Superbad

Summary

Unspooled – “Superbad”

Hosts: Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson
Air Date: July 16, 2026
Main Topic: Revisiting “Superbad”—its origins, cultural impact, and its place among great comedies

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Episode Overview

Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson dive deep into the seminal 2007 teen comedy “Superbad,” analyzing its impact, authenticity, and place in the canon of American film comedies. They discuss what makes the movie special, its behind-the-scenes journey from script to screen, representation of male friendship, and how it stands up to modern scrutiny. Personal stories, insightful commentary, and memorable quotes make this episode essential listening for fans of the film or the genre.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: A Different Era of High School (00:01–04:20)

• Amy and Paul reminisce about their own high school parties and rivalries, contrasting 90s teen culture with the 2000s’ post-Columbine, cell phone-saturated world.
• Amy notes how “Superbad,” though released in 2007, was written in the ‘90s, giving it a unique time-capsule feel.
• Quote:
  "When I watch movies like Superbad, it is the one time I sort of regret going to an all girls Catholic high school that did not ever have ragers like this." – Amy Nicholson (01:08)

2. What Makes “Superbad” Authentic? (04:20–08:01)

• The authenticity stems from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg starting the script as teenagers.
• Rogen and Goldberg “had the voice” of adolescence, avoiding the trap of older generations writing unrealistically for youth (the “Euphoria” problem).
• Both Paul and Amy touch on why comedies are scrutinized for being problematic more than dramas; comedy is seen as endorsing the behavior it portrays.
• Quote:
  "Because Seth and Evan wrote this as teens, they really had the voice... It feels... it's the Euphoria problem. Euphoria doesn’t feel like it’s written for kids." – Paul Scheer (04:55)

3. Behind the Scenes: How “Superbad” Was Made (08:01–13:30)

• Written from the real teen lives of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg—who met in bar mitzvah class, and mined their personal experiences for the script.
• Multiple studios rejected the film because R-rated teen comedies were considered box office poison; Judd Apatow’s “brand” helped finally get it made.
• Casting choices and realities: Jonah Hill was only one year younger than Seth Rogen but looked significantly younger onscreen.
• The film’s box office journey—opening in August, not immediately a hit, but rose to #1 due to word of mouth ("one of the last times a wide release movie climbed the box office charts, instead of falling").
• Quote:
  "No one thinks that an R rated teen movie is going to sell tickets. And Seth and Evan have no interest in making it PG-13." – Paul Scheer (10:58)

4. Characterization: The Special Heart of “Superbad” (14:20–19:49)

• Praises for the female characters (Emma Stone and Martha MacIsaac) as “realized and fully” developed—unlike typical love interests in teen comedies.
• Drunken scenes examined for their comedic authenticity, especially Martha MacIsaac’s “hilarious” performance.
• Jonah Hill’s Seth is described as simultaneously “gross” and “lovable,” putting on a “grown man dress-up.”
• Judd Apatow and Greg Mottola’s collaboration pushed the film to have emotional core, adding key scenes like the sleeping bag/mall climax, deepening the friendship theme.
• Quote:
  "We can be everything we are. We can be multidimensional people. But you can say I love you." – Paul Scheer (22:13)

5. Male Friendship and Emotional Honesty (20:35–25:58)

• The “I love you, man” moment viewed as revolutionary for on-screen male friendship ("At this point, I’m older and I think I want these moments in film because I’m a sucker for a rom com.").
• Amy relates how young men today speak more openly with love to their friends, and how the film may have helped seed that cultural change.
• The emotional stakes of leaving high school and friends are foregrounded as more important than leaving home.
• Quote:
  "The thing that Apatow says he brought to this movie was I told the guys it was about the panic of losing your best friend to growing up." – Paul Scheer (23:51)

6. The Odyssey of the Teen Party and Social Hierarchy (29:20–33:20)

• Superbad uses the structure of an epic quest (“the Odyssey for teens”) to explore high school hierarchies and awkward rites of passage.
• Each of the three protagonists has separate adventures, pushing their growth and comic humiliation.
• Michael Cera’s performance praised for complexity—funny, nervous, awkward, but not a “wimp.”
• Quote:
  "He’s not the outcast. They’re just kind of like that crew… trying to bust out of that crew, but there’s a safety in that crew." – Paul Scheer (31:33)

