Post by bretth on Jan 29, 2009 8:14:23 GMT -5
I am having a hard time placing anything other than Dazed & Confused above Superbad in terms of the greatest teen comedy I've ever seen. What works so well about Superbad is the fact that the people who wrote it actually understand and embrace the roots of the teen film. Seth Rogen loves shitty movies as much as us and makes them extremely personable with the normal stereotypical characters, but defines them as sharp as the blade of a knife. When comedies try to be 70s/80s, it quite frankly scares the shit out of me. Semi-Pro is a good example of this, it basically took what normal people think of when they think "70s" and used the easiest stereotypes to a mildly satisfactory degree. With a name like Superbad, you know exactly what it's harking back to, and it's done with intelligence. The other modern comedies aren't in the same league. Not even close. It doesn't try to be quirky, even though it is to an extent. That's one great thing because too many films today try to be weird and awkward to invoke laughs. The character of Evan is awkward and invokes laughs, but it's great acting and character depth that brings it out. It's not stamped on his forehead. This is straight up Porky's style flair, but polished with a fine toothed comb.
From top to bottom, there isn't a single fault that I can think of with Superbad, other than it had to come to an end. Acting wise, everyone puts on a great performance. The music? Let's just say when police officer Slater (Bill Hader, "bonafide badass") leans out his car window drunk as fuck and starts blasting Van Halen's Panama, I just about shit. I'm seriously sitting here trying to think of something I didn't like, from any standpoint and I just can't.
My opinion only here - when I read people talking about Superbad and they say "I didn't like the cops", I immediately know they never got the movie. They laughed along, they awww'd when the underdog gets the girl because they're supposed to. But, they never actually saw the writing between the lines. Even when it was spoken out to them in one scene. The cops are the kids in the future, if the kid in them never died. Sure, it's hyperbolized because this is a Porky's style sex comedy, but it's there and it truly helps bridge the gaps between generations. Not to mention providing outlandish and zany scenes like all the greats of the eighties where the authority figure comes out to play. Remember the gym teacher getting fired and then helping the boys out in Porky's, or when the teacher in Rock N' Roll High School heads off to the Ramones concert ? Something tells me Seth Rogen does, too.
From top to bottom, there isn't a single fault that I can think of with Superbad, other than it had to come to an end. Acting wise, everyone puts on a great performance. The music? Let's just say when police officer Slater (Bill Hader, "bonafide badass") leans out his car window drunk as fuck and starts blasting Van Halen's Panama, I just about shit. I'm seriously sitting here trying to think of something I didn't like, from any standpoint and I just can't.
My opinion only here - when I read people talking about Superbad and they say "I didn't like the cops", I immediately know they never got the movie. They laughed along, they awww'd when the underdog gets the girl because they're supposed to. But, they never actually saw the writing between the lines. Even when it was spoken out to them in one scene. The cops are the kids in the future, if the kid in them never died. Sure, it's hyperbolized because this is a Porky's style sex comedy, but it's there and it truly helps bridge the gaps between generations. Not to mention providing outlandish and zany scenes like all the greats of the eighties where the authority figure comes out to play. Remember the gym teacher getting fired and then helping the boys out in Porky's, or when the teacher in Rock N' Roll High School heads off to the Ramones concert ? Something tells me Seth Rogen does, too.