Superbad
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Pop Culture Footprint: Niche Favorite
Rewatchability: 5/5 – Easy to throw on and always good for a laugh
Makes You Think: Lightly – especially about male friendship and growing up
Conversation Starter: Mostly quotable more than debate-worthy
Holds Up: Yes – a time capsule classic with surprising emotional honesty
Where I’d Place It: Perfect spot… for now. We'll see how it stacks up against the rest of the list.
★★★★
#100 – Superbad (2007)
From The New York Times: The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century
Directed by Greg Mottola
Back in 2007, Superbad hit theaters like a cultural earthquake—and then, at least for me, sort of disappeared in the sea of Apatow-era comedies. It was one of many: The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man—these movies came out in such quick succession that it was easy for even the best of them to blur together. I liked Superbad when it came out, but I didn’t think much about it after. So when I saw it listed on the New York Times’ “100 Best Films of the 21st Century,” I honestly did a double take. Really? Superbad?
But watching it again, I’ll be honest—I laughed more than I expected to. It might have actually hit even harder this time around. When you're younger, it’s easy to just go along for the wild ride of the jokes and the chaos, but what really landed for me now was how well everything works together. This isn’t just a funny movie—it’s a really well-made one. The casting is spot-on, and director Greg Mottola gets incredibly grounded, subtle performances out of actors who, at the time, could have easily leaned into broad caricatures. There’s a nervous, awkward energy that Jonah Hill (Seth) and Michael Cera (Evan) tap into that perfectly captures that last stretch of high school—the way everything feels too important and too fragile at the same time.
The setup is simple: Seth (Hill) and Evan (Cera) are inseparable best friends trying to make the most of their final days together before heading off to different colleges. They get invited to a big party, are desperate to impress their respective crushes and volunteer to bring the alcohol. Their best (and weirdest) chance at making that happen? Their equally uncool friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who shows up with a fake ID that reads only one name: McLovin. From there, what should be a quick errand spirals into an all-night odyssey of police run-ins, misadventures and surprising emotional revelations.
I think what really struck me this time was how much heart is packed into all the raunch. Sure, it’s a teen sex comedy, but it’s one that actually respects its characters. It doesn’t just make jokes about teenage insecurity—it understands it. Hill and Cera walk a really fine line between being ridiculous and being real. You can feel the panic in their voices when things start to go sideways, and the film does a great job of showing just how fragile these teenage egos really are.
The film also deserves credit for how it handles sex. Both Seth and Evan are hoping to hook up, sure, but it never feels exploitative. In fact, there’s a surprisingly thoughtful thread throughout the movie about consent, pressure and the idea of doing things for the right reasons. Emma Stone (Jules), who plays Seth’s crush, isn’t drinking at the party—and instead of that being a punchline, the movie treats it like a normal, even admirable, choice. There’s a sweetness under all the chaos, and that helps Superbad stand apart from other teen comedies that are just about scoring and slapstick.
That said, Hill is still completely unhinged in the best way. His energy is so dialed in here—it’s like he never lets his foot off the gas. And while some of the physical comedy goes a little overboard (at a certain point, you’re like, “Is this guy concussed?”), it’s hard not to be impressed by how much he commits. I think now that we’ve seen him do more dramatic work, it makes this early performance even more of a gem.
Cera, as always, does his thing—and I mean that in the best way. His whole brand of anxious, soft-spoken sincerity is such a perfect counterbalance to Hill’s hurricane. He never hogs the spotlight, but his reactions, his delivery, his ability to stay grounded while everything around him spins out of control—it all keeps the movie anchored.
Now, the one element I’ve always had a little trouble with—and it still bugged me this time—is the cop subplot. Seth Rogen (Officer Michaels) and Bill Hader (Officer Slater) are funny, and I think I appreciated their banter a little more on this rewatch, but their scenes still feel like they belong in another movie. It’s not that they aren’t entertaining, but their storyline drags a bit and feels like a long SNL sketch that wandered into the wrong feature. That said, they do play a pivotal role in tying the story together, especially for Fogell, but I can’t help but feel like the film would be even tighter if their screentime had been trimmed down a little.
And speaking of Fogell—Mintz-Plasse is just phenomenal. This was his first film, and he absolutely crushes it. McLovin became a pop culture icon overnight for a reason. Mintz-Plasse knows exactly how far to push the weirdness without going overboard. And knowing he was only 17 when they shot this somehow makes it even more impressive. He steals every scene he’s in while never distracting from the main story. It’s a perfectly timed, perfectly pitched performance.
So… do I think Superbad belongs on this list of the best 21st-century films? Honestly, I’m still figuring that out. It’s the first movie I’ve watched from the list, so I have no basis for comparison yet. But I can say this—it holds up way better than I expected. I laughed harder than I remembered. I felt more for the characters than I ever did before. And I was reminded of how intense those high school friendships were—the kind where the thought of going to college without your best friend felt like the end of the world. That moment when Seth and Evan finally acknowledge they’re going separate ways… it’s honest, awkward and surprisingly moving.
It’s funny. I didn’t think Superbad had left much of a mark on me. But here I am, years later, still quoting it, still grinning at the name McLovin, and still genuinely touched by the friendship at its core. It might not have won any Oscars—and no, it wasn’t even nominated—but it captured something real. And sometimes, that’s even more impressive.
