Superbad Review

Let's get this out of the way: Superbad is not the funniest movie of all time, nor is it a complete bore.  Instead, it's a highly hyped teenage comedy that falls short of the pantheon (it is certainly not this generation's Animal House), but is far better than some of the offerings of the last few years (The New Guy anyone?).

Superbad focuses on a group of three friends, Seth (Jonah Hill), Evan (Michael Cera), and Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), about to graduate high school.  They all remain virgins and want to do something about that before leaving for college in the fall.  They decide that they can supply alcohol for a huge party, get the girls they like drunk, and take advantage of them.  The problem comes in getting the alcohol.  So yes, this film is about 3 horny teenagers trying to score booze. 

Producer Judd Apatow (he directed The 40 Year Old Virgin and this summer's hit comedy Knocked Up) has a real eye for talent.  Hill has played minor roles in other films (Knocked Up, Accepted), while Cera is best known for his time on the critically lauded, woefully underwatched Arrested Development.  Together, they form the partnership upon which the whole movie rests.  If not for their chemistry, this film would be a mess.  Instead, it becomes somewhat endearing.

Seth Rogen, who Apatow first discovered when he cast him in the excellent, if short lived, TV series Freaks & Geeks, appears here as half of a cop duo who ends up giving Fogell a ride home that turns into a complete adventure, ending in the reunion of the 3 friends.

While Superbad is certainly funny, and at times, hilarious, I found the film dragged in a few too many spots.  It wasn't necessarily too long, as Knocked Up was, but there were 3 or 4 stretches where jokes were hard to come by.  Much like Apatow's previous projects, Superbad has heart though, which gives it a leg up on its teenage brethren.

If you go into this expecting to laugh, but not expecting the greatest thing since sliced bread, you'll be fine.  If you go in with even slightly heightened expectations, as I had, you'll probably be a little disappointed.

3 stars.