With his newest success Superbad, producer/director Judd Apatow and his troupe's domination of comedy has been fast and forceful.
A trailer for Apatow's (Knocked Up, 40-Year-Old Virgin) next project, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, said the film is "From the guys who brought you Superbad!" The trailer ran before the film even began, but Apatow's track record justifies the arrogance.
If you've seen the trailers, you know the story: Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are two high school seniors going away to different colleges. The film follows the two and their friend Fogell/McLovin (in an almost show-stealing debut from Christopher Mintz-Plasse) throughout their journey to get liquor and girls all while trying to get to one big party before graduation.
Of course, the odds are against them. Fogell has perhaps the worst fake ID ever conceived, with Evan saying "The guy's either going to think 'here's another guy with a fake ID,' or 'here's McLovin, 25-year-old Hawaiian organ donor.'" They split up and have their own adventures before inevitably hitting the party.
Despite many wild events, including multiple car accidents and gunfire, the movie never gets too far out.
Mintz-Plasse's performance as McLovin keeps the reality of the film in check. He alternates his nerdy excitement with the fear of being caught, even while going on a rampage with the cops who were giving him a ride to the party. Instead of doubting that he just blew up a car, you laugh because he has the nerve to ask if they can shoot at it, too.
Oddly, the only unrealistic moments are in the details. I'm still waiting on a high school movie where students have more obligations than gym, home economics, lunch and wandering the halls.
A plot element more in line with the characters is Evan's budding romance with Becca (Martha MacIsaac). She's clearly interested in him, but like most nerds, Evan is too shy and inexperienced to tell. When he finally can tell, he doesn't know how to act.
In one scene, the two say good-bye to each other only to realize that they're still walking in the same direction. Evan's nervous shuffle away from Becca is a flawless encapsulation of a high school crush.Their romance leads to one of the funniest sex scenes ever on the big screen. The set-up is too profane to print, but the always-academic Evan responds, saying, "They said this would happen in health class!"
Apatow's films tend to run closer to two hours than standard 90-minute comedies, but it works because of the warmth given to the characters. The plot is a little outlandish, but the dialogue and reactions are realistic. Seth, Evan and Fogell are good guys who are just coming into their own.
One of the closing scenes, featured prominently in trailers, shows Seth and Evan having a sleepover, admitting that they love each other. It's partially played for laughs, but it got at least one big "awwww" when I saw it.
I say that we should let the actors age a few years, then shoot a college movie and see how they're doing. It's rare for a comedy to leave you wanting to see how the characters get on, but Superbad's heart makes it the most rewarding Apatow film yet.
Grade: A-
