Superbad is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow. The film stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about to graduate from high school. Before graduating, the boys want to party and lose their virginity, but their plan proves harder than expected. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the script began development when they were 13 years old, and was loosely based on their experience in Grade 12 at Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver during the 1990s; the main characters have the same given names as the two writers. Rogen was also initially intended to play Seth, but due to age and physical size this was changed, and Hill went on to portray Seth, while Rogen portrayed the irresponsible Officer Michaels, opposite Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader as Officer Slater.
Upon release, the film received positive reviews, with critics praising the dialogue and the chemistry between the two leads. The film also proved financially successful, grossing over $170 million on a $17.5-20 million budget. Since the film's release, it has garnered acclaim as one of the best comedies of the 2000s and as one of the best high school movies of all time.
REAR COVER
Seth (JONAH HILL) and Evan (MICHAEL CERA) are two horny teenage geeks who want nothing more than to lose their virginity before heading off to college. After finally getting an invite to a big party,
the duo hope to end high school on a high... however, admission comes at a price when the boys are asked to supply the party's liquor. Enlisting the help of their friend Fogell, a.k.a. McLovin
(CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE) and his fake I.D., the three find themselves on an hilariously wild chase for the elusive booze while trying to shake off a pair of dodgy cops who have taken a shine to
one of them. Hailed as a true classic of its times (Pete Hammond, Maxim)", SUPERBAD is a laugh-out-loud masterpiece and "easily one of the funniest comedies of the year (Michael Ferraro, Film Threat)".
CAST
Jonah Hill as Seth, Evan's best friend who is anxious to have sex and is romantically interested in Jules
Casey Margolis as Young Seth
Michael Cera as Evan, Seth's best friend who is hesitant with Seth's plan to obtain alcohol and have sex; he is romantically interested in Becca
Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fogell / McLovin, Seth and Evan's friend who obtains a fake ID and attempts to use it
Seth Rogen as Officer Michaels, a cop who befriends Fogell
Bill Hader as Officer Slater, a cop who befriends Fogell
Kevin Corrigan as Mark
Joe Lo Truglio as Francis
Martha MacIsaac as Becca, Evan's friend and love interest
Laura Marano as Young Becca
Emma Stone as Jules, Seth's friend and love interest who asks Seth to buy alcohol for her party
Aviva Farber as Nicola
Dave Franco as Greg
Laura Seay as Shirley
Marcella Lentz-Pope as Gaby
Stacy Edwards as Jane
David Krumholtz as Benji Austin
Martin Starr as James Masslin
Ben Best as Quince Danbury
Lauren Miller as Scarlett Brighton
Brooke Dillman as Mrs. Hayworth
Joe Nunez as Liquor Store Clerk
Steve Bannos as Math Teacher
Carla Gallo as Jacinda
Clark Duke as a Party Teenager
Danny McBride (uncredited) as Buddy at Party
Cortney Palm (uncredited) as Partygoer
Clement Blake as Homeless Guy
Erica Vittina Phillips as Mindy
DEVELOPMENT
Superbad was written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen during their teen years. It is loosely based on their own experience as seniors in Vancouver in the late 1990s, hence the character names Seth and Evan. Other characters and references were influenced by Goldberg and Rogen's adolescence, such as Steven Glanzberg, their peer at Point Grey Secondary School, characterized in the film as a loner. According to an interview at an event panel in 2009, Fogell was also a real friend of Rogen and Goldberg. Rogen was initially slated to play Jonah Hill's character Seth. Still, due to his physical size and age, he played one of the police officers.[6] When asked where he wants to be dropped off, Fogell tells the officers to take him to 13th and Granville, a nod to Rogen and Goldberg's favorite all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant in Vancouver. Superbad took seven years to complete from early scripting in 2000 and filming from 2006 to 2007. Among the films that served as inspiration for Superbad were Dazed and Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and American Graffiti.
FILMING
The film was primarily shot in Los Angeles in the fall of 2006. Exterior shots of the high school were filmed at El Segundo High School. The mall scenes were shot at the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City, California.
Other filming locations include the convenience store at the beginning of the film, also in Culver City, the liquor store where "McLovin" gets IDed in Glendale, California, and the bar where the cops take McLovin for a drink is neighboring Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The scene where McLovin and the cops do donuts in the cop car was filmed in a parking lot on the California State University, Northridge campus.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse was 17 at the time of filming Superbad, and as a result, his mother was required to be present on set during the filming of his sex scene.
BOX OFFICE
Superbad opened at number one at the United States box office, grossing US$33,052,411 in its opening weekend from 2,948 theaters for an average of US$11,212 per theater. The film stayed at #1 the second week, grossing US$18,044,369.[
The film grossed US$121.5 million in the United States and Canada and US$48.4 million in other countries, for a total of US$169.9 million worldwide. Compared to the budget of $17.5–20 million, the film earned a huge financial profit, making it the highest domestic grossing high school comedy at the time (it was surpassed by 21 Jump Street, a film also starring Hill, in 2012)
CRITICAL RESPONSE
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on reviews from 207 critics, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's summary reads: "Deftly balancing vulgarity and sincerity while placing its protagonists in excessive situations, Superbad is an authentic take on friendship and the overarching awkwardness of the high school experience." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 76/100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle called it 2007's most successful comedy. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times had the headline of his review read "McLovin It", and gave the film 31⁄2 out of 4 stars, and said: "The movie reminded me a little of National Lampoon's Animal House, except that it's more mature, as all movies are." Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times said: "Physically, Hill and Cera recall the classic comic duos—Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Aykroyd and Belushi. But they are contemporary kids, sophisticated and sensitive to nuance"; she added: "I hope it's not damning the movie with the wrong kind of praise to say that for a film so deliriously smutty, Superbad is supercute."Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly said "2007: the year Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen saved movie comedy", a reference to Knocked Up which was released in June. Devin Gordon of Newsweek said: "As a Revenge of the Nerds redux, Superbad isn't perfect. But it's super close."
