Was “Superbad” the last great high school movie?
That’s the question movie fans have been debating after Seth Rogen made an off-the-cuff joke about the classic 2007 comedy, which he co-wrote with writing partner Evan Goldberg.
READ MORE: Jonah Hill ‘Immediately Hated’ His ‘Superbad’ Co-Star Christopher Mintz-Plasse In The Beginning
Speaking with People, Rogen shared how he recently bonded with 19-year-old “The Fabelmans” co-star Gabriel LaBelle over his love of “Superbad”.
“What’s crazy is that Gabe LaBelle is like, 19 years old and his friends’ favorite movie is ‘Superbad’,” Rogen said, joking, “So it never changed for some reason. No one’s made a good high school movie since then.”
Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse starred in the film, about teenagers trying to have sex before the end of their last semester in high school.
While, the movie is certainly beloved, when Rogen’s comment was spread online, many did not realize it was a joke, prompting debate over what the last great high school movie actually was.
Many drew attention to Olivia Wilde’s hit “Booksmart”, which happened to star Hill’s sister Beanie Feldstein.
booksmart eats superbad up in every conceivable way https://t.co/27eYac8Gl5
— LIMINALITY IS OUT NOW (@itsjulianharper) February 2, 2023
This 2 minute clip of Gigi from Booksmart is more iconic than the entirety of Superbad pic.twitter.com/iDgzc9ezEJ https://t.co/2pccUb8z2H
— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) February 2, 2023
Others pushed back on the “Booksmart” love, with some even accusing it of being a “Superbad” rip-off.
Y’all are in the qts screaming about Booksmart… a Superbad ripoff https://t.co/d8Dbp5AHYM
— Bella Ramsey emmy campaign manager (@rejectedhannah) February 2, 2023
Booksmart was good but let’s not pretend it touches Superbad. Superbad is probably one of the most quoted movies of all time. https://t.co/iqwYcyBt1Z
— Dan Harriman ☔️ (@guv360) February 3, 2023
READ MORE: Seth Rogen ‘Wouldn’t Do’ A ‘Freaks And Geeks’ Revival: ‘Just Let It Exist’
Others suggested films like “Edge of Seventeen”, “Lady Bird”, “The Half of It”, and the Seth Rogen-produced “Blockers”, noting that all those films were directed and/or written by women.
Edge of Seventeen, Booksmart, Lady Bird, The Half of It, To All the Boys…, Blockers, I could go on.
Maybe he means "no good high school movies since Superbad made by men" https://t.co/OHdzmTtJ47
— Marina Fang (@marinafang) February 2, 2023
Okay, I'm not accusing Seth Rogen of doing this intentionally, but every good high school movie of the last 15 years has featured either a female and/or queer protagonist. Superbad might be the last good straight white male high school movie though. https://t.co/l6Es8z3CVl
— Zach Wilson (@televisionaryZW) February 2, 2023
Still, while some acknowledged that there have been great high school films since “Superbad”, many stuck up for the film as remaining top of its class more than 15 years later.
People have made “good,” high school movies BUT nothing that comes close to Superbad. https://t.co/0xLuJ1f75m
— Conor Skunkcan 🦨💨 (@ratboiiiiiiii) February 3, 2023
I disagree with his statement, but it is hilarious how 90+% of the movies mentioned to 'own' Seth Rogen in the comments are absolutely not better than Superbad lol. https://t.co/bqy158FWi9
— grimm1985@geocities.com (@ExileGrimm) February 2, 2023
Not going to pretend Superbad isn’t hilarious just because Rogen sucks now. Project X doesn’t hold a candle to it. His blind spots with this statement are Easy A and Edge of 17 but other than that Seth isn’t wrong. https://t.co/yAh8vd4c4O
— Sigh Abelman (@schrutedit) February 2, 2023