Review #1,385: 'Superbad' (2007)

By the time Greg Motolla's Superbad hit cinema screen back in 2007, it felt like this story of two high school boys looking to acquire booze in the hope of scoring with some hot chicks had arrived almost a decade too late. The teen sex comedy craze kicked off by American Pie in 1999 had finally fizzled out, and comedy was giving way to the man-child humour of Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell. Yet like Knocked Up did for the romantic comedy the same year (the two films share many of the same cast and crew members), Superbad digs deep and finds genuine heart as its main characters go to increasingly desperate lengths to finally get laid. This may be because screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg had been writing the film since they were teenagers, and the film is clearly based on their experiences (the two central characters are even named Seth and Evan). The dialogue is often so vulgar it makes you wince, but it also offers an insight into what it's like growing up these days. With all the knowledge on offer for these youngsters, the pressure is more about how well they will perform than simply doing the deed.

Seth (Jonah Hill) is a chubby, curly-haired teen whose lowly position on the school coolness hierarchy doesn't stop him from running his mouth about practically everything. He talks to his best friend Evan (Michael Cera) not only about watching porn, but everything from which websites he's considering paying for and all the crazy shit they offer. Evan is more softly-spoken and ethical, preferring to respect women (mainly the girl he's got the hots for) while Seth wails about the sex he could be getting. Like many best friends, they share little in common other than their lack of other friends, but have spent so much time together they've become inseparable. They do have another friend: the small, bespectacled Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is so unpopular that even Seth and Evan don't particularly like him. Today, however, he is their saviour. Fogell has purchased a fake ID that lists him as an organ donor from Hawaii named McLovin, and the trio manage to bag an invite to party, only they are given the task of buying all the booze. The questionable fake ID and Fogell's youthful appearance aren't the only problems standing in their way, as a brush with two police officers (played by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader) sends their night spinning out of control.

Motolla occasionally moves away from the wittiness of the teenagers' word play in favour of slapstick, and these moments don't so much as raise a titter. Seth gets his by a car, and the two police officers (who look like they've wandered in from a different movie) chase an old drunken guy through a bar while fumbling with their weapons. Thankfully, these moments are brief, as Superbad is undoubtedly at its best when focusing on the awkward smaller moments of teenage life. Often they are so nervous they look away or answer a question that hasn't been asked, and when they finally get the nerve to talk, it all comes out as near-incomprehensible gibberish. If you were a nervous teenager of questionable popularity, these scenes will likely strike an uncomfortable, but hilarious, chord. When the bedroom antics finally arrive, they are either a complete disaster or, in Evan's case, events take a surprisingly mature turn. They don't quite know what they want romantically and the movie isn't interesting in exploring it, as the main love story here is between Seth and Evan themselves. Yes, there are shades of homoeroticism in their relationship (with the two heading to different schools, and the fact that Evan is to live with Fogell, it feels like a romantic break-up), but their friendship goes far deeper. Superbad is one of the funniest films of the last twenty years, and somehow one of the most touching.


Directed by: Greg Mottola
Starring: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Martha MacIsaac, Emma Stone
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,203: 'The LEGO Batman Movie' (2017)

Nobody quite saw 2014's The Lego Movie coming. An animated family film based on a hugely popular range of toys sounds like the stuff of nightmares, and something that could tumble a big studio if it didn't find an audience. However, it was a resounding success, both critically and commercially, managing to deliver an exciting, colourful and hilariously funny adventure movie with a poignant message about corporate takeover and the loss of imagination. One of the most memorable supporting players to emerge from the ensemble of wacky characters was Will Arnett's Batman, who proved so popular that we get his spin-off before we get a sequel to The Lego Movie. But this is no bad thing, as while it may not contain the same element of surprise as its predecessor, The LEGO Batman Movie is a more straight-forward blast.

As the song goes, Batman is darkness and has no parents. After saving the city from an attack by the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and his many cronies, the Dark Knight high-fives his adoring fans but returns to Wayne Island to microwave a lobster thermidor for one. While he may be awesome, he broods over pictures of his dead parents and isolates himself, although his trusted butler Alfred (Ralph Fiennes) is always on hand for advice. Newly-appointed police commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) announces that she hopes to restructure the force to handle crime without the assistance of Batman, much to the caped crusader's amusement. Meanwhile, the Joker, locked up in Arkham Asylum, plans to manipulate Batman into sending him into the Phantom Zone, where he will be free to gather an army of mega-villains to launch an attack of Gotham and prove once and for all that he is Batman's greatest nemesis.

