2008 Woodie Awards
'Superbad' takes the title for best comedy of the summer
Joseph Froemming
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Intermission
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Movie Review
Three teenagers are about to graduate high school and their number one goal is to hook up with the girls of their dreams. At first it sounds like a typical teen comedy, but "Superbad" has a lot more going for it than being a mere "American Pie" knock off.
"Superbad" hails from the people behind "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up." The heroes are not goofy caricatures based on nerd, jock and preppy stereotypes, but come off as people one might know in real life.
The three characters are loud mouthed and crude Seth, quiet and shy Evan and goofy Fogel.
When Seth is invited to a party, he sees it as his time to get with the girl of his dreams. He invites his best friend Evan and reluctantly invites Fogel on the basis he scored a fake ID to purchase booze.
Things go wrong when Fogel's ID has the mistake of having one name on it, McLovin. "What were you going for, an Irish soul singer?" Evan quips after seeing the ID.
Through a few misunderstandings and lack of communication, Fogel ends up befriending two crazed cops after being knocked out while purchasing the booze for the party.
Seth and Evan believe Fogel was arrested, and venture on to find more money and booze for the party. It lands them at a crazed party full of coke fiends and violent maniacs.
Fights break out and lounge singing and blood from the dance floor at the party take this comedy down paths of lewd humor that leaves the belly aching.
Fogel, or McLovin as he is known by the two cops, finds himself whooping it up in bars and learning life lessons from the Fuzz. Lessons like never meet women in a bar, cops rarely follow up thefts and one attains free beer and can go through red lights if they sport the badge.
"Superbad" has a humor to it that is both disturbing and hilarious beyond words. It has the obvious disgusting and raunchy humor, but it is the small quirks that stand out.
Michael Cera, who plays Evan, pulls off the awkward teen perfectly (much like his character George Michael from the FOX show "Arrested Development"). His subtle, nervous little responses to Seth's raging rants are perfectly timed and are perhaps the funniest moments in the film.
The film also has heart to it. It has a more genuine and real vibe than most other teen comedies, especially with Seth and Evan's friendship. It does not venture into the realm of disbelief, even the cops admit to Fogel they knew he wasn't a 25-year-old Hawaiian named McLovin.
"Superbad" is perhaps the funniest film to be released this past summer. It was well written, well made and is destined to be a classic.
Three teenagers are about to graduate high school and their number one goal is to hook up with the girls of their dreams. At first it sounds like a typical teen comedy, but "Superbad" has a lot more going for it than being a mere "American Pie" knock off.
"Superbad" hails from the people behind "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up." The heroes are not goofy caricatures based on nerd, jock and preppy stereotypes, but come off as people one might know in real life.
The three characters are loud mouthed and crude Seth, quiet and shy Evan and goofy Fogel.
When Seth is invited to a party, he sees it as his time to get with the girl of his dreams. He invites his best friend Evan and reluctantly invites Fogel on the basis he scored a fake ID to purchase booze.
Things go wrong when Fogel's ID has the mistake of having one name on it, McLovin. "What were you going for, an Irish soul singer?" Evan quips after seeing the ID.
Through a few misunderstandings and lack of communication, Fogel ends up befriending two crazed cops after being knocked out while purchasing the booze for the party.
Seth and Evan believe Fogel was arrested, and venture on to find more money and booze for the party. It lands them at a crazed party full of coke fiends and violent maniacs.
Fights break out and lounge singing and blood from the dance floor at the party take this comedy down paths of lewd humor that leaves the belly aching.
Fogel, or McLovin as he is known by the two cops, finds himself whooping it up in bars and learning life lessons from the Fuzz. Lessons like never meet women in a bar, cops rarely follow up thefts and one attains free beer and can go through red lights if they sport the badge.
"Superbad" has a humor to it that is both disturbing and hilarious beyond words. It has the obvious disgusting and raunchy humor, but it is the small quirks that stand out.
Michael Cera, who plays Evan, pulls off the awkward teen perfectly (much like his character George Michael from the FOX show "Arrested Development"). His subtle, nervous little responses to Seth's raging rants are perfectly timed and are perhaps the funniest moments in the film.
The film also has heart to it. It has a more genuine and real vibe than most other teen comedies, especially with Seth and Evan's friendship. It does not venture into the realm of disbelief, even the cops admit to Fogel they knew he wasn't a 25-year-old Hawaiian named McLovin.
"Superbad" is perhaps the funniest film to be released this past summer. It was well written, well made and is destined to be a classic.