George Michael on one of TV’s funniest and short lived comedies, Arrested Development was playing the star, Evan. The problem here is that he didn’t stretch out of the George Michael roll, at all. Too many times, I was waiting for the voiceover and Jason Bateman to come out and give him direction. His best friend, Seth with the 70’s curly white-boy afro, was overacted by Jonah Hill (best known for being the eBay customer buying women’s shoes in The 40 Year Old Virgin) who for some reason was yelling his lines at me the whole time. Unfortunately, he had to talk too loud and fast in order to get his long winded penis and sex jokes out before losing the audience’s attention. In the end, the best friends do the right thing by their friendship and the girls which ends up getting them more than either will be able to handle.

I’ve been looking forward to this movie for over three months when I first saw the trailer running at the movies in May. Maybe that was my problem, I had too many expectations for this comedy, and I really wanted it to be the comedic homerun the trailer teed me up for. It ended up doing about $31MM this weekend, which for a comedy is fantastic and matches Knocked Up’s numbers. If Superbad goes on to make the $150MM that Knocked Up did, Apatow and friends surely will be laughing all the way to the bank.

I have a secret guilty pleasure of loving high school coming of age movies, from the best of all time, Can’t Hardly Wait to She’s All That to Bring It On. I also loved all the comedies from the teams coming before (who doesn’t love Happy Gilmore, Zoolander, Wedding Crashers and The 40 YOV?). Superbad didn’t effectively tie together all the things I loved about Can’t Hardly Wait and all the great comedy of Wedding Crashers. Where Wedding Crashers has timeless “watch-ability”, I don’t know that I’ll keep going back to Superbad when it’s on cable.

On the Third and Long scale of one Bud Light being bad and five being excellent, I give Superbad, 3 Bud Lights. See it at the matinee for six bucks and it will count like three and half Bud Lights.