Lego Batman is arguably a one-joke movie. It takes the character's persona from The Lego Movie - dark, broody and arrogant - and runs with it, building the entire plot around Batman's need to open up and allow other people to enter his life. Yet the film's kinetic energy and gorgeous animation mean that you won't care too much about the lack of a truly engaging story. Director Chris McKay was clearly enjoying himself having Batman's entire rogue gallery at his disposal, as well as members of other Warner Brothers franchises. Familiar villains such as Poison Ivy, Catwoman and Bane (riffing on Tom Hardy's take in The Dark Knight Rises) grace the screen, but we also get appearances from the more obscure Clock King, Kite Man and, most bizarrely, the Condiment King. Batman fans will lap it up, with references to his history in both comic-books and on the big screen, referring to the camp Adam West series from the 60s as "that weird one".

Although this is Batman's first solo movie in Lego form, this is the opposite of an origin story. We meet him already in a set routine. When he isn't effortlessly kicking the butt of crime, he spends his time jamming on the electric guitar, beat-boxing, pumping iron, chowing down on lobster, and laughing at Jerry Maguire. If anything, Batman is a bit too obnoxious, and Arnett does slightly grate at times, but this is eventually balanced out by the introduction of Dick Grayson (Michael Cera), a highly capable and doe-eyed orphan who will become the scantily-clad Robin. The two gradually form a bond that provides the movie's emotional core, which, after an hour or so of Batman's jock shtick, is most welcome. The frequent references to pop culture, which are both clever and tiresome, often make it feel like an extended episode of Robot Chicken, and I believe this is what will divide most of the audience. It's not perfect, and it certainly isn't at the level of The Lego Movie, but if anything, this is a very good Batman movie. And Lord knows it's been a while since there was one of those.


Directed by: Chris McKay
Voices: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Zach Galifianakis, Jenny Slate, Jason Mantzoukas, Conan O'Brien
Country: USA/Denmark

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,106: 'Sausage Party' (2016)

Sausage Party, the latest button-pusher from Seth Rogen and his usual crew, has so far grossed $135 million on a $19 million budget, receiving mainly positive reviews from critics and assisted by strong word-of-mouth thanks to a climactic scene which won't allow you to look at a hot dog in quite the same way again. Essentially a movie about anthropomorphic, sexually repressed food items who long to escape the confines of their supermarket home to reach the 'Great Beyond' - taken home by us humans - Sausage Party is a mixed bag. On one hand, it's a bold religious parable featuring some extremely creative animation, but on the other, at least comedy wise, this is on par with some of Rogen's most mediocre output.

In a supermarket named Shopwell's, the various tasty treats that line the shelves spend their days praying they will be picked and taken to the great unknown by shoppers, who they view as gods. Each morning starts with a sing-a-long, and they try to live their life by a set of rules they believe will led to them being chosen, including no sex until they're out of their packet. Hot dog Frank (Rogen) only allows himself to touch tips with the bun he's in love with, Brenda (Kristen Wiig), saving themselves for the inevitable day when they get carried off into paradise. But with the return of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride), who claims that he witnessed torture and horror at the hands of the 'gods' who devoured some of his friends, Frank sets off on a journey of discovery and awakening.

Similar in many ways to Pixar's Toy Story trilogy, Sausage Party imagines what it would be like if the food we consume to eagerly could talk to each other and wonders what they would make of us. But while Woody and co. would flop to the ground whenever a human walked in the room, the characters here exist in the 'fourth dimension', unseen by humans. This allows more freedom for directors Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon to deliver as many outlandish set pieces as they would like, and two scenes in particular - one inspired by Saving Private Ryan (1998) and the other featuring an Irish potato being skinned alive while his friends watch - are actually quite terrifying. The film is certainly at its best during these moments, and there are scenes of real ingenuity amongst the carnage.

The first half whizzes by and is a blast, but then the film seems to lose direction and wander aimlessly from one scene to another. It also struggles to tickle the funny bone, and relies too heavily on tired food puns, familiar shtick from the likes of James Franco, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Paul Rudd and Bill Hader, and outright vulgarity. Someone should point out to the writers - which include Rogen and regular collaborator Evan Goldberg - that using "fuck" every other word doesn't automatically make a film 'adult', but quickly becomes unpleasant and completely unnecessary, especially when the characters are otherwise perfectly likeable. Also, the inclusion of Douche (Nick Kroll), the cavity-cleaner who holds a grudge against Frank, serves only a distraction from the more interesting central plot.

