When it comes to teen high school comedies, I think I have seen them all. They all seem to have the same premise. It is usually a couple of guys who are in high school and are looking to get laid at a prom or party or wherever they can get it. Nothing has changed in the 33 years that I have been watching movies. It works, the premise still works. But not all movies can pull off the perfect teen comedy?but Superbad comes super close.

Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are two high school seniors, friends since the age of 8, whose mission before they graduate is to finally get laid. It just so happens that they get invited to a senior graduation party where both of the girls they want to get with are going to be at. Seth even goes so far to promise to get alcohol for the party. Thing is, he doesn?t have the id to do it. Lucky for them, their friend Fogel (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) informs them he is going to be getting a fake ID so they now can have him get the alcohol for the party.

Shortly after arriving at the Liquor store, things start to go wrong for the trio. Fogel, inside getting the booze, is involved in the robbery of the store and gets knocked out by the robber. Two really inept police officers, Slater (Bill Hader) and Michaels (Rogan), arrive at the scene to get some questions. They quickly befriend Fogel (now going by his fake ID name) and they offer to take him where he is going. In the meantime, Seth and Evan think he is being arrested for buying alcohol illegally. They panic and realize that they are now without booze and need to find a way to get some.

So what happens now?

Fogel is stuck with the alcohol and the two inept cops who take him on quite the adventurous ride of his life, while Seth and Evan try to find a way to get to the girls with the some alcohol. Seth and Evan?s journey take them to a house party where things are kicked up a notch in a really good way! Be careful who you dance with, that is all I will say.

I have now watched Superbad about three times since I purchased it and even when I know what is coming and don?t expect to laugh, I still do. That is what is so good about it. Although some of the jokes do get old, 80% of them still stay fresh and I?ll most likely laugh at them again the next time I watch it.

Jonah Hill?s range is pretty limited. I feel that he seems to only be able to curse every other word to try and get a laugh. You can see it in other films he has done, especially Knocked Up. He really isn?t that funny when you can tell he is forcing it. The times when it just comes naturally and is not forced to get that laugh, he is golden.

Michael Cera is very dry and he was the same way in Juno but he works it so well here. He is given some very good lines and he nails them all. Be sure to check out the cast reading for him and you?ll notice that he is no different in that reading than he is in the movie. The kid really does have some talent. Very likeable.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the youngest of the three, does a good job of playing the nerd here. He doesn?t seem to miss a beat and holds his own up again Jonah Hill. Being the nerdy character, you would expect him to back down to the guy who berates him all the time but he doesn?t, which was nice. Also, as with Michael Cera, check out his audition. You can see how much better he is in the movie than in his reading. After watching the audition, I was surprised he got the role.

Bill Hader is the better of the two cops as Seth Rogan has to be one of the worst actors in the history of film (although he was passable in The 40 Year Old Virgin.) His fake laugh is really annoying and he just pales in comparison to Hader. Rogan does have some funny lines, but sadly he can?t pull them off too well. He really is just playing second fiddle to Bill Hader here.

Video

The 1080P / 1.85:1 transfer is one of the better transfers I have seen on any Blu Ray thus far. Obviously for such a new film, no dirt or marks of any kind are to be found. The skin tones were perfect, no softness what-so-ever seen in any of the image. Blacks were also good. I didn?t notice any grain at all either.

Unless I am missing something, the image here is near perfect!

Audio

Sony gives you plenty of audio choices on this Superbad disc. English TrueHD 5.1, English PCM 5.1 Uncompressed, French TrueHD 5.1, Portuguese 5.1 and Spanish 5.1 are all included. The sound for the film is just fine. Surrounds are worked in well as the film is music filled with sounds from the 70s. Dialogue is crystal clear and comes through the center channel almost exclusively.

Six subtitle tracks are also available.

Special Features

This Superbad 2 disc Blu Ray is stacked with over 2 hours worth of extras in high definition glory. Some of the extras could not be reviewed due to the fact that the second disc I have is defective. Some of the extras I tracked down on the internet. Once I receive my fixed copy from Sony, I will update the extras.

• Deleted & Extended Scenes
  • The basic, garden variety extended and deleted scenes
• Gag Reel
  • Exactly what it says… nothing new. Some are funny, some aren?t.
• Line-O-Rama
  • Bunch of one liners used throughout the movie and ones that didn?t make it in
• Cop Car Confessions ? Ride Along with Clark County?s Finest
  • Officer Slater & Officer Michaels in car conversation with someone they picked up with is pretending to be blind.
• The Making of Superbad
• Original Table Read 2002 ? Seth Rogan Reads for part of ?Seth?
• Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast!
• The Semen Conversation
  • An extended take of the semen conversation in the cop car. Wasn?t really too funny as it just went on way too long.
• Pineapple Express: Exclusive first Look!
  • New film by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan coming out Summer 2008
• Cast Audition Footage
• Press Junket Meltdown
• The Music Of Superbad
• Everyone hates Michael Cera ? The Unfortunate True Story
  • This is actually one of the funnier extras. It is basically a sit down with Michael Cera with flashes of his interaction with the cast and crew and how much they can?t stand him. Good stuff.
• On-Set Diaries
• Supermeter
  • This is a feature you can have going while you watch the movie. This shows you how many times profanity is used, a reference to sex and how many times the word ?McLovin? is used. It is a fun feature and the count really adds up.

Final Thoughts

Superbad is really a fall down, gut busting movie. It is truly raunchy and sometimes a little over the top but is to me the best of the bunch from Rogan and company. The Blu Ray release is packed with goodies, even though I couldn?t watch all of them. The story is much better than most ?teen comedies? and easily much funnier. That is why I can easily recommend this flick