Raunchy humor to make you laugh super hard

When "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" hit theaters two years ago, it was hard to believe that another film dealing in bawdy, almost exclusively sexual humor could ever match it, let alone top it. But lo and behold, "Superbad" has. Judd Apatow and friends have arguably done it twice.

After "Knocked Up" opened up the summer movie season with riotous laughs, "Superbad" brings it to a close on an even funnier note. "Superbad" was produced by Judd Apatow and written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, who had a supporting role in "Virgin" and starred as Ben Stone in "Knocked Up."

The film stars Jonah Hill (also of "Knocked Up") and Michael Cera (of TV's dearly departed "Arrested Development") as Seth and Evan, two high-school seniors trying to lose their virginity with the girls of their respective dreams before they head off to college.

When Seth and Evan receive an unexpected invitation to their first "cool" party, they stupidly promise to supply the liquor. This leads to the majority of the film's hijinks. It sounds familiar on the surface, but the talent of the cast elevates the premise to unparalleled genius.

To start with, the acting of the two young leads is phenomenal. Hill is good to great as the pudgy, foul-mouthed, borderline misogynistic Seth, but it's Cera who steals the show as his gangly, polite friend.

Each of Cera's lines, especially those delivered to females, is soaked in unease and trepidation. He draws huge laughs with a clumsy aversion of his eyes when caught staring at the cleavage of his beloved Becca (Martha MacIsaac). Later, Cera drops the single funniest line in the history of film about health class.

Cera's genius isn't a surprise to those familiar with his performance as George-Michael Bluth on "Arrested Development," but the rest of the world is in for a great discovery.

Seth and Evan's awkward third wheel is uber-geek Fogell, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse in his acting debut. Fogell supplies the bulk of the movie's plot machinations with his plan to purchase the alcohol using a fake ID that says he's a 25-year-old organ donor from Hawaii with the singular moniker of McLovin.

If "Superbad" has a flaw, it's that it tends to fall back on the inherent hilarity of this name a bit too often, with quips that it sounds like "a sexy hamburger" or "an Irish R&B singer." Still, Fogell and his misadventures with two inept cops (Rogen and "SNL's" Bill Hader) are almost as funny as the central plot.

Anyone offended by raunchy dialogue should probably stay away from "Superbad." Its profanity puts its predecessors to shame and would actually be a little off-putting if it weren't so hilarious. Right off the bat, it's clear how far Rogen and Goldberg are willing to go. The opening scene follows characters Seth and Evan in their trip to school as they discuss, in graphic detail, the pros and cons of various porn sites they're considering subscribing to.

One of the many things that sets "Superbad" apart from its cinematic peers is the fact that its vulgarity isn't all it has going for it. Early on, it's plain to see that Seth is secretly upset about the fact that he and Evan won't be going to the same college in the fall, lending a serious undercurrent to many of their scenes. It doesn't quite work when the film goes for straight-up drama in one scene, but that's the exception.

Like Apatow and Rogen's other works, "Superbad" runs a little long for a comedy at 114 minutes. Despite the running time, "Superbad" doesn't feel long, but it could be a very long time before a comedy of its caliber comes around again.