Super Bad

“Superbad” is the new movie written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who were also writers on the “Da Ali G Show” along with Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat”). They started writing this script when they were in their early teens, and since the main characters share the same first names, I can’t help but wonder if it’s semi-autobiographical.

The story centers on the friendship of two nerdy high school seniors who spend most of their time together. They dream of a life of love and excitement but for various reasons have been stuck in their comfort zones (a familiar human tension). With the end of high school right around the corner they throw caution to the wind and go all out to get alcohol and have sex with the girls they have been lusting for (another familiar story). The plot thickens when two bad boy cops (“Reno 911” types) cross their path on their quest to get the booze and the girls. Ultimately they get the women they wanted, but not in the way they thought they wanted them. Michael Cera (Evan) seems to discover that what he really wants with Becca goes deep enough that it would be devalued by a drunken sexual encounter. Jules does not drink and tells Seth she wants to wait until he sobers up and see if there is anything to their relationship. Their fake ID carrying, booze-buying buddy “McLovin” plays the funniest most endearing nerd to hit the big screen in a while.

Seth and Evan have a natural geek feel to them and deliver their lines with great timing and genius nerdy expression. The movie was very well cast yet the pacing could have been better at times. I will assume the editing which I found to be distracting and jarring in places was the result of the reels being poorly spliced together at the movie theater and not a lack of quality in post-production. Don’t even get me started on my grievances with the exhibition of films in theaters. It’s no wonder more and more people are watching movies at home these days.

The super bad sexual references in this movie seem to make people blush with embarrassment and bust out laughing at the same time. It was filled with crude language, graphic sexual language, some illegal drug use and big screen illustrations of men’s parts. If you were to wait and rent the DVD to play on your ClearPlay DVD player (which cuts out or mutes content you tell it you don’t what to see) you might end up with a very short movie.

Parents, you have been warned. This is not a flick you want to accompany your young person to see. Awkward sexual moments are part of the shock humor that is becoming a trademark of these writers. It is definitely not a movie for anyone who is not accustomed to a torrent of profanity and shocking sexual content. It really earned its R-rating. It does depict the reality of the mentality many teens and adults have today. Many of the characters are searching for identity, security and pleasure and they will do just about anything to get it. Getting wasted and loosing their virginity are a few obvious things people do to define themselves.

A much more common way the characters in this movie and people in real life try to fit in is the frequent use of profanity. In this film constant cussing seems to make Seth feel powerful and look strong but on closer inspection it seems to reveal his lack of true identity and strength. Without a real spiritual foundation in the Spirit of God, people will try to gain power through what they say and do (soulish realm) as opposed to living with true love and power from the heart (spirit realm).

Violence: Mild / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

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