7. The Creation of McLovin & Archetypes (37:29–39:30)

• Discussion of Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s “McLovin”—an entirely new kind of nerd with “swagger.”
• Casting Mintz-Plasse almost didn’t happen; initial auditions made Rogen and Hill dislike him, but director Mottola insisted the tension would work.
• Allison Jones used MySpace for casting—groundbreaking at the time.
• Quote:
  "He has to be a legit, inescapable nerd who thinks he’s cool as hell." – Amy Nicholson (38:05)

8. Impact, Fandom, and Cultural Legacy (44:38–49:03)

• “Superbad” as a landmark in moving beyond 80s/90s stereotypes; the 2000s became about less “cookie-cutter” characters.
• Explores the difficulties for actors typecast by iconic roles (e.g., Mintz-Plasse, Napoleon Dynamite), and how real-life friends’ names were woven throughout the script.
• Real “Fogle” and “Steven Glansberg” are real people who have become minor celebrities as a result.
• Quote:
  "It’s Napoleon Dynamite. It is such a character that it's hard to see him any other way." – Paul Scheer (46:05)

9. Superbad’s Role in Modern Language & Culture (50:15–51:35)

• “DTF” attributed to originating in the film (“Jersey Shore” popularized it after hearing it in “Superbad”).
• The film accurately depicts the reality, rather than romanticization, of high school drinking and parties.
• Quote:
  "One thing that I admire about Superbad is they're on this whole quest for beer...the movie doesn’t make getting drunk look that fun." – Amy Nicholson (52:01)

10. The Music & Timelessness (57:35–59:02)

• Funk-driven soundtrack (Bootsy Collins, Parliament Funkadelic) helps give Superbad a unique, timeless energy.
• Opening credits with silhouettes and funk stylings evoke a past era while reflecting the movie’s ambition.

11. Comedy, Language, and Endurance (59:04–61:58)

• Notable for its use of profanity—186 F-words, more than “Scarface.”
• The film’s ability to meander with “detours” and random comedic moments keeps it lively and real, much like Tarantino’s character-based dialogue.
• Quote:
  "You want to live in this world. You love these characters. The conversations are really funny." – Paul Scheer (60:00)

12. Cops and Authority in the Comedy (61:22–63:37)

• Seth Rogen and Bill Hader’s research included ride-alongs with “terrifying” and incompetent real cops for authenticity.
• The police are framed as dorks—“they are McLovin or they are Seth and Evan”—caught in cycles of arrested development themselves.

13. The Movie’s Place in the Teen Comedy Tradition (64:11–67:36)

• Amy and Paul compare “Superbad”’s legacy to “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and recent films like “Booksmart” and “Pizza Movie.”
• Superbad’s relatability and avoidance of tropes helped make it “timeless.”

14. Metaphor, Nude Drawings, and Final Analysis (67:36–69:38)

• The “dick-drawing” montage is examined as a metaphor about the infinite variety of male experience and emotional complexity.
• Paul boils it down: it’s about not judging people by first impressions and recognizing everyone’s internal life.
• Quote:
  "We all are more than what we see on the surface or even what we say on the surface. And you have to have that trust and that love to get to the best stuff of people and relationships." – Paul Scheer (68:46)

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Notable Quotes & Moments – With Timestamps

• [01:08] "When I watch movies like Superbad, it is the one time I sort of regret going to an all girls Catholic high school that did not ever have ragers like this." – Amy Nicholson
• [04:55] "Because Seth and Evan wrote this as teens, they really had the voice... It's the Euphoria problem." – Paul Scheer
• [14:16] "One of the things I have to call out about this movie that makes it Incredibly Special is Martha MacIsaac and Emma Stone because their characters are realized and fully, you know, have wants and needs that aren't just the girl." – Paul Scheer
• [21:03] (on male vulnerability)
  "Why can't we say it more often? I just love you." – Amy Nicholson
  "I'm not even embarrassed to say it." – Paul Scheer
• [23:51] (on friendship as core theme)
  "The thing that Apatow says he brought to this movie was I told the guys it was about the panic of losing your best friend to growing up." – Paul Scheer
• [38:05] "He has to be a legit, inescapable nerd who thinks he’s cool as hell." – Amy Nicholson
• [52:01] "The movie doesn’t make getting drunk look that fun." – Amy Nicholson
• [68:46] "We all are more than what we see on the surface or even what we say on the surface. And you have to have that trust and that love to get to the best stuff of people and relationships." – Paul Scheer

