A superfun romp of a #@*@#!-ing film!
Audio:
The audio is better, with two options to choose from, a superbad "English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or PCM 5.1 (uncompressed) track in English, as well as a French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Portuguese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese.
I know that TrueHD has its fans, but I much prefer the PCM uncompressed sound, which really brings the funky background music to the forefront. Some of those guitar riffs sound so crisp you'd swear you were in a blues club sitting 15 feet away from the stage. Thumping bass, but most impressive, mid-range and high-range notes that really hang in the air.
Extras:
I have to say that just as I'm suspicious of raunchy comedies, I approach commentaries with hesitation--especially comedies, where you get the feeling that the principals think they have to be funny. Well, surprise surprise, this commentary track really IS hilarious, and, like the movie, just plain weird in spots. The set-up is strange, but it also makes for more humor. The director and his 13-year-old daughter join Michael Cera in New York, while the ribald Jonah Hill is on conference-call feed from L.A. One of them can swear his head off, while the other has to keep it cleaner because of Greg Mottola's daughter. At one point one of them remarks, "This is not Maude-friendly material," and he's right. But as this is going on, it makes them all the more conscious of the raunchiness and gives them plenty to joke about. There are a lot of genuine laughs on this track, so much so that you want to keep listening through the whole thing. And yet we learn a lot, too. When Cera is asked if he was hesitant to make a "naughty" movie because of what his mom might think, he counters with, "My mom actually read the script before I did, and she said, 'I think you should have a look at this.'"
This two-disc set is jam-packed with bonus features, most of them unusually entertaining. If you loved the two cops you'll like 13 backseat improv conversations that are in-character sketches. It's as if we're riding along with these guys as they patrol the streets and pick up different characters. Some of the funniest? A guy busted for drugs who still has cocaine on his nose and moustache and complains about being arrested without cause, and a businesswoman who points out the mistake the cops made by not cuffing her behind the back. "I can do THIS" she says, choking one of the cops.
The "making of" feature zeroes in on the real Evan and Seth, shows us the real Fogel on-set with his actor-counterpart, and captures the latter shooting a gun for the first time in his life.
You want raunch? How about "The Vag-tastic Voyage," in which a guy says "let's find some bitches," offers them money to strip and do other things, then dumps them off without paying them what he said he would. I'm guessing Maude didn't get to watch this one.
I personally like watching audition tapes, and we get them for Seth, Evan, and Fogel, plus table reads from 2002 and 2006. Another bit of interesting archival ephemera are Cera's voicemail messages from co-star Hill. It turns out this is how he learned he got the part.
There are plenty of staged extras too, with some of them funny, and others simply random. "Snakes on Jonah" shows the director and a "Fear Factor" bunch subjecting the co-star to all sorts of critters. But what's the point? "Everyone Hates Michael Cera" is mildly amusing, as the co-star narrates his experience and his encounters with others just don't bear out what he says. A "Press Junket Meltdown," which is a staged interview that falls apart, is funnier than most of these things.
"Dance Moves" shows us the stars as they learn the moves for the title sequence, "The Music of Superbad" is a nifty feature on the guys who did the music, and they're more than your typical studio musicians. These guys INVENTED funk. They played with James Brown, George Clinton, and Bobby Blue Bland. It's a fascinating feature. So is the on-set diaries, which documents the actual first-shots of the film, among other things. It's interesting to see the cast filming two different ways, too--once for the movie, and again using "TV Safe Lines."
Rounding out the extras are two deleted/extended scenes, an isolated "semen" conversation between the cops, and an exclusive first-look at the guys' next film, "Pineapple Express."
In the exclusive-to-Blu-ray department, there's a Super-meter which allows you to keep a running tally of the superbad language and sex references in the film. I picture this one turned into a drinking game, somehow.
Bottom Line:
I wouldn't go so far as to call this an "intelligent" teen comedy, but because the raunchiness is balanced by fun characters and genuinely funny lines and sequences, "Superbad" is a superfun romp of a #@*@#!-ing film.
