Sunday, August 26, 2007

Superbad & the Hollywood Epic



Today I ventured out with friends to see the supposed comedy hit of the summer, "Superbad." While I found this film hilarious, I still walked out of the theater thinking "all they really did was try to get to a party with alcohol." I almost felt like I just wasted $8 on a movie that made me cringe every time one of these sad students screwed up a sentence with the girl they wanted.

Although the plot lacked depth, I wasn't expecting something extraordinary. And, after discussing the film with a friend online tonight, I feel better about it. Hollywood is so focused on epic movies, that sometimes you need a comedy like this every once in a while to top the box office. So many films have been about the destruction of earth, or the threat of mankinds extinction. Sometimes we forget that some of the best films out there don't have that epic scenario where one man must save the planet.

Now I'm not knocking the epic. Apart from some films rehashing the same story, many are very good. I guess I just enjoy the thought of something more down to earth, or easier to relate to. In this case, "Superbad" has all the right moves. Movies like this follow something that (in a sick way) relate to the lives of many young teenagers and young adults. These nasty jokes may offend people in the theater, but make no mistake about it, people are probably 3 times more vulger in real life.

I suppose this touches on censorship a little, but that discussion is for another day...

DM

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