I can just see the hundreds of "McLovin" posters all over frat dorm walls

[thehefner]

Look, I have no doubt SUPERBAD is probably a damn funny movie. And yes, as it's a Judd Apatow film, I feel obligated to support it, since his films are--for one reason or another--inexorably tied to geek culture and cinema. So I gotta show my respect to that. Even if I did kinda hate THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN.

But holy crap, am I sick of hearing about SUPERBAD.

The usual movie sites I got to have been clogged with nothing but SUPERBAD set visits, pop-up talking ads, and rave reviews, calling this the funniest movie of summer, the next DAZED AND CONFUSED or FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (both of which I also hated), or BETTER OFF DEAD (which I still need to see).

To make matters worse, the oversaturating TV ads for SUPERBAD have gone from "wacky dirty teenage comedy" to "generational landmark film that will be treasured for years to come." The nut-shot humor has been replaced by scenes edited to make the film look like frickin' STAND BY ME or something. I mean, fucking seriously, last night a commercial announced, in a tone that sounded like the sort of thing Trey Parker and Matt Stone would parody: "Every once in a while, a film comes along that defines a generation... SUPERBAD is that film."

At this point, this film had better be funnier than PLANET TERROR and HOT FUZZ combined. This should make KISS KISS BANG BANG look like fucking NORBIT. This had better be so goddamn funny, no amount of this kind of rabid marketing overhype should be able to contain the pure white light of cinematic hilarity, and I will come out of the theatre a giggling, sore-from-laughter convert.

There's only one word to describe this, but I'm avoiding using it, because I know it offends some. And as a fan myself, I don't like it when my fandom is turned into a negative buzzword. It's hurtful, I honestly do understand. Still, that word is the only possible one to describe that's going on with SUPERBAD.

Hint: it rhymes with "Frowncoated."

Hell with this. Unless I can go with fishymcb and marred82, I think I'd rather just see KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS instead. It's gonna need my money more than SUPERBAD will at this point.

Comments

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

Better Off Dead is not a bad movie, but it's not nearly as funny as its director, Savage Steve Holland, seems to think it is, which is just about the sort of thing that I'd expect from someone who calls himself (I mean, this is the name that he uses in the credits) Savage Steve Holland. Further evidence: Savage Steve's next movie was One Crazy Summer, which also starred John Cusack and was basically Better Off Dead at the beach. It's to Cusack's credit that his career survived these movies.

[tompurdue.livejournal.com]

I hated 40 Year Old Virgin too.

I didn't hate Knocked Up nearly as I expected to. I only hated it a little and actually liked lengthy parts of it.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I'm curious, why did you hate it? I have my own reasons, but I don't think they'd necessarily be yours.

I will see KNOCKED UP at some point soon, and I may get sucked into watching the beloved FREAKS AND GEEKS as well. Sigh, between Apatow and Rowling, the passionate cults of overwhelming geekhood all but demands I at least know what folks are talking about, it sometimes seems.

[tompurdue.livejournal.com]

The whole "Gosh, isn't this moment so uncomfortable you just have to laugh?" joke has never worked for me. Forty Year Old Virgin consisted almost entirely of that joke.

Saw an episode of EXTRAS the other day. Ricky Gervais' show. And again, that's the only joke he's got.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

God, I completely agree. I have a couple other reasons beyond that, but man, "discomfort" humor really makes me... uncomfortable. It was like a funnier and less painful and pretentious version of PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE.

It works for my on EXTRAS to a better extent, but that's helped by people like Patrick Stewart.

[tompurdue.livejournal.com]

Yeah... the best moments on the EXTRAS episode I saw were the interactions with the star (Kate Winslet, in that case). Same joke, actually, but it was funnier coming from her.

[ortugatay.livejournal.com]

I really think you'd like Freaks and Geeks. I adore it, and I also wasn't a fan of Virgin (though I did like Knocked Up

[heykidzcomix.livejournal.com]

It's a Breakfast Club for the Family Guy set. Make of it what you will.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

That... could well be the most astute observation of SUPERBAD I've yet heard.

[civilbloodshed.livejournal.com]

Holy crap, yes.