The audio is better, with two options to choose from, a superbad "English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or PCM 5.1 (uncompressed) track in English, as well as a French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Portuguese and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Subtitles are in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese.
I know that TrueHD has its fans, but I much prefer the PCM uncompressed sound, which really brings the funky background music to the forefront. Some of those guitar riffs sound so crisp you'd swear you were in a blues club sitting 15 feet away from the stage. Thumping bass, but most impressive, mid-range and high-range notes that really hang in the air.
Extras:
I have to say that just as I'm suspicious of raunchy comedies, I approach commentaries with hesitation--especially comedies, where you get the feeling that the principals think they have to be funny. Well, surprise surprise, this commentary track really IS hilarious, and, like the movie, just plain weird in spots. The set-up is strange, but it also makes for more humor. The director and his 13-year-old daughter join Michael Cera in New York, while the ribald Jonah Hill is on conference-call feed from L.A. One of them can swear his head off, while the other has to keep it cleaner because of Greg Mottola's daughter. At one point one of them remarks, "This is not Maude-friendly material," and he's right. But as this is going on, it makes them all the more conscious of the raunchiness and gives them plenty to joke about. There are a lot of genuine laughs on this track, so much so that you want to keep listening through the whole thing. And yet we learn a lot, too. When Cera is asked if he was hesitant to make a "naughty" movie because of what his mom might think, he counters with, "My mom actually read the script before I did, and she said, 'I think you should have a look at this.'"
This two-disc set is jam-packed with bonus features, most of them unusually entertaining. If you loved the two cops you'll like 13 backseat improv conversations that are in-character sketches. It's as if we're riding along with these guys as they patrol the streets and pick up different characters. Some of the funniest? A guy busted for drugs who still has cocaine on his nose and moustache and complains about being arrested without cause, and a businesswoman who points out the mistake the cops made by not cuffing her behind the back. "I can do THIS" she says, choking one of the cops.
The "making of" feature zeroes in on the real Evan and Seth, shows us the real Fogel on-set with his actor-counterpart, and captures the latter shooting a gun for the first time in his life.
You want raunch? How about "The Vag-tastic Voyage," in which a guy says "let's find some bitches," offers them money to strip and do other things, then dumps them off without paying them what he said he would. I'm guessing Maude didn't get to watch this one.
I personally like watching audition tapes, and we get them for Seth, Evan, and Fogel, plus table reads from 2002 and 2006. Another bit of interesting archival ephemera are Cera's voicemail messages from co-star Hill. It turns out this is how he learned he got the part.
There are plenty of staged extras too, with some of them funny, and others simply random. "Snakes on Jonah" shows the director and a "Fear Factor" bunch subjecting the co-star to all sorts of critters. But what's the point? "Everyone Hates Michael Cera" is mildly amusing, as the co-star narrates his experience and his encounters with others just don't bear out what he says. A "Press Junket Meltdown," which is a staged interview that falls apart, is funnier than most of these things.
"Dance Moves" shows us the stars as they learn the moves for the title sequence, "The Music of Superbad" is a nifty feature on the guys who did the music, and they're more than your typical studio musicians. These guys INVENTED funk. They played with James Brown, George Clinton, and Bobby Blue Bland. It's a fascinating feature. So is the on-set diaries, which documents the actual first-shots of the film, among other things. It's interesting to see the cast filming two different ways, too--once for the movie, and again using "TV Safe Lines."
Rounding out the extras are two deleted/extended scenes, an isolated "semen" conversation between the cops, and an exclusive first-look at the guys' next film, "Pineapple Express."
In the exclusive-to-Blu-ray department, there's a Super-meter which allows you to keep a running tally of the superbad language and sex references in the film. I picture this one turned into a drinking game, somehow.
Bottom Line:
I wouldn't go so far as to call this an "intelligent" teen comedy, but because the raunchiness is balanced by fun characters and genuinely funny lines and sequences, "Superbad" is a superfun romp of a #@*@#!-ing film.
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[release]22320[/release]