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Massawyrm Says SUPERBAD Is Actually Superawesome!!
Hola all. Massawyrm here.
There's a small part of me that has felt guilty all summer for not reviewing this film months ago when I first laid eyes on it. But as I set about formulating my thoughts on exactly what I was going to say about the film, I realized just how relieved I am that I waited this long to talk about it. You see, when I first saw Superbad, I loved it. I thought it was funny, cute and just the right kind of perfect feel good movie that you keep around on DVD when you need a pick me up. But now that time has passed, and I can reflect back on what I saw, I realize that this has easily become my favorite movie of the summer.
There are no giant robots, no pirates, no high-speed chases through New York City and absolutely no number after its title whatsoever. It is just a simple, straightforward, high school comedy… but it is a simple, straightforward, high school comedy that I've quoted all summer long. And when I've run into friends around town or on vacation, and I've gotten "the question", you know, what movie should I go see, Superbad invariably spills out of my mouth at some point in the conversation. You gotta see Superbad when it comes out. It's fucking hilarious.
And it is.
Superbad is something akin to what would happen of John Hughes tried to make his own version of Dazed and Confused and brought in Kevin Smith to punch up the dialog. Contrary to the impression it initially gives off, Superbad is very tightly constructed, smart and incredibly sharp. This is far from being some low rent, teen sex facsimile. This is the real deal, an adorable blend of genuine teen awkwardness and hilarious chaos. I can honestly say I laughed constantly throughout.
Now I'm not the biggest fan of Judd Apatow (who produced this), and it took me a long time to finally find the words that explain just what didn't sit well with me. Ultimately I realized that it is his adherence to getting comedy from the moment – writing interesting scripts but letting his casts improv the comedy, that left me feeling like something was missing. And that works for some people – hell, a lot of people. But I'm one of the ones for which it doesn't. What Seth Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg do here, however, is take that Apatow brand of humor, and rather than just throwing a lot of jokes at the wall and seeing what sticks, they composed a carefully honed script and focused that comedy like a laser. Every joke set up in the first act pays off in the last. The ball gets rolling and it gets funnier and funnier until you're howling through the third act.
And it has enduring teen classic written all over it. John Hughes produced and directed two types of teen comedies in his day. There was the goofy, silly, off the wall NEAR CLASSICS, films like Better Off Dead and Weird Science, films that were very funny and are still very much around, but never quite carried a lot of emotional weight. These have been met in equal task by more recent efforts like Can't Hardly Wait, 10 Things I Hate About You and Accepted. But then there's his holy trinity of teen perfection. Sixteen Candles. Pretty in Pink. The Breakfast Club. Movies that defined the teen lives of a generation (or at least how we wish our teen lives were.) No one has quite recaptured that magic. A few have gotten close, but never has a film quite mixed high school comedy with the painful truths of growing up, seasoned just right with just a tiny little bit of teen wish fulfillment. Until Superbad.
Superbad is the heir apparent to the teen comedy legacy left vacant by the vanishing of John Hughes from the teen movie scene. It's got an immensely big heart, but refuses to let its characters off the hook easy – putting each character through their own personal coming of age rites of passage and letting us laugh not just because of the writing, not just because of the performance, but because we can relate. Because we've been there. Superbad is the last ride of two amigos who are afraid of having to go it alone in the big scary world after High School. And everything is in perfect balance, the humor and heart each in proper measure preventing it from ever become trite or overly cheesy.
Jonah Hill is my new must watch guy. If he's in it, my ass is in a seat watching it. He was easily one of my favorite parts of Knocked Up and he worked amazingly opposite Justin Long in Accepted helping to elevate that material and proving to be one of the very best things about it. Now with Superbad he has finally cemented his comic timing, wielding a brutal sarcasm mixed with the ability to speak honestly from the heart of his character and make it ridiculously funny. And likewise Michael Cera meets with equal intensity the task of playing the nervous and shy straight man, that gets laughs but really adds the humanity to the soul of the film. And McLovin'. If you don't walk out of this film completely in love with McLovin', then I don't even want to know you. This kid has some genuine Revenge of the Nerds DNA floating around in there somewhere. Such is the power of McLovin'.
I cannot recommend this movie enough. I don't think folks are quite ready for just how surprisingly awesome this little film is. Grab some friends this weekend, truck on out to the nearest theatre showing this and find out just what it means to be Superbad.
Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em.
Massawyrm
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man. hope superbad will b a big hit!!!too bad we hav no free screenings in aus..
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Then I'll finally be able to decide whether to see it or not.
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Just thought I'd let you know. Nice work by the by.
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Ferris Bueller instead of Hughes' other films...
Minus the Ferrari,...of course... -
Okay being a freaks and geeks/undeclared/arrested development fan, i have been following this movie for a long time now. Needless to say, ive been excited. This review has pumped me up more than i already was! Going to see really soon!
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Please.
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Whaling:
A male whale and a female whale were swimming off the coast of Japan when they noticed a whaling ship. The male whale recognised it as the same ship that had harpooned his father many years earlier.
He said to the female whale "Lets both swim under the ship and blow out of our air holes at the same time and it should cause the ship to turn over and sink".
They tried it and sure enough, the ship turned over and quickly sank. Soon,however, the whales realised the sailors had jumped overboard and were swimming to the safety of the shore.
The male was enraged that they were going to get away and said To the female, "Lets swim after them and gobble them up before They reach the shore". They swam for a while when the male whale noticed that the female was lagging behind and it seemed that the female was becoming reluctant to follow him. The male whale turned and swam back to the female whale "What's the problem, those ba****d sailors are getting away.
Let's get 'em".
And with a look that any male would recognise she said....
"Look", she said, "I went along with the blow job, but absolutely refuse to swallow the seamen".
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Know your 80's films, Massa! Hughes didn't do Better off Dead!
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Sick of these reviews? Sick of Apatow/Rogen? Not going to see this little jem? Well....FUCK YOU, BUDDY! Like the Massa sez...I don't want to know you if you aren't in on this latest addition to the collective conciousness. You're either dead or a real zero if you don't laugh your ass off during this blissful motion picture experience. Hell, even republicans will get off on this I assume.(SPOILER) George Bush himself can relate to the coke-sniffing scene, I'm sure. NOTE: none of the kids themselves do any drugs outside of the bottle (END SPOILER). I'm taking a cop-buddy (US Park Police) to see it tonight, along with anyone else I can corral. My prediction...32 million. The only thing this movie lacks...a little titty. Even that is forgiven.
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Yup...for some reason I though he'd been a producer on that - but something had misfired in the old brain cavety. I was indeed, very, very wrong.
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the way I remember my 80s teen comedies is Savage Steve was responsible for the weird ones (One Crazy Summer and Better off Dead) an dJohn Hughs did the sentimental ones. Occusionally this formula fails (see Weird Science which to me is like John Hughs trying to emulate Savage Steve Holland)speaking of SSH why is he directing episodes of kids TV shows like Drake and Joh or Zoe 101 or something like that...don't look at me like that, I have a 10 y/o sister...seriously guys I do...anyways *clears throat)someone like Aptow should give ol SSH a 2nd chance, methinks.
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Only 347 more reviews to go!
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I see all these films from USA and I was wondering how accurate they are. In America is there really some obnoxious football guy who gets to beat up everybody? Is there really a huge economic class divide with really rich kids and poor kids? Do boys and girls really feel this awkward about each other and come up with these well thought out schemes to get in each other's pants? I just wanted to know. Thanks.
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It's more exaggerated in movies. Speaking from a midwestern point of view, I can safely say that the school scenes in Napoleon Dynamite is the most accurate depiction of school I've ever, ever seen. Of course, it's different depending on where you live.
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I was looking forward to this movie but Sweet Zombie Jesus enough already. There isn't a newspaper website or tv commercial that isn't Superbad 24/7. The movie had huge word of mouth 2 weeks ago why did they feel they needed to spend $100 million on publicity?
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Better Off Dead is the best. Not The Breakfest Club, not Pretty in Pink, not any other film from that time, Better off Dead beats them all. Maybe it's not quite as reality based as those other films, but it's waaaay funnier.
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How about John Hughes' "Wah, wah, It's So Hard to Be a Teenager" trilogy?
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seriously, see it now. it is just fucking awesome
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Gee.. I dunno..
