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Jacob Whittingham
Instructor: Malcolm Campbell
Writing 1101
September 10, 2014
Superbad: A Comedic Film Analysis
Comedy is genre that comes in many different forms. Whether it be stand-up comedy, a
book, movie, etc, it is everywhere we look. Comedy is something that everyone in life needs, it
makes people happy and provokes laughter. This particular genre analysis is in the form of a
film. I chose the film Superbad for my analysis on comedy. Superbad came out in 2007 and was
a box office hit. It is now in the homes of many people who enjoy crude and violent humor. This
analysis will use conventions and constraints to show the different characteristics of a comedic
film.
Now, to whom is this flim directed towards? What is the audience and purpose of the
film? Superbad was directed towards the teenagers and young adults who enjoy crude humor and
comedic, violent situations. I first viewed this movie in 2010 and have since then seen it a few
more times. Throughout the entirety of this film, I now noticed many situations where different
conventions appear. But before talking about the conventions of the movie, people should
probably know what this movie is about. It focuses on three high school students who are drown
out by the popular students, and are doomed with poor social standing. One of the main
characters, Seth, has a crush on a girl in one of his classes and she invites him to a party at her
house. Being pinned as the less popular students at the school, the three friends are eager to
partake in the party and decide to purchase a fake ID to buy alcohol. This is the first convention

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of the movie, the goofy character named Fogell who is purchasing the fake ID. In many
comedies, there are conventions such as dangerous situations, a dumb character that is the
laughing point of other characters, a major plot twist, and mostly a happy ending. Fogell
purchases this ID and the name reads just McLovin. This is when the first convention of
Superbad is revealed, Fogell is labeled as this funny and outrageous character. For the plot twist,
that happens when Fogell goes in a convenient store to buy alcohol for the party. A robber tries
to steal money from the store and the police arrive and notice that a skinny, awkward high school
student is purchasing a lot of alcohol. The other two friends realize the police have arrived, and
believe that Fogell is being busted for the purchase. This is where the plot twist comes into play,
the police are oblivious to the ridiculousness of the ID and offer Fogell a ride to the party. This is
what makes the comedy a powerful genre even though it is often times not taken seriously. This
particular film contains these conventions and makes for a suspenseful and hilarious viewing.
There is a limit to how far a film can go before it starts to lose its viewers attention and
interest. Superbad has outrageous situations but ties them in to a somewhat sophisticated plot
which makes for a suspenseful and effective comedy. The next convention seen in Superbad
would categorize as a dangerous situation. While Fogell is riding in the back of a police car, Seth
and Evan( the two other friends) were driven to the party by a kid named Francis, and were then
kicked out because Francis was not welcome. While walking the streets, Seth and Evan run into
the police officers with their friend Fogell in the back seat and the officers, the officers know
what the situation now is with the alcohol and not wanting to lose their jobs, attempt to arrest
Seth and Evan. When Fogell steps out of the car, Evan runs away from the police and Seth and
Fogell escape successfully with the alcohol. As you can see, this makes for an example of a
dangerous and outrageous convention.

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A constraint is a characteristic that is opposite to what the reader expects is going to

happen. Although there are room for many constraints in the movie Superbad, it would be
difficult to identify where in the film these constraints would be because of the already
outrageous plot, there is really no telling what is going to happen while viewing this film. A
constraint of Superbad would be if one of the main characters dies and completely alters the
main focus of the movie. Since this movie is crazy and there are no expectations for where the
plot is going to go, that is one of the only constraints that could throw a viewer off guard.
Most comedies have a generally positive ending and that is another constraint that is seen
in Superbad. The police officers tell Fogell that they knew of his age all along and wanted to
show these high school students that police officers can have a good time as well. They then
pretend to arrest Fogell to boost his popularity and have his peers admire him. This convention
as seen in Superbad is especially popular in comedies because it gives the movie have a feel
good aspect which ties in with the comedic characteristics which are ultimately intended to
make the viewer have a good feeling while watching. This convention was effective in making
Superbad a successful hit movie, it kept a steady crazy plot and ended with a good ending which
leaves the viewer in a cheerful mood which is the main intention of this particular genre.
The purpose of a comedic movie is to reach the viewers attention by displaying hilarious
and outrageous scenes to make the viewer laugh and have a sense of enjoyment. An action film
on the other hand, is intended to keep the viewer on the edge of his/her seat, and successfully
portray an objective that the characters in the film are trying to execute. The audience for an
action film changes significantly. Whereas Superbad will only target young adults, an action film
would target audiences anywhere from young adults to people into their 50s. This is because
action films have a more serious tone and display a more realistic plot which makes older

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viewers a bit more interested than if it were crude humor. Even though these two genres are both
put in theaters, the audience for an action film would most likely be larger because of the content
of the film. There is a wider age level that will show interest in action films and therefore this
genre would have a larger audience. A convention of an action film would be to have a
suspenseful plot that usually includes fighting and violence.
While both of these genres intent is to entertain the audience, there are still significant
differences that make each genre unique. Comedies are intended to reach a more so younger
audience while action films are intended for a widespread audience and is intended to give the
viewer an adrenaline rush while watching the action taking place. Therefore, these two genres
portray different conventions to successfully capture their intended audiences.
Comments: Your opening paragraph needs a little smoother transitions from sentence to
sentence. I would come up with two different sentences to substitute for the second and third
sentences of the first paragraph, they just dont fit well with the rest of the introduction.