Superbad actually pretty good...

Though this is hardly the type of movie I am accustomed to watching, I thought that it had garnered enough satisfactory reviews to peak my curiosity and merit a viewing. Despite the vulgarity of much of its subject matter and its lowbrow humor, both of which will generally put me off a movie, the film works. I attribute this to the adroitness of the director and the charisma of the young stars. It has heart and an underlying intelligence, attributes generally missing in films of this genre. The crude exchanges of one-upmanship between the two leads (and their foil Fogell) is particularly entertaining, and there are some wonderful one-liners, often improvised by the actors from my understanding. Though it is at times a tad over the top, it is evenly paced and balances the ridiculous and really, really ridiculous with amazing delicacy. Only rarely does it drag, and even then not enough to lose its audience.

Make no mistake, this is a film based on gags, and on subjects which incur gagging, but they are carried out with enough panache and ingenuity that they do not end up seeming forced and out of place. In other hands this film would have failed miserably, as such films have so many, many times (in fact you can probably count the good films of this type on one hand). Keep in mind also that this is not a rave review of a four star movie. This is simply a highly entertaining two hours, and much better than much of what passes for comedic entertainment these days.

While it is not as good as Dazed as Confused or American Graffiti, or probably even Summer School for that matter, all similarly themed movies, it is certainly one of the most accurate depictions of high school awkwardness I have ever seen. If you are like me, and registered somewhat underneath the social radar during high school, this film will conjure fond and not so fond memories. If you were not this fortunate then you will likely still find it enjoyable, and can take comfort in that the film probably does not contain any words you will need to waste time looking up. Though the clothing and style of speech have changed somewhat since the eighties, nerdiness remains an immutable part of the high school experience, and rarely has it looked this hip.