Over thirty years back George Lucas captured the spirit of teen angst, frustration, sexual energy, as well as hope and opportunity.
American Graffiti was an instant classic, and for all the right reasons. Told through two nerdy male pals, taking place the final night of summer, before departure for college far away, everything that had built up over the previous 18 years of these young men’s lives reached a crescendo over this wildly entertaining evening. Gangs, girls, cars, crashes, escapades, Graffiti had it.
Fast forward to the present, add contemporary language, false teenage bravado, about the worst cops you could imagine, and a hyper-attenuated geek as god series of characters, and you’ve got Superbad. This ribald and riotous comedy follows three high school seniors over the course of 24 hours during their final days of school. Each of the guys carries significant baggage: one is a loud overweight bore; another is afraid of girls; and the third, well, it’s just hard to explain McLovin, but he’s fun to watch, and gets into the most of everything. But this painfully sad trio has a real core friendship, built over years together in school, insults received from a range of bullies, and shared experiences that only they could have enjoyed.
In Superbad, over the course of this day, and most significantly the evening, the trio of Seth, Evan, and McLovin learn the meaning of friendship, trust, love, and respect.
There’s a lot of what’s become termed the Judd Apatow style of comedy in this film. That’s largely due to the writing team of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, two Apatow acolytes and key players. Each takes absurdity a step beyond, without losing focus on the need to balance a semblance of reality with the zaniness going on around the characters.
It’s hard to identify with any of the characters in Superbad, and perhaps that’s a good thing. The situations they experience, the trouble the find, the scrapes they both have, and avoid, are each fantastic scenes in their own right. Together, they make for a hysterical teen comedy, one that holds up to adult tastes, and reasonably mature standards. That is, as long as you have an inner teen willing to break out every so often.
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