Overview
Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen--both of 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP fame--SUPERBAD is the story of two horny teenage geeks looking to lose their virginity before college. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are hoping to end high school on a high note, and when one of their crushes (Emma Hill) invites them to a graduation party, the boys are ecstatic. That is, until they become responsible for supplying the party with alcohol. They hurriedly concoct a scheme to use their friend Fogell's (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) horrendously fake ID, but trouble soon arises when Fogell becomes the victim of a liquor store robbery. The cops (Rogen and Bill Hader) show up, and the evening quickly disintegrates into a hilarious mess of misunderstandings, crackhead sing-alongs, and beer mixed with laundry detergent. Hill is a riot as the wild-haired and foul-mouthed Seth, and Mintz-Plasse is great fun as the uber-geek Fogell. But Michael Cera (formerly of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) steals the show as the sensitive and levelheaded Evan. His oddball line delivery and excellent comic timing make for some of the most bizarre but best moments of the film. The sexual humor can be pretty graphic at times, which is no doubt what earned the movie its R rating. Yet, despite gross-out jokes involving menstrual blood and penis drawings, SUPERBAD somehow manages to fly far above frat-boy, AMERICAN PIE-style humor. This is partly due to the comedic skill of the actors, but also because the characters--silly and absurd though they can be--are so well-written. Watching these bungling outcasts is a vivid reminder of the horrific lows and supreme highs of high school life, and their antics rather poignantly capture how age 18 can indeed be super bad, but also super good.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Greg Mottola - Director
Seth Rogen
Jonah Hill
Michael Cera
Bill Hader
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Clement E Blake
Erica Vittina Phillips
Joseph A Nunez
Clement Blake
Clint Mabry
Details
- Format: Blu-ray (Special Edition, Extended Edition, AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed)
- Run Time: 119
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 043396199217
- Genre: COMEDIES
- Rating: R (MPAA) (for pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image - all involving teens)
- Release Date: December 2007
Movie Reviews
Notes:
Theatrical Release: August 17, 2007
Reviews:
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "SUPERBAD is superfun across the board....It helps that the fun doesn't stop. It helps even more that the pitch-perfect script doesn't step out of character for a joke." - 08/23/2007 Rolling Stone, p.76
"Apatow directs with an adult understanding of and affection for teen hormonal rhythms....SUPERBAD is cute if you like guys who aren't even remotely bad..." -- Grade: B - 08/31/2007 Entertainment Weekly, p.110
"It's funny, but there's something meaningful going on....[The film] has at its core a certain verisimilitude that is endearing -- even sweet." - 09/01/2007 Box Office, p.112
3 stars out of 4 -- "[A]bsurdly comic. Gross-out humor abounds....Side-splitting laughter, along with some powerful cringing, are likely to be audiences' dominant reactions." - 08/17/2007 USA Today, p.11D
"[S]weetly absurd....[The] setups and camerawork serve the characters unobtrusively, as do the homey production design and costumes." - 08/17/2007 New York Times, p.E1-E15
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] rapid-fire gag machine....SUPERBAD is a relentless rib-assault that sure-footedly blends gross-outs, flashbacks, fantasy asides and a full quiver of zingers." - 10/01/2007 Total Film, p.54
4 stars out of 5 -- "Think AMERICAN GRAFFITI meets AMERICAN PIE at the crossroads where John Hughes meets John Landis....It's embarrassingly funny..." - 10/01/2007 Uncut, p.128
4 stars out of 5 -- "Think of this best as a younger sibling to KNOCKED UP....The characters are just as well-drawn and the situations as oddly relatable." - 10/01/2007 Empire, p.46
"[A] raucous party movie....The picture is dominated by three plucky young actors." - 11/01/2007 Sight and Sound, p.78
"Wide-eyed and sincere as it is hilariously, unrepentantly profane, the movie aims to express what it's like to stare down the barrel of your first foray into adulthood, and it's not afraid to be honest about it." - 08/17/2007 Los Angeles Times
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] very crass but perfectly judged comedy with a heart of gold, and the leading triumvirate of Cera, Hill and Mintz-Plasse are absolutely priceless." - 04/01/2008 Ultimate DVD, 69
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