Superbad, the 2007 raunchy comedy starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, has become a streaming hit. The film, which was curiously cherished by famed critic Roger Ebert, is currently sitting in the fourth spot on Hulu‘s list of most popular films. Other titles on the list include the recent Academy Award winner Anora, Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, and the Timothée Chalamet-led biopic A Complete Unknown.
In Superbad, Seth and Evan are best friends who decide to do their best to lose their virginity when they’re about to graduate from high school. Each of them has a crush, and the girls have asked the boys to purchase some alcohol for a party. Seth and Evan’s best chance is to seek the help of their other friend, Fogell, who has a fake ID. When Fogell’s plan doesn’t work, Seth and Evan are forced to navigate through a very strange night in order to find a party they can raid. Oh, and Fogell? He’s about to have the night of a lifetime alongside two very fun policemen.
Related
The 10 Very Best High School Movies of the 2000s
We all were there, suffering through the difficulties of teenage angst and high school trauma. These are the movies that depict this the best way.
Directed by Greg Mottola and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Superbad was a massive hit, making over $170 million at the box office from a reported production budget of $20 million. The comedy is considered a biographical piece (hence the main characters being named after the writers), and it was written by Rogen and Goldberg when they were just a couple of teenagers.
The film stars Hill and Cera alongside Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Emma Stone, Martha MacIsaac, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Kevin Corrigan, Joe Lo Truglio, and Dave Franco, among others. It was produced by comedy masterminds Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson.
Roger Ebert on ‘Superbad’: “In Its Very Raunchiness, It Finds Truth”
Sony
Superbad is currently sitting at an 88% Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the Popcornmeter (audience score) registering an 87% score. It has been praised by critics since its release, and to this day, it’s considered one of the best comedies of the 2000s.
Roger Ebert gave it a score of three and a half stars out of four, which was not rare for the comedy genre. This was the same score the beloved critic gave to films like Bridesmaids, The Hangover and Tropic Thunder. Nevertheless, Superbad was a game-changer that didn’t cut back on its profanity and jokes that wouldn’t likely be present in today’s much more politically correct climate (especially because it involves teenagers). This is what Ebert said in his review of the film:
“Superbad is a four-letter raunch-a-rama with a heart, and an inordinate interest in other key organs. It is autobiographical, I suspect, inspired not just by the lives of co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who named the two leads after themselves, but possibly by millions of other teenagers. The movie is astonishingly foul-mouthed, but in a fluent, confident way where the point isn’t the dirty words, but the flow and rhythm, and the deep, sad yearning they represent.
“The movie reminded me a little of National Lampoon’s Animal House, except that it’s more mature, as all movies are. It has that unchained air of getting away with something. In its very raunchiness, it finds truth, because if you know nothing about sex, how can you be tasteful and sophisticated on the subject? In its treatment of adolescent sexual yearning, Superbad remembers not only the agony but the complete absence of the ecstasy.”
Release Date
August 17, 2007
Runtime
113 minutes
You can view the original article HERE.
