From the moment I first saw Superbad’s perversion-promising preview, I eagerly awaited to see if Judd Apatow could apply his signature blend of raw humor and gentle sensitivity to adolescent male-hood as successfully as he did to one-night-stand conception. Superbad is one of those movies I just couldn’t imagine being super bad. It followed too closely on the coattails of the writer’s Knocked Up to be completely devoid of humor, and the cast, starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Seth Rogen, is of too fine a comedic quality to forge a flop. So I wasn’t shocked to find myself sitting contentedly through Superbad, emitting laughter quite frequently at delightfully raunchy one-liners. But I was a tad bit surprised that Superbad wasn’t as side-splitting as I had hoped it would be.

There isn’t much that sets Superbad’s plot apart from like-minded movies chronicling high school, hormones, obesity, and awkwardness. Evan (Michael Cera) is shy and socially unskilled; his heavyset best friend Seth (Jonah Hill) is equally anxious, angry, and over-preoccupied with an ensemble of sexual fetishes. The two are facing separation anxiety over their futures at different colleges; Evan is heading to the Ivy League with the pair’s squeaky third wheel friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), while Seth lags behind to study at a much less exciting locale. Despite their different destinations, both Evan and Seth are terrified of graduating as sexually inexperienced virgins, and they’re determined to strike it big with their high school crushes to prepare for their anticipated futures with college co-eds. When Fogell promises to secure a fake id, Evan and Seth promise their girl crushes they’ll provide one hundred dollars of alcohol for a big, end-of-the year party. But securing the booze proves to be a bit too tricky for the threesome, and Fogell ends up schmoozing with two police officers around town while Seth and Evan find themselves dodging fistfights at a neighborhood booze-fest.

For a flick primarily pre-occupied with penis humor, this movie is alright. There is quite a bit of original wit and a lot of the dialogue is first rate. There are many profoundly pleasurable moments of first rate silliness, but I wasn’t sure if the ‘good parts’ of Superbad were funny by their own merit or because the surrounding script was awkward and drawn out by comparison. Superbad was, at times, more than super good, but more than once during the movie, I found myself super bored.

In spite of some plot deficiencies, Superbad’s acting was superb. The shining star here is most certainly Michael Cera, who portrays the teenager, torn between tact and testosterone, brilliantly. And Seth Rogen’s embodiment of a drunk, delinquent police officer came in more than a close second. I was also quite captivated by Emma Stone, who plays Jules, Seth’s super cool love interest. She’s quite reminiscent of Lindsay Lohan with her deep, sexy voice and long, auburn hair, and since Lindsay Lohan’s acting career is surely destroyed, it’s refreshing to know that Hollywood has quickly filled the void of the sultry ginger starlet.

All in all, Superbad is frank and honest in an almost over the top, yet ultimately balanced way. A tad boring, but more than sufficiently funny in all the necessary places, Superbad is a good go.

Liz Licorish

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