Movie Review: Superbad — It’s the F-Bomb

If you’re a fan of the “f” word, you’re going to love Superbad.

No self-respecting Superbad movie review would be complete without mentioning that the “f” word was used 186 times — and the unrated version of the movie was only 118 minutes long (114 for the rated version). That’s an average of approximately 1.6 uses of the word per minute.

But even if you don’t like to hear the “f” word sprayed around like water out of an open fire hydrant, there’s plenty to like about this movie. And you don’t even have to be in high school. Actually, writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were younger than that when they wrote the movie; they were only 13. That’s probably what made the movie so appealing to me. (Although, I like all Seth Rogen movies.) I sure wouldn’t want to be that young again, but it’s fun to be taken there again for two hours or so.

If I had to reduce the movie to an elevator pitch (a description that can be heard in the time it takes to go on an elevator ride), here’s how it would play out: “Three alcohol-obsessed boys go on a local road trip to find said alcohol and get girls. Hilarity ensues.”

But if I were to describe it for grown-ups who might want to watch the movie, I would add some details you probably wouldn’t expect if you only heard the elevator pitch: There’s a beating heart at the center of Superbad. Main characters Seth, Evan and Fogell (aka McLovin), two of which are named after writers Rogen and Goldberg, alternate between being obnoxious teenagers and semi-enlightened beings. This vacillation elevates the movie above being just an f-bomb-filled, trashy-talkfest. The characters’ going back and forth between doing the right thing and very wrong things makes it a lot like life. Hey, there are a lot of supposed adults out in the world who don’t have these kids’ grasp on the fact that they need to take some responsibility for their behavior.

But don’t let me make the movie seem too high-tone; it’s not. It wasn’t meant to be. It was meant to be just a funny teenage movie with a lot of cussing and plenty of laughs. And in that, it succeeded.

Movie trivia

• Filming locations (all in California):

• California State University, Northridge (parking lot scene)
• Los Angeles
• Culver City
• El Segundo High School, El Segundo
• Glendale (convenience store)

• Explicit drawings of penises used in the film were drawn by David Goldberg, Evan Goldberg’s brother. Seth Rogen also used another family member in the movie: When the characters of Seth and Evan are running from the police through people’s backyards, Seth Rogen’s father Mark Rogen appears as the baseball-bat-wielding dad.

Watch trailers for the movie at the official Sony Pictures Superbad Web site

I hope you enjoyed this movie review. Be sure to take our movie trivia quiz about Superbad and other Seth Rogen films. (We’ve already given you one of the answers in this movie review!)

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