Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. It’s interesting that the two comedies I’ve heard the most buzz about so far this year are both from the Judd Apatow/Shauna Robertson production factory that seems to be kicking ass nonstop right now. KNOCKED UP seems to be killing audiences every time it’s shown, and now we’re starting to get more and more reports saying the same about SUPERBAD. I’ll have my own review of this one soon, but for now, let’s see what long-time contributor Bungion Boy has to say about it:
Hey Harry, et al. Bungion Boy back in New York again. I’ve been out of town working for four months but I just got back this week. There’s a ton of screenings I’ve been meaning to catch up on, (Knocked Up being at the top of the list) but tonight I lucked out and got to attend a screening of “Superbad.” Some spoilers to follow. In case you don’t know, this is the film written by Seth Rogan and his best friend Evan Goldberg and it is supposedly loosely based on their own relationship in high school. They’re played by Jonah Hill (underused frequently films like “40 Year Old Virgin” and “Accepted”) and Michael Cera, (George Michael from “Arrested Development). All "Arrested Develpoment" fans will be overjoyed to see George Michael in R rated mode. The story is remarkably simple, which helps the movie to get laughs from the dialogue and characters, rather than a lot of exposition. Seth and Evan are about to graduate from high school and will be going to separate colleges. Both are upset about parting as best friends, though they try not to show it. A crush of Seth’s is having a party and she asks him to get the alcohol. Feeling that doing so will surely get him laid, he and Evan make it their mission to get alcohol, enlisting help from their even geekier friend Fogell who has just gotten a fake ID, which unfortunately lists his name as “McLovin.” The film chronicles the adventures they have throughout their night in their quest to get alcohol. Many of what happens is hilarious but the film is strongest in its first 45 minutes or so when we just get to see Seth and Evan talk to each other at school. The dialogue is so sharp and the discussions are funny and random, without it feeling like extra filler or dialogue that Rogan wrote for something else and just decided to insert it into this. The highlights involve a home economics class, Jonah Hill talking about his obsession of drawing dicks when he was younger, and what sort of porn websites they should subscribe to in college, (“What’s the point of a vagina without a dick in it? Have you ever seen a vagina by itself? Not for me.”). The two are both natural comics. A lot seems to be improvised and after watching them in this movie, you just want to hang out with them. They’re cool guys, and how refreshing to see a movie in which the geeky and fat teens are not detested by the rest of the student body. The hot girls find them attractive and want them to come to their parties. Even “McLovin,” who looks a lot more like the typical movie nerd is welcomed at the party and not ridiculed. There is only one brief hint of a jock who torments Seth and Evan. He has about 2 lines and looks just as real and kind of nerdy as they do. All the kids in this movie look like people you went to high school with. Not stock characters from a bunch of teen movies. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is also incredibly funny as McLovin, partly because he feels so authentic, rather than an actor just playing a nerd. His night takes him on a wild ride with a couple of cops (Seth Rogan and Bill Hader) who question him after he is punched in the face during a liquor store robbery. The cops seem to think that McLovin is a badass guy and they spend the night getting him drunk and trying to impress him. These scenes usually move the action away from Seth and Evan and feels a little out of place with the rest of the film, but it isn’t any less hilarious. Frankly it could have been a movie on its own. Rogan of course is hysterical as always and Hader just proves how underused he is at Saturday Night Live. They start out playing them as the stupidest cops in the world, and eventually things escalate and they become dangerously irresponsible and kind of scary. While the hilarious McLovin/cop scenes are going on, the rest of the film kind of slows down for Seth and Evan. There is about a 20 minute lull that is a little less funny when in an effort to get booze, they follow a creepy sexual predator (The State’s Joe Lo Truglio) to a party. There are some laughs at the party, and some cameos from former Apatow regulars like Carla Gallo, Kevin Corrigan, and David Krumholtz, but they stay at the party for too long and the biggest problem is that the two get separated and have problems on their own, one involving menstrual blood and the other involving singing for cokeheads. Both gags kind of fall flat and I found myself looking at my watch. The movie seems to forget that what was working so well before was the interaction between Seth and Evan. Once they find each other again and leave the party the laughs return big time. The last act is very well done, while being funny and also realistic and dramatic, pointing out some of the harsh realities of teenage drinking, instead of just making everything cool and fun like most movies. I’m unhappy to report that a large portion of the audience didn’t seem to appreciate the dramatic turn. Many of them seemed to be cheering (too loudly) for date rape. Also, when Seth and Evan start expressing their true feelings as best friends there were a lot of homophobic groans and even some asshole shouting out lines from “Brokeback Mountain.” Hilarious. But I’m not here to start another audience rant, ala Quint. The “I love you” moment, that can be seen in the trailer, really is a beautiful and true moment in the film. Also hilarious. After all, this movie isn’t American Pie. The point of this movie isn’t about getting fucked up and getting laid. It’s a story about friendship. Not just a friend but a BEST friend, which everyone knows can be just as meaningful as a romantic relationship. This is a true hetero man-love story and a hilarious one. Mark my words, come August, people are going to be quoting this movie so much it might start to become annoying. I have hopes of this being a great summer for comedy. With movies like “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” I’m sure it will be. -Bungion Boy