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This will be a sweet funny charming little movie , that will make a fortune. The studio will demand more and it will be american pie all over again. Superbad 2,3 and then superbad presents on dvd. Superbad 2 and 3 will up the gross out factor to the point where we will have stifler snogs jim's grandmother moment, that was the most repulsive thing i have ever seen in a comedy and it made me sick. American pie the weeding had a great opening with jims dad, jim and michelle. But enough of this american pie style comedy. I do have a sense of humour but stifler kissing jims gran was not funny. niether were the wedding crashers. Vince vaughan was good in that film and the stuff with isla fisher was funny. But it got so tired in the end. I loved the dinner scene in the wedding crashers and walken of course. Seems like studios seem to think that audiences love sweet funny dumb gross movies.
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This will be a sweet funny charming little movie , that will make a fortune. The studio will demand more and it will be american pie all over again. Superbad 2,3 and then superbad presents on dvd. Superbad 2 and 3 will up the gross out factor to the point where we will have stifler snogs jim's grandmother moment, that was the most repulsive thing i have ever seen in a comedy and it made me sick. American pie the weeding had a great opening with jims dad, jim and michelle. But enough of this american pie style comedy. I do have a sense of humour but stifler kissing jims gran was not funny. niether were the wedding crashers. Vince vaughan was good in that film and the stuff with isla fisher was funny. But it got so tired in the end. I loved the dinner scene in the wedding crashers and walken of course. Seems like studios seem to think that audiences love sweet funny dumb gross movies.
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two teenagers. no girls. last day of high school. think american pie. you have got the plot.
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If this movie was a penis, AICN's readers would be Ashley Blue... (becuz you're forcing it down our throats)
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Bye bye credibility. Have a nice trip.
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Hey Hey...I bought all the hype on this flick and I went and watch it today. Funny ass first act, second act starts to drag but is still pretty funny until the Seth drawing penises as a kid scene...uh WTF? How come NO ONE will talk about all of the super creepy GAY penis drawings?!? Then they showed them over the credits after Evan & Seth nearly makeout in Evan's basement. And what about their heartbreaking scene in the mall where they are practically forced to go hang out with girls! WTF! I'll agree this movie has many funny parts and made me laugh out loud several times but seriously, you can't even call that gay subtext because there WERE LARGE HAND DRAWN PICTURES OF DICKS! EVERY WHERE! I am not a fan of Seth Rogan's at all, especially his horrible gay clone cop character in this movie. Him and the creepy Stephen King looking cop got WAY TOO MUCH screen time. Who cares about their subplot? One thing most people don't talk about much is that all of these male characters in the Apatow Universe and the reluctance to form meaningful relationships with woman. All of the women are bitches or completely naive. I think Mike White called him out the best in that New York Times article.
Just my two cents worth. -
Can't Hardly Wait was cool..
"In this light, you look vaguely reminiscient of Dacid Duchovny" -
The plot (spoilerish) is that these two high school seniors, best friends, want to get girlfriends for the summer before they go away to college, separate colleges. One actually likes the girl and wants a relationship, the other just wants to get in some practice so that when he gets to college he won't be a novice. So the latter thinks the only way he can get the girl he wants is if he buys liquor for the party she's throwing. So wackiness ensues as they try to get said liquor. While doing this they work out some of their issues.
It doesn't sound like much of a plot but what is done with it is hilarious and sweet and really smart. Everything Massawrym said is right on. I'd put it in there with the John Hughes films. -
"You gotta see Superbad when it comes out. It's fucking hilarious."
And it is.
It's good to know that when you tell people something is hilarious...it is. Are we to expect that if you don't end a statement with "And it is" that it... isnt? Keep us updated. 'Sawyrm. -
"John Hughes produced and directed two types of teen comedies in his day." - But FBDO is exactly the perfet combination of the two. IMHO.
"When Cameron was in Egypt's land"... -
I dont even know what to say. I am actually angry at you. thinking Better Off Dead is a Hughes movie is beyond inexcusable.
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It turns me off. That is what happened to changing lanes. I saw it in ireland and It had on the poster about a dozen reviews on it saying how great that movie was when it was only mediocre. That was on the day i saw that film. All I ask is that people ae honest to say that they liked a film but that it had flaws.
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the third "Legally Blonde" movie! But wait, maybe that's a good thing, as it was going to be directed by the "Bratz" guy before he dropped out. So there you go.
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