I probably should not have liked Superbad as much as I did given I am not a guy between the ages of 18-25. Like all good coming of age comedies, Superbad is full of crude humor. There are dick jokes galore, most of them funny. There are plenty of jokes about sex, getting laid, getting anything really...and most of those are funny too. But, unlike some of those types of comedies, this movie actually has a sweet center to it. The basic plot goes like this--Evan and Seth have been best friends forever and had been planning on going to college together, but Seth wasn't able to get into Dartmouth (sp? obviously I didn't get in their either) so they will be separating after the summer. They have two weeks left of school and are trying to get through these two weeks as best they can. They aren't the popular kids, but they aren't complete geeks either. Like most of us, they sort of fall into the middle. They get invited to a party being thrown by the girl that Seth has a crush on. Their third friend told them he was about to get a fake ID so the boys offer to pick up the liquor for the party.
Craziness and hilarity ensue.
The action takes place during one evening. The kid picking up the fake ID has chosen the name McLovin for himself. Just McLovin--no first name. Oh, and he's gotten an ID from Hawaii. While attempting to buy the liquor, the store he is at is robbed. When the other guys see the cops, they get the wrong impression and ditch their friend. What follows is a strange journey involving attempts to secret away liquor from another party, being forced to sing to a bunch of guys doing coke, joyriding with the cops, and general misunderstandings.
Ultimately, they end up together at the party with the liquor and then it becomes about their attempts to woo the girls they like...or in McLovin's case, the girl whose ass he was following earlier that day in school. Throughout there is plenty of cussing, sex talk, and some insights into how bizarre a friendship can be as you try to make your way through the hormonal hell that is high school.
Overall, I thought the humor fit the tone of the film. The guys definitely yapped about sex a lot, but they're 18, what do you want? Evan, played by Michael Cera from Arrested Development, seems genuinely concerned about having an actual relationship with the girl he likes, as opposed to just wanting to bang her. And for all his big talk, Seth too is a big softie when you come down to it.
I thought the best bits included many of the scenes at the high school, the scene where Seth is explaining to the teacher just how lame home ec is was great. I also liked McLovin's attempt to get the liquor. Most of the scenes between Seth and Evan showed off what seemed to be a genuine best friend relationship and all that entails.
I thought the bits with the cops, while several of them were funny, almost seemed to broad for what the rest of the film was trying to do. I also thought the "blood on the pants" bit detracted from the feel of the film. For me, as a chick, I instantly thought--a guy wrote this--because it was just a bit out of the realm of believability. It didn't really gross me out. It just didn't seem plausible--especially after a second person gets blood on his pants. I know that doesn't make sense, but once you see the movie, you'll understand. I also thought a guy wrote this during some of the scenes involving the behaviour of some of the girls. Not that I thought these things weren't possible, I just thought we've already seen this before. The movie is still definitely worth checking out, even with some plot mis-steps.
Not much else going on this vacation. I have been enjoying the Little League World Series on ESPN/ESPN 2 the last few days. I watched a really good Japan vs. China Taipai game today when I got home. Japan won by the way in 10 innings (normally they play 6).
Also found out the best way to freak out employees at a sandwich shop. Talk on your cell phone loudly about bad weather. The skies were really dark as I was leaving the movie, but I could tell that it was blowing over town really quickly. While I was getting lunch, the guy behind me got a call about some nasty stuff north of us. Some big ass tree got blown over. He starts saying things about warnings and how some radio station he listens to had gone to static. About 2 seconds after he leaves, the girls behind the counter proclaim that if their families/friends called them about any warnings in the area they would not hesitate to leave, regardless of who was around. Sweet, I thought. Free cookies for dessert. Dorks.
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