Superbad – Unrated Extended Edition
Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Directed by Greg Mottola
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2007
118 minutes
The only reason I stuck with this comedy DVD in the beginning was another reviewer for this site said Superbad was the best coming of age / quest movies he had ever seen and then waxed about how meaningful and brilliant it was.
Perhaps he was talking about the original theater version of Superbad and not the extra couple of minutes long Unrated Extended Edition DVD.
I am glad I got his opinion first because the blurb on the DVD jacket and the first few minutes do not make this movie sound particularly original.
Superbad is a better than average horny geeks trying to get booze to get laid at a party movie with Jonah Hill playing Seth like he’s South Park’s Cartman. Though I find my taste for crude humor worn a bit thin in Superbad this DVD certainly has more than its share of very funny moments once the guys begin their quest for booze (which is when this comedy really gets started).
The two cops McLovin runs into, officers Slater and Michaels (Bill Hader, Seth Rogen) make up for a lot of the fun in this movie.
What makes Superbad better than most coming of age or quest comedies is it is very original and unpredictable. The scene where the kids end up at another party is different, the buying booze scenes are fresh, and the many many surprise twists are really fresh and do actually surprise.
I also have to admit the characters, Evan (Michael Cera), McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), the teenage girls, and even the Cartman like Seth are a lot closer to reality and real people than what your average Hollywood teen movie presents.
Also a lot closer to what real teenagers go through and much more poignantly realistic is what happens to the guys when they hook up with the girl of their dreams at the party.
Still, there are a couple of extraneous scenes in the Superbad Unrated Extended Edition, such as Seth trying on jeans, and these pointless scenes do go on a bit long. I know they are setting up another scene but this is the reason I found Superbad a bit long overall.
Superbad Unrated Extended Edition DVD may not be the instant classic I was told it was but it is entertaining and original.
Another thing that does make Superbad a better DVD than most is the extra features. These too are different and original (and of course crude). I especially liked the possibility of subtitling the director’s comments.
Yes, they are the usual vacuous stuff most of the time but if you have a favorite scene or two or are curious about a particular moment you can watch and listen to the movie and read the background info. The cartoons of Seth’s childhood passion are definitely weird. Some parents might object to the Vag-tastic Voyage which is a bit Girls Gone Wild.