In a more critical vein, Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter, compared the film to other films with a single-day structure, such as American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused, but said that Superbad "doesn't have the smarts or the depths of those ensemble comedies."The Hollywood Reporter review was referenced in the film's DVD audio commentary, particularly the review's suggestion that the two main characters have a homoerotic experience similar to the film Y Tu Mamá También. Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel called the film a "super-derivative, super-raunchy sack of laughs" and a "great vulgarian send-off to the summer of Knocked Up" that plays like "Freaks and Geeks: Uncensored."Moore concluded, "The energy flags as it overstays its welcome. The Apatow Rule, 'If it gets a laugh, don't cut it,' doesn't do movies under his banner any favors. Still, there are plenty of those laughs, from the ruder-than-rude opening to the ironic-sentimental ending."Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe said the film "has a degree more sophistication than Revenge of the Nerds and American Pie, and less than the underrated House Party." Morris also said, "the few smart observations could have come from an episode of one of Apatow's TV shows" and "I wanted to find this as funny as audiences did.”
ACCOLADES
The film was listed as #487 on Empire's 500 Greatest films of all time. In 2025, it ranked number 100 on The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century" and number 53 on the "Readers' Choice" edition of the list.
The film's screenplay was also named the 88th greatest of the 21st century by the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The WGA also named the script the 68th funniest ever written on their list of the "101 Funniest Screenplays".
DETAILED PLOT
Seth and Evan are two high school seniors who have been best friends since childhood. They are about to go off to different colleges. After Seth is paired with Jules during home economics class, she invites him to a party at her house that night. Their friend Fogell reveals his plans to obtain a fake ID, so Seth promises to buy alcohol for Jules' party with money she gives him. Evan runs into his love interest Becca and he offers to get her a specific bottle of vodka for the party
Despite Fogell's fake ID having only one name, "McLovin", Fogell successfully buys the liquor, but is knocked out at the last second by a robber. When police officers Slater and Michaels arrive, Seth and Evan believe that Fogell is being arrested. In reality, the officers have agreed to give Fogell a ride to the party.
Outside, Seth is hit by a car. In exchange for Seth and Evan not telling the police, the driver promises to take them to another party where they can get alcohol. Meanwhile, Slater and Michaels take Fogell on a ride-along and then bond with him. Despite being on duty, they start drinking, use their sirens improperly, and shoot their pistols at a stop sign. At the party, Seth fills laundry detergent bottles from the basement with alcohol he finds in the fridge and dances with a drunk woman named Jacinda, who stains his leg with menstrual blood, while some men high on cocaine make Evan sing "These Eyes" for them. About to leave, Seth is confronted by the host for dancing with his fiancée. A brawl ensues, and Jacinda calls the police while Seth and Evan escape.
Evan and Seth argue about the fact that Evan is going to a different college from Seth, before Seth is once again hit by a car – the police cruiser driven by Slater and Michaels. They plan to arrest Seth and Evan, but when Fogell comes out of the car, Evan makes a run for it, while Seth and Fogell escape with the alcohol. Eventually all three make their way to Jules' party. Arriving at the party, Fogell inadvertently reveals that he and Evan will be rooming together at college, further adding to Seth’s discontent towards Evan. At the party, Seth's stories of the night make him popular. Becca wants to have sex with Evan, but he respects her too much to go through with it while she is drunk. Meanwhile, Fogell impresses Nicola and goes upstairs to have sex with her. Seth drunkenly attempts to kiss Jules, but she turns him down because she neither drinks nor wants Seth while he is drunk. Seth believes he has ruined any chance of a relationship with Jules, and passes out, accidentally headbutting her, giving her a black eye.
Slater and Michaels bust the party. Seth wakes up and escapes, carrying an intoxicated Evan. Slater interrupts Fogell and Nicola as they are having sex, causing her to run off. Officer Slater is angry at Fogell for ditching them, but Michaels points out they have just interrupted him, and they apologize, reconcile, and reveal they knew all along that Fogell was not 25 as the ID said; They played along, wanting to show cops can have fun too. To make it up to him, they pretend to arrest Fogell outside to make him look "badass." They resume their bonding, eventually destroying their car with a Molotov cocktail while Fogell shoots it with Slater's pistol
Seth and Evan return to Evan's, where Evan admits he does not want to room with Fogell at college next year but is afraid to live with strangers. They apologize to each other before reconciling. The next day, they go to the mall where they run into Jules and Becca. Becca and Seth both apologize for their drunken behavior the previous night, and the boys pair off with the girls. Seth takes Jules to buy concealer for her black eye, while Evan and Becca leave to buy a new comforter to replace the one she ruined by vomiting on it.