I will be critiquing a review of a movie i have recently seen,
superbad.
this review comes from James Berardinelli, a cream of the crop critic on Rotten Tomatoes. When I saw
Superbad I found it to be the funniest movie of my era. The high school comedy hit all aspects of boys trying to get some. The repulsive dialogue combined with real life aspect had me roaring in my seat.
Teen comedies have always found it more interesting to focus on social outsiders than members of the in-crowd, and Superbad is not an exception. While Evan, Seth, and Fogell are cut from the whole cloth of types, they achieve a level of individuality that is, while not unprecedented, at least unusual. The filmmakers avoid the seductive pull of reducing their protagonists to caricatures - a move that has killed many a similar film. Part of this is due to the deceptive smartness of the screenplay, but a lion's share of the credit must go to the actors. Michael Cera and Jonah Hill exhibit an infectious like ability while newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse uses his exuberant obnoxiousness to steal scenes. This is also a largely parent-free zone. Other than Stacy Edwards as Evan's mother, who is on camera exclusively for her cleavage, mature adults are in short supply
This excerpt of Berardinelli's review hits
Superbad right on the head. I loved the fact that the only parent in the entire movie is only in it to be made fun of for her large breasts. This goes back to how life like this film is. The guy with the cute mom needs to get made fun of, it's a man law. Although
Superbad doesn't break out of the mold of teen comedies being about the nerdy kid, they made clever spins on it. unlike
Revenge of the Nerds, Superbad shows the nerds making a climb up the popularity latter. I agree that a lot of the credit should be given to the actors. Although the writers came up with the jokes, the actors (who are ranging in age from fresh out of college to actually in high school) made the characters relatable.
There's Evan (Michael Cera), who's close to an "average guy" - shy around girls but open with his friends.Seth (Jonah Hill) is overweight and pugnacious, and aware that his appearance doesn't make him a babe-magnet. Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is the uber-nerd whose social inadequacies and lack of emotional maturity allow him to think that the single moniker of "McLuvin" is a good name on a fake I.D.
These characters that Berardinelli describes are so uniquely funny and he is mostly correct is his descriptions. Seth, being the token chubby kid is always going to be very funny. Evan is the uncomfortable kid that makes you cringe he's so awkward, and in no way is he "average" as Berardinelli depicts him to be. Finally Fogel is, exactly as Berardinelli puts it, an "uber-nerd."
The prime requisite of any comedy - that it generate laughs - is amply met. Superbad is chock full of R-rated glee. Although there are instances of physical humor (some of which pays homage, either intentionally or unintentionally, to The Three Stooges) and sex-related jokes (including penis drawings), most of the comedy is in the dialogue. There are some hilarious one-liners, including one remark about health class that no one leaving the theater will forget. Through all of the mayhem, however, director Mottola never loses sight of his characters, and that's a key point to remember. While we laugh both with and at the protagonists, we also care about them.
Not only did it meet the request of generating laughs, It generated coughs, sighs, tears, and aches by pure comical genius. The non-stop sex related jokes in no way got tiring. Laughing with and at the protaganist is especially true with Seth because he is the slapstick humor type. He also plays the role of the chubby kid, you can't help but laugh at. Berardinelli and I agree on many things but the biggest point is that
Superbad is supergood.
