For all the stereotypical teenage comedies that have been and gone, ones set in the usual high school with usual types of students doing the usually unrealistic things, there is the occasional movie which gets it right. Superbad is one of those movies. This isn’t necessarily how any teenager experienced high school but it also doesn’t fit into the usual high school mould and certainly feels much more realistic than many others.

This begins with the perfect casting of relative unknowns at the time, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. Their chemistry is the core of the whole movie and because you believe their friendship is actually real, you believe in their story. It is also a friendship that feels genuine and is recognisable. They are comfortable, piss-taking but good-natured and clearly care about each other in a way “high school best friends” do.

The writing backs this up perfectly. They talk like teenagers but without using slang which highlights an adult has clearly written the script or inevitably dates the movie. They swear, talk with a total lack of experience about sex and are obsessed with parties and drink but because they feel they should be. These are two characters you want to spend time with and see where the movie takes them.

Luckily, the film itself is brilliantly written with the usual “one bad night” premise. The events slowly spiral and escalate as the two try their best to get their respective girls at the last party after graduation. This means fake IDs, stealing beer from other parties, dancing with the wrong girls, police chases and getting far too drunk. The events do get more and more extreme but in a way which makes sense and gets funnier and funnier as the film progresses.

It also helps that there is a great sub-plot with Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s Fogel and his night tagging-along with terrible cops played hilariously by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader. This is slightly less believable but no less funny and just as the main story does, has a central plot full of heart.

It is a teenage, “one bad night” movie though so there are also the usual and predictable plot points. Two best friends at the beginning of the night go through a lot of the stuff you’d expect as the film takes you on a very recognisable journey at times and like any film of this type, it lacks enough substance to make the ending anything less than very tidy. This can be overlooked when the movie has this much heart though and is this funny.

Overall, Superbad is a rare example of how to make a teenage comedy very funny, very believable and fairly realistic. The chemistry between Hill and Cera manages to hold everything together and makes all their experiences so much funnier. There is also a great heart to the story too.

Rating – 5!

(1 – Awful, 2 – Average, 3 – Good, 4 – Great, 5! – Must See)

As always get in touch below with a comment but also like our page on Facebook (Views from the Sofa) or follow us on Twitter – @viewsfromsofa