It’s tough to praise a film for its realism when said film portrays two drunken policemen lighting their own car on fire and unloading their comically large handguns into the flaming wreckage.
But realism is exactly what makes "Superbad," (Rated R, running time: 114 mins.) work so well. Its dead-on depiction of sexually frustrated teenagers is what makes an otherwise trite film exceptional.
"Superbad" was written and produced by many of the same people that worked on "Knocked Up," and "The 40 Year Old Virgin," so it should come as no surprise that the motif of boorish and/or painfully awkward males trying (and failing) to interact with the opposite sex dominates the film. But unlike those other comedies, "Superbad" depicts males barely old enough to vote, with little, if any, perspective on the meaning of sex or on life in general. Consequently, the main characters in the film, Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera), are singularly obsessed with getting to know a girl, biblically, as soon as humanly possible.
And therein lies the film’s semblance of a plot: Seth and Evan, two losers whose friendship is the only thing keeping them from creepy loner status, must procure alcohol for a female classmate’s party, with the stipulation that a reward will be waiting for them if they do. But funny things happen on the way to the liquor store and the two lads, joined by their uber-nerdy companion Fogell, a.k.a McLovin, must journey through treacherous and ridiculous straits to obtain their coveted bounty.
The "teens on a mission to get laid" movie has been made nearly a trillion times (that’s an unofficial number) at this point and "Superbad" doesn’t take any major risks or try to subvert the genre in any way.
What it does do is completely nail the way modern teenaged males interact with each other. Hill and Cera are completely convincing as hopelessly co-dependent best friends who are hilariously brash around each other but turn into two piles of warm goo whenever a potential mate is around.
The film’s writers, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, have said their script was a reaction to movies like "American Pie" where attractive and witty high schoolers gripe about their lack of sexual opportunities, where as in "Superbad," rotund and ill-at-ease high schoolers are the ones not getting any action. And when they finally do in the film’s protracted climax (pun not intended), it’s not a romantically memorable moment but rather an ethically fraught and somewhat terrifying experience.
It may not have much in the storyline or originality departments, but "Superbad" succeeds because it’s something ever so rare in Hollywood nowadays: super true.