Superbad Movie Analysis 1

Superbad Movie Analysis

Francesca Blake

Salt Lake Community College

Superbad Movie Analysis 2

Superbad is a hilarious comedy about three high-schoolers named Seth, Evan, and Fogell

who go on a quest to get their friends alcohol for a big graduation party they're invited to. Seth

wants to buy the alcohol for his friend Jules, Evan wants to buy a bottle for his crush Becca, and

Fogell just wants it for the party. All three of them have always been nerds and relied on each

other for friendship however, after school ends, only Evan and Fogell are continuing college

together in Dartmouth. Seth didn't get into Dartmouth and even though he brags about all the

babes hell get at State, he really does feel bad about Evan leaving him for college in a few

months. They go through a lot of exciting and scary events as they try to get the alcohol to the

party without a car and Fogell missing. They soon all find each other and get drunk once at the

party. Seth doesn't end up hooking up with Jules because she doesn't get drunk, Evan gets puked

on by Becca because she's too drunk and Fogell gets taken away by the cops he befriends. The

next day after the party Seth and Evan go to the mall to buy college stuff and run into Jules and

Becca. Its awkward at first because of everything that happened the night before but they

reconcile. Seth offers to take Jules to buy makeup for her bruise and Evan offers to go with

Becca to buy a new comforter to replace the one she puked on.

I have chosen Evan as my character to analyze. In the beginning of the movie Evan is

illustrated as a young kid with just a few friends. He has never been with a girl and definitely

hasn't been to a party before. Seth hopes to make the graduation party the perfect night with

Becca because he sees it as his last chance to be with her since school is ending. He offers to

buy the alcohol for Becca after letting Seth convince him that its the only way to get with her.

Evan and Seth are forced to find a new source for alcohol when they see the cops have Fogell,

and can no longer use his fake ID. They are not aware Fogell managed to buy the alcohol and is
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riding in the cop car because he befriended the police officers. After a long night Seth, Evan, and

Fogell all make it to the party with the alcohol.

Evan does have an identity crisis because hes always been around Seth and now hes going to

move away for college and doesn't know if he will make new friends. Evan wasn't very good at

making friends in high school and feels like it'll be even harder when he's in college and doesn't

know anybody. In the beginning, Seth doesn't show how he truly feels about not having Evan

with him next year. He says they're guys so they wont miss each other and jokes about how Seth

and Fogell got into Dartmouth but aren't very bright. Throughout the movie Evan does things

he's never experienced before like getting drunk, making out with a girl, and running from the

cops. He has more confidence by the end of the movie and isn't the same shy, nerdy geek he's

always been. Seth and Evan eventually tell each other their true feelings after the party in Evans

house. They talk about how they love each other and how they're practically brothers. Seth

admits to Evan hell miss him next year and is hurt that Evan and Fogell are going to be rooming

together. Evan tells Seth he will miss him too and their issue gets resolved.

According to Davey K., (2014) identity status is defined as the stages in developing who we

are as individuals. There are four different types of identity statuses: identity diffusion, identity

foreclosure, moratorium, and identity achievement. It is possible for teenagers to have more than

one identity at once and to only have one or two identity statuses through their adolescence

according to Oswalt (2010). The identity status Evan is, according to Marcias identity status, is

Identity Achievement. He has done research and chosen thoughtfully the college hes going to,

Dartmouth College. He also didn't back out of going to Dartmouth just because Seth didn't get in.
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Evan had to make a choice about his sexual behavior with Becca when they snuck off to Jules

bedroom at the party. He doesn't like to get drunk but since Becca was already drunk and trying

to make out with him when he got to the party he decided to drink in the bathroom so he could

be drunk too and try to get with her. Evan is completely unaware to how Becca thinks of him

until she starts blurting out her feelings for him while they're in bed. He tells Becca he feels

wrong about the situation since she's really drunk but she insists she isn't drunk. He says he

doesn't want to go any further and leaves after she throws up on the bed. The consequences of

what he did aren't bad really because even though he did reject her it was only because she was

really drunk which shows that he cares about her. Becca and him do have an awkward meeting

the day after with Seth and Jules at the mall but she isn't mad at him since she lets him go with

her to purchase another comforter for Jules.

Evans mom gets on his nerves sometimes but Seth has a huge crush on her and makes

repeated references to her big breasts through the movie. There aren't a lot of appearances of

parents in the movie besides Evans mom. Evan is constantly trying to convince his mom that his

friendship with Seth is no big deal and is always saying that they wont miss each other once they

separate for college. There isn't a lot of conflict between them since she doesn't appear often. By

the end of the movie Evan sees the importance of his friendship with Seth and is comfortable

enough to tell him he loves him and will miss him.

Friendship and romantic relationships were the center for this movie. Seth and Evan are not

going to be continuing their friendship in college because Seth didn't get into Dartmouth with

Evan and Fogell. He will be attending their local sate university. Seth and Evan have been

friends since they were little and have always been by each other side so Evan moving away is

really hard on Seth and not to mention the fact he is going to be roommates with their mutual
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friend Fogell. Seth wants to be with Jules for the summer so he sees this party as the last chance

he can make that happen since school is almost over. While him and Jules are outside at the party

he admits to her his plan to hook up with her but because he is drunk and Jules is not she tells

him she doesn't want to do anything that night with him. Jules tries telling him that this doesn't

mean she wont ever be with him but before she can finish Seth passes out and head butts her

eye. Evan and Seth both didn't end up with who they thought they would that night but they

formed a clearer sense of identity after the experiences they had. Evan followed what he believed

in and didnt get with Becca because she was too drunk and did things he never thought he would

like outrun a cop.

References

Davey K., "Identity Status Theory (Marcia)," in Learning Theories, July 23, 2014, https://
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www.learning-theories.com/identity-status-theory-marcia.html.

Oswalt Angela, James Marcia and Self-Identity in Child Development Theory: Adolescence,

November 17, 2010, https://www.mentalhelp.net/articles/james-marcia-and-self-identity/