Still, despite its many flaws and irritating tics, I very much enjoyed Sausage Party for what it is, and it's like nothing I've ever seen before. If you haven't enjoyed much of Rogen's previous output, chances are you won't love this, although there's plenty of visual splendour to savour in between the dick jokes. At its best, it offers interesting parallels to real-world issues, such as the relationship between a lavash named Kareem (David Krumholtz) and a bagel named Sammy (Edward Norton doing a pitch-perfect Woody Allen impression), and their bickering over shelf space. Of course, this is the edible version of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and while it may embrace comedic stereotyping throughout, Sausage Party never intends to offend, and instead offers a surprisingly sympathetic message about the necessity of religion. Whatever your view, the fact that we live in an age when a film like this can be greenlit and unleashed on a mainstream audience is cause for celebration.


Directed by: Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon
Voices: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, Nick Kroll, Bill Hader, James Franco
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #659: 'This Is the End' (2013)

We all know the comedy formula by now - obnoxious man-child goes about his business until a life-changing event (i.e. a girl) teaches him the way of the world so that we gradually learn that he's really quite sweet after all. It's a cliché fully embraced by silver screen comedy megastars like Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell and Jack Black. Audiences, clearly comfortable with predictability, flock to see their hugely profitable films, because, as bad as their movies tend to be, they are still loveable actors. Judd Apatow and his entourage of actors - although they have made their fair share of bad movies too - seem unsatisfied with simply offering the same thing over and over again. First-time directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen here give us a strange and dangerously self-indulgent end-of-the-world comedy with some of Hollywood's most famous offering themselves up for lampooning, resulting in a Marmite movie that I believe is the funniest of the year so far.

L.A.-loathing Jay Baruchel arrives at the airport to be greeted by his lifelong buddy Seth Rogen. The two go home and smoke some weed, and eventually head over to James Franco's new Hollywood mansion for an A-list party. Baruchel doesn't want to go because Jonah Hill will be there, and Jonah is apparently an arsehole. While Rogen mixes with his new Hollywood buddies, Baruchel mopes on his own and watches Craig Robinson sing 'take yo' panties off!' with Rihanna. But as Baruchel and Rogen go to the store for some munchies, beams of light suddenly start sucking people up into heaven, and the ground below them starts to open. It seems the Rapture has passed them by and the apocalypse is upon them. Holed up in Franco's mansion as demonic monsters prowl outside, they must survive starvation, Emma Watson wielding an axe, an exorcism, and most of all, an uninvited Danny McBride.

With disaster movies opening every other week these days, the vision of the apocalypse brought by Goldberg and Rogen is actually rather well done. A coked-up Michael Cera, who is previously seen receiving some oral assistance in a bathroom, is given a particularly gruesome death, while the likes of Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jason Segel and Paul Rudd are sucked into wormholes in the ground. It would seem obvious to most normal people as to what these idiots need to do to escape their predicament, but they are far too self-absorbed to realise. It's funny how aware these actors are of their public perception, and they fully embrace it. So Rogen is ribbed for playing the same guy in every movie and is practically always seen with a joint in his mouth; Franco is the robe-wearing, art-collecting 'pretentious nerd' (as McBride labels him); Hill is subtly creepy; Robinson is just an extremely nice guy; and McBride is psychotic and selfish. Baruchel, it seems, is the only 'normal' one, completely untainted by Hollywood.

But the point here is not that Hollywood is evil or that Hollywood corrupts the soul. I don't really know what it's about, but at it's centre there is the relatable story of lifelong friends that have grown apart, but are still desperately clinging onto that special bond they share. And it is this that makes the film so engrossing. The humour is as bad taste as you would expect (at one point, Franco and McBride threaten each other with ejaculation), but it's the emotional core that dilutes all the cock jokes and gives the movie such much-needed humanity. It won't be for everybody, and some of the general strangeness will go over a lot of audience's heads. Goldberg and Rogen have clearly seen far too many movies and therefore throw everything but the kitchen sink at the film, but I found this a completely unexpected joy, and an original one at that. Although it gets a bit too ridiculous at the climax, the end note will have a big part of the audience screaming with pleasure with a cameo or five by some unexpected guests.


Directed by: Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Emma Watson, Michael Cera
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie