After the astounding success of Knocked Up, actor Seth Rogen seems to have made a name for himself. With its witty dialogue and cleverly designed sequences of realistic situations, Knocked Up gave Rogen the exposure and possibly the knowledge to go on and write his own original comedy.

Working with his longtime friend Evan Goldberg, Rogen wrote the script for Superbad even before his acting days began. With main characters appropriately named Seth and Evan, Superbad tells the story of three high school friends simply trying to fit in and get invited to the popular party. Laden with outlandish happenings and rapid-fire dialogue, Superbad wastes no time in getting people laughing, but takes its time in developing its more respectful qualities.

It wouldn’t be correct to claim that the erratic events depicted in Superbad are what make it funny. What gives Superbad its comedic charm is the chemistry between the two main characters, Seth and Evan. Played respectively by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, Seth and Evan express every defining quality of a lasting high school friendship.

In its seemingly autobiographical tone, it’s almost as if Rogen and Goldberg are sitting next to you telling their life stories. Given how strongly the connection between the two main characters is depicted, the audience may then find themselves asking if events as outrageous as setting a police car ablaze actually happened. Therefore, we unload in laughter on seemingly insignificant moments, but are touched by the resulting impact they have on the characters.

What Rogen and Goldberg have invested in their characters is something unforeseen among what is expected. Hidden underneath all of the crude sex related humor lies a story driven by friendship, and a message against the themes that so commonly occur in teen comedies.

Superbad is one of the most recent original comedies with in-your-face humor that dares to stand out among its genre. Rather than go with what’s stereotypical or popular, Superbad goes with what’s meaningful to its characters and insightful to its audience. Rogen and Goldberg deliver humor so cleverly placed within the thoughts of their own characters that it represents anyone’s awkward adolescent fears and makes then memorably amusing to look back on. Move over American Pie, this is the new generation of the teen comedy.