College Candy

I don’t consider myself an especially cool person. I like video games and computers. I read a lot. It only takes me two beers to start making bad decisions. But earlier this week I had an unexpected – but very welcome – boost to my self-esteem.

I found myself standing in an absurdly long line outside a movie theater on 34^th Street. And while the crowd was varied, they all had one thing in common. Comedy geeks. And what was the thing to do in NYC earlier this week for these lovers of all things funny?

An advanced screening of Superbad, of course!

But, c’mon, who am I kidding? I was probably more excited than most of the people in the theater, (and it was only partly due to my intense crush on Michael Cera) I’ve just convinced myself over the past 23 years that I’m not obvious about my semi-closeted affection for comedy.

The lights went down, the movie started, and I, along with the rest of the audience, was treated to one of the best teen comedies based on partying, drinking, and being 18 that I’ve seen since 1999 (remember when we all thought American Pie was hilariously original?).

Evan (Michael Cera) and Seth (Jonah Hill) are best friends who, since elementary school, have been so dependent on one another that by the time senior year rolls around they are basically each other’s only friends. They’ll be off to different colleges in the fall, so they only have a little bit of time left to make their remaining days together count. Top that with their lack of social prowess and you get teen awkwardness that is so well written that it makes The Real World look fake (oh, wait…).

If you’ve seen the trailer you are probably wondering how they can make the “McLovin” joke last for 2 hours. Well, don’t worry. They can.

Seth Rogen and Bill Hader make appearances as dumb-as-bricks cops which is funny in itself, but Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays off of their cluelessness with such ease that I wonder if the outcast he’s playing isn’t completely based on himself.

The point is, I laughed like, the entire time. And unless you don’t like laughing I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy that you checked it out.

And if not, at least you’ll feel like the coolest one in the theater.