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Well, thanks to one of my favorite bands dropping out of a concert last night, I went and saw a little film called Superbad instead. Here's my review.
I assume most of you will give it a higher rating. I should note that I actually enjoyed it very, very much. I stopped just short of giving it a 4 out of 5 rating, however, because I thought of it more as a pleasant diversion than a genuinely great comedy. I can't imagine wanting to see it again, for example. But, at the same time, I'd recommend it to almost everyone I know.
So, perhaps my thoughts are a bit convoluted, but I felt the rating warranted a bit of an explanation, given how positive the review itself sounds.
Superbad
One can be forgiven for assuming from its promotional materials that Superbad is set in the past. The main characters wear clothes they don't realize are retro, know all the words to The Guess Who's "These Eyes", and pursue Goldschläger as if it were, well, gold. Imagine The Wonder Years if it were an HBO production, and you'll have a pretty good picture of this movie.
Of course, given that co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg chose to name their two main characters after themselves, it makes sense that they occasionally feel transplanted from another decade, as it's assumed the two roles are somewhat autobiographical...though hopefully not too much.
The entire movie involves the pursuit of sex, though for most of its 114-minute runtime, the characters are pursuing alcohol as a means to that end. Evan, played by the effortlessly endearing Michael Cera (of Fox's now-defunct gem Arrested Development), isn't as gung-ho about the idea as his best friend Seth, played by Jonah Hill. Hill rambles like Ben Stiller (with a pinch of the late Chris Farley), and it's easy to imagine this becoming his breakthrough role.
Hill gets most of the good lines, but Cera gets plenty of mileage out of his ability to make any situation feel awkward. Both of them, however, are often upstaged by Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fogell. Mintz-Plasse plays the role of a high school dork so well that you can't help but wonder if the production was partially autobiographical for him, too. At one point, Seth threatens to "cut his face off" so he can use his fake ID to buy booze, and Fogell confidently declares that "you don't have the technology, or the steadiness of hand."
Of course, alcohol is an oft-used jumping off point for general insanity in these sorts of films, but it never feels cliche here. As short-sighted and single-minded as their plans are, they still have a demented logic to them. And believe it or not, there's a message or two here about the sacrifices (and benefits) of growing up to go with the obligatory moral of just being yourself.
It should be noted that this is a very, very vulgar film. I won't go into detail, because in many instances the shock is half the laugh, but it earns its R-rating and deals with very mature themes, though it never takes itself too seriously.
Superbad was co-produced by Judd Apatow, who wrote and directed Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. And though he didn't write this film, its dialogue and characters have the same ring of truth found in his screenplays. One wonders if this group of sudden movie stars really writes anything; maybe they just transcribe the conversations they're already having.
One can be forgiven for assuming from its promotional materials that Superbad is set in the past. The main characters wear clothes they don't realize are retro, know all the words to The Guess Who's "These Eyes", and pursue Goldschläger as if it were, well, gold. Imagine The Wonder Years if it were an HBO production, and you'll have a pretty good picture of this movie.
Of course, given that co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg chose to name their two main characters after themselves, it makes sense that they occasionally feel transplanted from another decade, as it's assumed the two roles are somewhat autobiographical...though hopefully not too much.
The entire movie involves the pursuit of sex, though for most of its 114-minute runtime, the characters are pursuing alcohol as a means to that end. Evan, played by the effortlessly endearing Michael Cera (of Fox's now-defunct gem Arrested Development), isn't as gung-ho about the idea as his best friend Seth, played by Jonah Hill. Hill rambles like Ben Stiller (with a pinch of the late Chris Farley), and it's easy to imagine this becoming his breakthrough role.
Hill gets most of the good lines, but Cera gets plenty of mileage out of his ability to make any situation feel awkward. Both of them, however, are often upstaged by Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fogell. Mintz-Plasse plays the role of a high school dork so well that you can't help but wonder if the production was partially autobiographical for him, too. At one point, Seth threatens to "cut his face off" so he can use his fake ID to buy booze, and Fogell confidently declares that "you don't have the technology, or the steadiness of hand."
Of course, alcohol is an oft-used jumping off point for general insanity in these sorts of films, but it never feels cliche here. As short-sighted and single-minded as their plans are, they still have a demented logic to them. And believe it or not, there's a message or two here about the sacrifices (and benefits) of growing up to go with the obligatory moral of just being yourself.
It should be noted that this is a very, very vulgar film. I won't go into detail, because in many instances the shock is half the laugh, but it earns its R-rating and deals with very mature themes, though it never takes itself too seriously.
Superbad was co-produced by Judd Apatow, who wrote and directed Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. And though he didn't write this film, its dialogue and characters have the same ring of truth found in his screenplays. One wonders if this group of sudden movie stars really writes anything; maybe they just transcribe the conversations they're already having.
So, perhaps my thoughts are a bit convoluted, but I felt the rating warranted a bit of an explanation, given how positive the review itself sounds.
