Superbad (2007) (R-Rated)

Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen--both of 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP fame--SUPERBAD is the story of two horny teenage geeks looking to lose their virginity before college. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are hoping to end high school on a high note, and when one of their crushes (Emma Hill) invites them to a graduation party, the boys are ecstatic. That is, until they become responsible for supplying the party with alcohol. They hurriedly concoct a scheme to use their friend Fogell's (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) horrendously fake ID, but trouble soon arises when Fogell becomes the victim of a liquor store robbery. The cops (Rogen and Bill Hader) show up, and the evening quickly disintegrates into a hilarious mess of misunderstandings, crackhead sing-alongs, and beer mixed with laundry detergent.

Hill is a riot as the wild-haired and foul-mouthed Seth, and Mintz-Plasse is great fun as the uber-geek Fogell. But Michael Cera (formerly of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT) steals the show as the sensitive and levelheaded Evan. His oddball line delivery and excellent comic timing make for some of the most bizarre but best moments of the film. The sexual humor can be pretty graphic at times, which is no doubt what earned the movie its R rating. Yet, despite gross-out jokes involving menstrual blood and penis drawings, SUPERBAD somehow manages to fly far above frat-boy, AMERICAN PIE-style humor. This is partly due to the comedic skill of the actors, but also because the characters--silly and absurd though they can be--are so well-written. Watching these bungling outcasts is a vivid reminder of the horrific lows and supreme highs of high school life, and their antics rather poignantly capture how age 18 can indeed be super bad, but also super good.