uHollywood

Producer Judd Apatow finally nails the perfect mix of casting, dialogue, and look in his hysterical teen sex comedy, Superbad (Sony Pictures, MSRP $34.95). It tells the story of two best friends finishing up high school, trying to make it to the huge end of the year party, and determined not to graduate as virgins. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play Seth and Evan (essentially writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg), the two friends on their quest for booze and sex, and finishing off the set is newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse playing Chris Fogle, or McLovin’ as his fake ID says, the super-awkward sidekick who has the perfect plan to score some drink.

As these stories go, plans fall apart, McLovin’ falls in with a pair of loose cannon cops (brilliantly portrayed by Rogen and SNL’s Bill Hader), Seth’s car gets towed, and the quest to get booze becomescompletely epic. The film follows both groups through a somewhat clunky second act as the boys attend a weird college-age celebration and Mclovin’ sits at a local bar with the cops, but eventually they find their way back to each other and arrive at their final destination: The End of the Year Party.

Teen sex movies have been around for decades, but Superbad does two things specifically that truly sets it apart. The first is the virtuoso casting. Every single actor is perfect for his or her role, Cera and Hill are genius spoils for each other, as are Rogen and Hader. Mintz-Plasse couldn’t be more hilariously awkward if anyone tried twice as hard. The dialogue is fast, funny, and admittedly, filthy.

The other thing that sets Superbad apart is the relationship between Seth and Evan. These guys are best friends and there is a believable underlying tension throughout the film about how they’re going separate ways at the end of the school year. The heart in this film is genuine, not forced by marketing execs trying to nail a demographic.

The 2-disc unrated Special Edition contains a lot of extra material. Unfortunately, not all of it is meat and quite a bit feels a lot like stuffing.

Deleted and Extended Scenes (12:46) There are 7 scenes, mostly standard, nothing hilarious. However, the final scene is the most complete comic riffing on semen I may have ever witnessed. Yes, it’s that kind of a movie.

Line-O-Rama (4:15) A montage of improvised one-liners; prepare to be amazed by Jonah Hill’s verbosity.

Gag Reel (4:28) The standard collection of laughing, falling down, cell phones