 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Superbad
- R
- Genre: Comedy
- 2007
Common Sense Media says
Super bawdy, super profane -- and super funny.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this high school comedy has been marketed squarely at teens (the wide online circulation of an R-rated "red band" trailer helped a lot). Heralded as an instant-classic teen comedy on the level of Dazed and Confused or Fast Times at Ridgemont High, it seems destined to be a hit. But parents should know that, like many real teenagers, the characters are obsessed with losing their virginity and talking about sex. Sex and, to a lesser extent, booze fuel every conversation, with very graphic dialogue about genitalia, sex acts, and pornography. "F--k" (and many derivations thereof) is used almost nonstop, and there's also a lot of underage drinking and a scene of adults smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine. American Pie seems PG-rated by comparison.
What's the story?
Judd Apatow's raunchy teen romp SUPERBAD centers around Seth (Jonah Hill), a potty-mouthed porn aficionado who, more than anything, wants to lose his virginity before college orientation. His BFF is Evan (Michael Cera), a mild-mannered, Dartmouth-bound guy who's equally interested in sex but not as brash about it. Thanks to a surprise pairing with his dream girl, Jules (Emma Stone), during Home Ec class, Seth gets invited to a hot graduation party. Filled with giddiness at the prospect of scoring with really drunk girls, Seth offers to buy all of the party's alcohol. He's counting on help from his and Evan's even nerdier friend, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who's just scored a fake ID with the singular name "McLovin." After the promise has been made, the film turns into an Odyssean quest for the booze and splits into two storylines -- Seth and Evan's alcohol-acquisition misadventures and McLovin's unexpected ride with two incredibly inept police officers (Rogen and Bill Hader). Ultimately, Superbad is about two inseparable best friends who are hopelessly lost without each other, even though they claim otherwise. Even if they don't get any -- they still have each other. And it's likely that in years to come, they'll have the constant adoration of teens everywhere to keep their hope for good sex and good friendship alive.
Is it any good?
Superbad is exactly what you'd expect from a Judd Apatow acolyte like Knocked Up star Seth Rogen and his childhood pal Evan Goldberg. It's raunchy, ridiculously quotable, and a frighteningly realistic view of what 18-year-old high-school graduates are obsessed with -- sex, booze, and best friends. While the bad cops are funny, albeit unbelievable, the film's at its best when it focuses on Seth and Evan.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about what teens think of sex, how many of their friends they think are having sex, and what parents think of teens having sex. Do teens consider it a stigma to graduate from high school a virgin? This is a good opportunity for parents to answer teens' questions about sex, drinking, and the safe, responsible way to handle both. Parents may also want to put an over-the-top comedy like this in perspective. The movie's antics come at you fast and furiously, making some of the laughs mostly about the shock value. For example, do you think real cops would ever act like the two in the movie? What other movies and TV shows have a similar comedy style? Do you think there's danger here if a viewer doesn't understand the comedy on that level?
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- Parents
- Teens & kids
AGE
PROVES MY POINT!!!! HUMAN BOYS ARE DOGS!!!
MUST I SAY ANYMORE?!?!!?!?
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AGE
this is a terrible movie, but it is funny, i dont even know why i watched it, but i liked it, definately not my favorite, but it was still funny
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AGE
Hilarious move most teens have seen
The plot is simple enough to follow, so I'll just say this about the movie: Once you look past the language, 2,000 sex jokes and other teen-humored gags, you'll see this movie has a deeper message about the stupid mistakes teenagers make. When a movie has accomplished "sex-comedy/movie that makes you think" status, you know it's a classic.
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For teens.
Love it! This is a teens dream the life you wish could happen when its possible your own life sucks. So big ups for this movie. Yes there is sex, drinking, and much more but its so funny!
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AGE
this movie cracks me up
i love it 5 stars who cares about all the beer sex drugs watever your kids already know about that stuff by now and alot have done it ;) if there in highschool soo parents need to stop being 'overprotective"
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AGE
Hillarious for the elder kids
I let my 14 and 16 year olds watch it with me and they loved it! Somehow the message was good wrapped inside a thick, boosy, sexy, f--ky, McLoven exterior.
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AGE
Hilarious!
This film is sick, twisted, and freaking hilarious. However, it should only be seen by its intended audience. Older teens and adults. It has a lot of very raunchy material, the main characters are OBSESSED with trying to lose their virginity, and will go to almost any length to do so. Naturally, there is quite a bit of sexual content in this one. Including but not limited to: non-stop conversation about pornography, sex, genitalia, and other such acts. Also, implied sex between young teenagers. At one point in the film, a girl has her period, leaking vaginal blood all over a main characters leg while dancing. This also triggers a rather violent brawl between the main character and the girls boyfriend. Also, much reference to oral sex as well. As for violence, this one actually has quite a bit. Although mostly used in a comical sense, it still is pretty graphic. Including, several violent beatdowns, brawling in bars, a character is whacked in the head with a pistol, and a character has a horrible fantasy in which his throat is slashed (blood visible, and spurting graphically from wound) etc... etc...
In addition to all the above. This film has almost non-stop usage of curse words. Nearly every derivative of the F-word is used, but also included are "s**t," "d**k," "c**t" "b**ch" "c**k" etc... etc...
Needless to say. Although the This film is not meant for younger viewers.
Thus, I recommend it for ages 15 and up.
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AGE
Horrible.
To put it simply, I hated it. This film is the perfect example of the type of "humour" I hate, with most of the jokes centering around exploiting girls and swearing. The two main characters are awful, boring people who do nothing except swear and talk about booze and sex. I know lots of people my age like it... But it's just horrible. Do your kids a favour, don't let them watch it and watch something with thought-provoking humour with a more positive message instead.
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AGE
not too funny, it gets worser than the other raunchy movies
this is not that funny, its too stupid and awful, its just showing too many sex scenes throughout the movie, and an 8-year old is drawing pictures of penises in a flashback, and lots of profanity, and also buying alot of liquor or hard liquor and starts to drink all of it and smoke marjuana and sniff cocaine at a big huge party, so i will not highly recommend this movie will not be shown by kids and teens at all, but only teens 14 and up will enjoy it, but omg i will not be seeing this anymore, its just not that funny at all
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| Studio: | Columbia Tristar |
| Director: | Greg Mottola |
| Cast: | Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Run time: | 104 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | August 16, 2007 |
| DVD release date: | December 4, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive crude and sexual content, strong language, drinking, some drug use and a fantasy/comic violent image -- all involving teens. |
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