A coming-of-age cautionary tale about two socially inept teenage boys about to graduate high school. Theirs is a ridiculously dependent friendship — but now they've gotten into different colleges and are forced to contemplate life apart. Evan is sweet, smart, and generally terrified. Seth is foul-mouthed, volatile, and all-consumed with the topic of human sexuality. This is the story of their misguided attempts to reverse a lifelong losing streak with the ladies in one panic-driven night... that awful, humiliating night you cherish for the rest of your life.
For my money, the most entertaining character in The 40 Year Old Virgin was the one played by Seth Rogen. After stealing just about every scene in that movie, he was then given the starring role in Knocked Up earlier this year. Now, Mr. Rogen is back - - this time in the role of screenwriter and supporting actor in the teen comedy Superbad.
Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are best friends entering their final days of High School. Both are smart and have had little success with women. On one fateful Friday, Seth and Evan both seem to have somehow attracted the attention and have been invited to a big party by two of the more desirable girls in their class. Of course, there's a catch: They've been tasked with buying alcohol. Only their extremely geeky friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has a fake I.D. So, this trio of boys with raging hormones set off on an adventure to score some alcohol and get the girls.
Booze is their mission and nothing will stand in their way.
What separates Superbad from the rest of the pack of High School themed movies, is it's reliance on fantastic dialogue and great characterizations. Fogell, for example, is probably one of the most memorable characters put on screen in the last decade. His clueless enthusiasm is consistently hilarious. None of the characters in the film are simply there to move the story along. Even the most minor characters seem to have a purpose. Michael Cera is pretty darn fantastic as well. He has comic timing well beyond his years and will, hopefully, be getting a great deal of work in the future. Of course, I can't sell the film short by not mentioning just how completely hilarious it is. This is a true laugh out loud film that, literally, had people rolling in the isles when I saw it theatrically. There's quite a bit of gross-out humor in the film, so please be prepared for a pretty hefty barrage of four letter words and toilet humor. This isn't a complaint, merely an observation. The film just wouldn't work without these elements and they really do offer a pretty hilarious insight into the mind of your average teenage boy. Superbad is, without a doubt, the funniest film of the year and is a most welcome addition to the growing Blu-ray catalog of great movies.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC compression codec, Superbad is entirely consistent with what I saw projected theatrically. The film is relatively sharp and does feature quite a bit of nice shadow detail. Colors are vivid and nicely represented with an abundance of bright colors. The film seems to be shot with a very "70s" feel and reminds me a bit of the look of the Starsky and Hutch film that was released a few years ago. Fortunately, Superbad is free of any picture artifacts and is sourced from a pristine master. While I don't think that Superbad is going to qualify as the kind of demo material one might use to show off a home theater, it does actually look to be a bit of an upgrade over the theatrical presentation. Ultimately, Superbad is another fine encode from Sony.
There are several options to choose from with Superbad's audio setup. Both Uncompressed 5.1 PCM as well as Dolby TrueHD are available on the disc and are further proof of Sony's continued commitment to deliver the finest sound possible on all of their releases. In comparing the two lossless options, I still believe that PCM offers a bit more clarity and a wider soundstage than TrueHD. Both are excellent choices that offer an appreciable upgrade over the standard Dolby Digital track also found on the disc. As has been proven by each and every lossless track I've heard thus far, dialogue benefits well from the lossless presentation. It is always crisp and clear without any breakup or unintelligible moments. The entire soundstage, which is very front-loaded, is quite wide. The film's musical score is also nicely placed within the mix and never intrudes upon the dialogue, which is the main focus of the film. Superbad sounds great and is yet another winner in the sound department.
-Audio commentaries: Judd Apatow, Seth Rogren, Greg Mottola, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse
-Documentary: "Making-of Superbad"
-Featurettes: "Cop Car Confessions: A Ride Along with Clark County's Finest," "Snakes on Jonah," "Vag-tastic Voyage," "Everybody Hates Michael Cera: The Unfortunate True Story," "The Music of Superbad"
-Additional Behind-the-Scenes Footage: "On-Set Diaries," "Press Junket Meltdown," "Michael's Voicemails from Jonah," "Line-O-Rama"
-Cast Auditions
-Table Reads
-Deleted and Extended Scenes
-Alternate title sequence
-Gag Reel
-"TV Safe"
-Pineapple Express
Wow, not a single supplement was spared with Superbad's Blu-ray release. Just about every conceivable aspect of the production is intimately documented here. Staring things off is the amazing array of commentaries. Michael Cera, Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow and Christopher Mintz-Plasee are easily the most entertaining. Mintz-Plasse is a hoot as he's not a trained actor, but merely a regular guy who was given the opportunity of a lifetime to be in this film. It is a true pleasure to listen to someone who is still so thrilled to be a part of the film. There are multiple documentaries here as well that document every aspect of the production. If you want to know about it, it's here. There are cast audition tapes, table readings, deleted scenes and extended sequences. I didn't enjoy these as much as the commentaries, but they do add a nice touch to the set. "TV Safe" is particularly entertaining as we are able to witness Jonah Hill attempt to substitute more TV friendly line readings into his normally profanity laced speeches. This really is a comprehensive set of features that begs to be experienced. Highly recommended!
Superbad is the funniest film of the year and is a great candidate for repeat viewings. I probably missed about half of the film's most hilarious moments in the theater due to the constant and hysterical laughter thought the film. So, it is a true pleasure to see Superbad in the comfort of my home theater. Video and audio are very well presented and are improved over the theatrical presentation. Supplements are also quite rich and offer a substantial look into the making of the film and the various personalities that played so heavily into shaping the feel of this film. Superbad on Blu-ray is a true home run. Very highly recommended!
Amazon is kicking off Black Friday with a Blu-ray Lightning Deal. Starting 12.30 a.m. PST, and for a very limited time, you can get Legion, Superbad and Angels & Demons for only $5 each (80% off list price or more). This price is valid until 4 a.m. PST, or when ...
Coming in on the top of the high definition sales charts last week was the Blu-ray
release of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' with an estimated 160,000
copies sold. Coming in second was 'Superbad', also released last week exclusively
on Blu-ray, ...
