What's with all the hype surrounding Superbad?

Approximately 87% of the critics agree, as do over 90% of movie-goers, Superbad is a super great comedy. But, why? I guess I could see why some people may like it, but Superbad is ranked at #91 on IMDb.com's top 250 of all-time. It's ranked as the #9 comedy of all-time, with an average grade of 8.6 out of 10. One film-goer stated that Superbad is the first truly funny film in the history of cinema. Some are claiming it to be THE film of the new generation. But, why?

I'll admit that there were some funny lines and scenes in the film, but as anyone who read my review will know, I gave Superbad 6 out of 10 possible points when it came to the film's comedic value and 5.5 out of 10 points when it came to the film's overall quality value.

The storyline is nothing new. Three guys are bound and determined to end their virginal status at their final big party before college, when they part ways. As can be expected with such a storyline, the plot consists of many obstacles and odd scenarios that make the young men's endeavor more difficult than they suspected. American Pie, anyone? Was the storyline not basically the same thing? The plot details may have differed here and there, but the guys' goal in American Pie was to end their virginity on senior prom night, their last big-time opportunity to "get laid" before they graduate and head off to their respective colleges. Different obstacles, but obstacles nonetheless, get in the way and makes it a rather difficult process, especially for some.

Good acting isn't to be expected in films such as these, so I'm not going to claim that I believed Jonah Hill and company were going to one-up Jack Nicholson, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Helen Hunt from As Good As It Gets. But, character development is important, even in comedies. If the viewers can't sympathize with or root for a character, it'll be more difficult for them to enjoy the portions of the film that the character makes his/her presence. Without the quality acting skills of the before-mentioned Nicholson, Kinnear, Gooding, or Hunt, actors in films such as Superbad need to appease their audience through attitude and humor. While not all the characters in the American Pie series were humorous or even likable, I found that there were many more personable characters in that series than in Superbad, which made the films more enjoyable for me. Eugene Levy, Jason Biggs, Nadia, Stiffler, Finch, and Alyson Hannigan were all fairly likable in the series. Levy played the fun and hip father, who attempted to be understanding of his son. Biggs played Jim, the dork at heart whose heart was set one place and his rod was set somewhere else and I have no idea where his mind was set, but it made for a rather humorous confliction of thought and feeling. Finch was the whitest guy south of Casper, had a geeky aura about him, and had a thing for older ladies. Hannigan played a "band geek," but with a wild side to her. Stiffler was the class jerk that had a certain arrogance about him, which made you not want to like him, but still laugh at his words and actions. Nadia was a gorgeous woman, only looked at for that, but had a deeper, more intelligent side to her as well. All of these characters, except for maybe Stiffler at times, were extremely likable and made for an enjoyable film. I rooted for Finch, for Biggs, for Hannigan and Nadia. While the young men's intentions were the same as the two leads in Superbad, they had a different attitude about it. They didn't act angry at every woman in existence. In the end, they were seeking love. The night became about more than some young men trying to have sex. It became about young adults growing up, about friends bonding, about making the big transition from young adulthood to adulthood. Superbad attempted to illustrate similar points, but I was able to empathize more with the characters from the Pie series.

I hope the hype subsides sometime in the near future, because I just can't fathom why the hype is there to begin with. There are some funny lines, but with an unoriginal concept and unlikable characters, I don't think this film compares even to the Pie series, let alone with Judd Apatow's previous two pictures, The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up.