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Superbad is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen film Buddy film comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and produced by Judd Apatow. It stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about to graduate from high school. Before graduating, the boys want to party and lose their virginity, but their plan proves harder than expected. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (in his film debut), Rogen, Bill Hader, Martha MacIsaac, and Emma Stone (in her film debut) provide supporting roles.
Rogen and Goldberg wrote the script during their teenage years. It is loosely based on their experience in Grade 12 at Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver during the 1990s. The main characters have the same as the two writers. Rogen was also initially intended to play Seth, but due to age and physical size this was changed, and Hill went on to portray Seth, while Rogen portrayed the irresponsible Officer Michaels, opposite Saturday Night Live star Hader as Officer Slater.
Superbad premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on August 13, 2007, and was theatrically released in the United States four days later on August 17, 2007. The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the dialogue and the chemistry between the two leads as well as the performances of the supporting cast. The film also proved financially successful, grossing $170.8 million on a $17.5–20 million budget. The film has since become a Cult film, considered among the best comedy films of all time.
Fogell attempts to buy the alcohol at a liquor store with his fake ID under the mononym "McLovin". His attempt seems to work as the clerk accepts his fake ID and starts to ring up the transaction, but mid-transaction, Fogell is knocked down by a robber before he can purchase the alcohol. When police officers Slater and Michaels arrive, Seth and Evan, who are outside, believe that Fogell is being arrested. While waiting outside the liquor store, Seth is hit by a motorist. In exchange for their not reporting him, the motorist promises to take them to another party where they can get alcohol. Meanwhile, after getting his statement, the officers agree to drive Fogell to the party. Despite being on duty, they start drinking. Bonding with Fogell, they engage in various shenanigans.
At the party, Seth plans to steal alcohol while Evan is hesitant to stay. The motorist is kicked out by the party host and a fight ensues; Evan decides to leave despite Seth's insistence he stay. Seth then dances with a drunk Jacinda, who stains his leg with Menstruation blood. Seth is confronted by the party's host for dancing with his fiancée, and a brawl ensues. The police are called, and Seth and Evan reunite outside and escape. Seth chastises Evan for bailing on him, reminding him that they had lifelong plans to attend college together. Evan retorts that Seth is selfish and holds him back. Evan shoves Seth, who is struck by the police cruiser driven by a distracted Slater. The officers plan to blame the crash on Seth and Evan, but as Fogell emerges from the car, all three flee. Reunited, the trio make their way to Jules' party.
At the party, Fogell inadvertently reveals that he and Evan will be living together at college, upsetting Seth. He then delivers the alcohol to Jules and begins drinking heavily. Meanwhile, Becca attempts to seduce Evan to take her virginity, but he declines as they are both drunk and may regret it. Meanwhile, Fogell impresses classmate Nicola, so she takes him upstairs to have sex. Seth drunkenly attempts to kiss Jules, but she declines because she does not want to kiss him while he is drunk. Believing he has ruined his chance, Seth becomes upset and falls down in a drunken stupor, accidentally headbutting Jules and giving her a black eye.
Slater and Michaels bust the party. Seth wakes up and escapes, carrying an intoxicated Evan away from the house. Slater busts in on Fogell and Nicola, causing her to run off. Slater and Michaels reveal they knew all along that Fogell was underage but played along, wanting to show him that cops can have fun too. To make it up to him, they make a fake spectacle of Perp walk him to their cruiser in front of his classmates. They then destroy the damaged police cruiser together.
Seth sleeps over at Evan's, where he reveals he discovered weeks earlier that Evan and Fogell planned to live together at college. They apologize to each other and reconcile. The next day, Seth and Evan visit the mall and run into Jules and Becca. Becca and Seth apologize for their drunken behavior, and the boys head their separate ways with their respective love interests.
Other filming locations include the convenience store at the beginning of the film, also in Culver City, the liquor store where "McLovin" gets IDed in Glendale, California, and the bar where the cops take McLovin for a drink is neighboring Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The scene where McLovin and the cops do donuts in the cop car was filmed in a parking lot on the California State University, Northridge campus.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse was 17 at the time of filming Superbad, and as a result, his mother was required to be present on set during the filming of his sex scene.
The film grossed US$121.5 million in the United States and Canada and US$48.4 million in other countries, for a total of US$169.9 million worldwide. Compared to the budget of $17.5–20 million, the film earned a huge financial profit, making it the highest domestic grossing high school comedy at the time (it was surpassed by 21 Jump Street, a film also starring Hill, in 2012).
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it 2007's most successful comedy. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times had the headline of his review read "McLovin It", and gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and said: "The movie reminded me a little of Animal House, except that it's more mature, as all movies are." Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times said: "Physically, Hill and Cera recall the classic comic duos—Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. But they are contemporary kids, sophisticated and sensitive to nuance"; she added: "I hope it's not damning the movie with the wrong kind of praise to say that for a film so deliriously smutty, Superbad is supercute." Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly said "2007: the year Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen saved movie comedy", a reference to Knocked Up which was released in June. Devin Gordon of Newsweek said: "As a Revenge of the Nerds redux, Superbad isn't perfect. But it's super close."
In a more critical vein, Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter, compared the film to other films with a single-day structure, such as American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused, but said that Superbad "doesn't have the smarts or the depths of those ensemble comedies." The Hollywood Reporter review was referenced in the film's DVD audio commentary, particularly the review's suggestion that the two main characters have a homoeroticism experience similar to the film Y Tu Mamá También.The DVD audio commentary on the Superbad: Unrated Extended Edition DVD. Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel called the film a "super-derivative, super-raunchy sack of laughs" and a "great vulgarian send-off to the summer of Knocked Up" that plays like " Freaks and Geeks: Uncensored." Moore concluded, "The energy flags as it overstays its welcome. The Apatow Rule, 'If it gets a laugh, don't cut it,' doesn't do movies under his banner any favors. Still, there are plenty of those laughs, from the ruder-than-rude opening to the ironic-sentimental ending." Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe said the film "has a degree more sophistication than Revenge of the Nerds and American Pie, and less than the underrated House Party." Morris also said, "the few smart observations could have come from an episode of one of Apatow's TV shows" and "I wanted to find this as funny as audiences did."
| 2007 | Austin Film Critics Association Awards | Breakthrough Artist | Michael Cera | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Comedy Movie | Superbad | |||
| Best Young Actor | Michael Cera | ||||
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Most Promising Performer | Michael Cera | |||
| Empire Awards | Best Comedy | Superbad | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Movie – Comedy/Musical | Superbad | |||
| 2008 | Canadian Comedy Awards | Best Writing | Seth Rogen | ||
| Best Male Performance | Michael Cera | ||||
| MTV Movie Awards | Best Comedic Performance | Jonah Hill | |||
| Best Movie | Superbad | ||||
| Breakthrough Performance | Michael Cera | ||||
| Jonah Hill | |||||
| Christopher Mintz-Plasse | |||||
| Peabody Awards | Best New Comedy Performance | Superbad | |||
| Young Hollywood Awards | Exciting New Face | Emma Stone | |||
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