Superbad (2007) - A+ and Knocked Up (2007) (SIFF) - A

I decided to review "Superbad" and "Knocked Up" together since they are linked closely together in my mind, and many of my thoughts about the two are identical. Both movies come from Judd Apatow's comedy crew. Apatow directed and wrote "Knocked Up," but only served as a producer on "Superbad." If you've seen Apatow's first hit, 2005's "The 40 Year Old Virgin," you should have a good sense of what these two movies are like, although I thought both movies were superior to "The 40 Year Old Virgin." Both films are extremely crude, featuring numerous jokes about masturbation, pornography, and bodily functions, but both are also surprisingly sweet at their hearts.

"Knocked Up" stars Katherine Heigl (Izzie on "Grey's Anatomy") as aspiring reporter Alison who gets promoted to her first on-air role, and meets Ben (Seth Rogen who you may remember as one of Steve Carell's coworkers in "The 40 Year Old Virgin") while out celebrating her promotion. They end up hooking up, and Alison ends up pregnant. When Alison appears on Ben's door step (too tell him that she is pregnant) eight weeks after their one night stand, she is aghast to discover that Ben is a slacker, party guy whose current "job" is attempting to create a website that tells people when there are nude scenes in movies. "Knocked Up" chronicles the two's attempts to build a relationship during Alison's pregnancy. Heigl and Rogen are both hilarious and engaging, and "Knocked Up" features numerous strong supporting characters, especially Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd as Alison's sister and brother-in-law.

"Superbad" stars Jonah Hill (he had memorable small roles in both "Knocked Up" and "40 Year Old Virgin") and Michael Cera ("Arrested Development" and "Juno") as best friends Seth and Evan, two socially awkward high school seniors that are trying to score alcohol for the final party of their senior year, in order to impress two girls they are interested in. Newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse is a scene-stealer as their extremely geeky friend "Fogell" who they turn to for help because he has just gotten a fake ID, only to discover that when asked what name he wanted on his fake ID, he chose "Mclovin"--no last name, just "Mclovin." Seth Rogen, who co-wrote "Superbad," puts in a hilarious turn as a police officer who they boys keep crossing paths with. "Superbad" follows the boys during one hilarious day as they plan how they are going to get the alcohol, have various adventures trying to get the alcohol, and then finally get to the party. There's a brief conclusion that shows the morning after the big night.

I loved both of these movies, and recommended them both strongly to my friends during the year with the following sentiment: I saw "Knocked Up" first and thought, "Wow, that was even better than "40 Year Old Virgin!" Then, I saw "Superbad" and thought "Wow, that was even better than "Knocked Up!" Why did I like "Superbad" more? It would be accurate for me to say that I found the characters in "Superbad" a little bit more real, and the movie had more laugh-out-loud moments for me, which more than made up for the fact that "Knocked Up" has Katherine Heigl, who I absolutely worship--I'm even thinking of seeing the completely stale looking "27 Dresses" just because she is in it. I suspect, though, that a lot of my preference for "Superbad" has to do with the fact that, for some reason, I found it easier to identify with geeky high school guys doing foolish things trying to impress girls than with a pregnant couple. My friends who have children tell me that they really found the pregnancy-related stuff in "Knocked Up" to be perfect. I should also give the caveat that, if forced to apply labels, I would say that "Superbad" is definitely more of a "guy movie" while "Knocked Up" is more of a "date movie." I tend to like both types of movies equally, but if you have a strong preference for or against one or the other, you might want to adjust my grades accordingly.

Final Grades:
"Superbad": A+
"Knocked Up": A