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Structural Timeline of Important Segments

• 00:01–04:20: Nostalgia, the difference between 90s and 2000s high school
• 04:20–08:01: Superbad’s authenticity, why comedies are scrutinized
• 08:01–13:30: Film’s origin, development, and casting history
• 14:20–19:49: Deep dive into character dynamics and emotional authenticity
• 20:35–25:58: Male friendship, emotional growth, real stakes of high school graduation
• 29:20–33:20: Social hierarchies, the odyssey structure, authentic awkwardness
• 37:29–39:30: Casting and significance of McLovin
• 44:38–49:03: Legacy, being typecast, real-life inspiration for characters
• 50:15–51:35: Linguistic legacy of “DTF” and depiction of drinking culture
• 57:35–59:02: The iconic soundtrack and how it shapes the film
• 61:22–63:37: The police—cultural commentary and comedic approach
• 64:11–67:36: The legacy and how “Superbad” fits among great comedies
• 67:36–69:38: Metaphor and final thoughts on variety in masculinity and emotional openness

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Final Thoughts

Paul and Amy ultimately argue that “Superbad” succeeds—and endures—because it’s about the universal, poignant moments of friendship and coming-of-age, layered beneath raunchy humor and timeless adolescent anxiety. It is both a product of its era and a vehicle for connection for future generations.

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For further discussion, Paul and Amy invite listeners to join the conversation on their Substack, and tease next week’s episode covering “An American Tail.”

Transcript

[Paul Scheer]

The year 2007.

[Amy Nicholson]

Wait, you changed your name to McLovin?

[Paul Scheer]

McLovin?

[Amy Nicholson]

What kind of a stupid name is that? Fogle. What are you trying to be an Irish R and B singer? Oh, they let you pick any name you want when you get down there.

[Paul Scheer]

And you landed on McLovin. Yeah, I was between that and Muhammad the movie Superbad.

[Amy Nicholson]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Unspooled.

[Paul Scheer]

Welcome to Unspooled. This is a podcast about good movies, critical hits, fan favorites, must sees, and in case you missed EMS, we have

[Amy Nicholson]

covered the AFI top 100 and now we are checking off movies from three major lists. The Letterboxd top 250 films with the most fans, the IMDb top 250, and the New York Times 1000 essential films.

[Paul Scheer]

And Amy, we will also be chasing our own curiosity. I am Paul Scheer. I'm an actor, writer and director and honestly, very excited that we are talking about Superbad this week.

[Amy Nicholson]

I'm Amy Nicholson. I'm the film critic for the Los Angeles Times. And when I watch movies like Superbad, it is the one time I sort of regret going to an all girls Catholic high school that did not ever have ragers like this.

[Paul Scheer]

I don't know if these were ragers. These seemed relatively tame, like the energy.

[Amy Nicholson]

Spoken like a guy who probably went to ragers. These look like ragers to me.

[Paul Scheer]

I did get jumped by some kids from public school one time who were trying to invade our Catholic school party. And it got into. Then it got into a big fight. It was fun. Just walk into the party. Just walk into the party.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. I'm a Catholic school person. Why bother? Why bother? Coming into our parties.

[Paul Scheer]

We had a big rivalry with our public school. They one time. This is one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in the sense of it felt like a movie. The public school and the Catholic school had a rivalry. And one day at dismissal, the public school kids blocked all the exits of the buses and they ran into our parking lot and they just started fighting like the seniors at our school. And it was like a big giant fight broke out. And my school was run by Franciscan brothers. And they like, they didn't.

[Amy Nicholson]

And theirs was run by Rodney Dangerfield.

[Paul Scheer]

They now, they didn't rip off their cloaks or anything, but they kind of like threw back their cloaks and just started pounding on these kids. I've never seen anything like it. Like these Franciscan brothers came to the rescue, was like just laying kids out on the sidewalk. I was like, holy shit. I remember like as A. I was like a junior at that time, or maybe even a sophomore. Just watching this fight with, like, men in robes taking on kids in, like, Nirvana shirts. It was awesome.

[Amy Nicholson]

Wow. Ladies and gentlemen, the 90s. And we're live on Matchday as Doug

[Paul Scheer]

reaches for a buffalo wing.

[Amy Nicholson]

He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi, too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it.

[Paul Scheer]

It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi

[Amy Nicholson]

unschooled. But actually, wait, that makes me think of something. I've always kind of felt that high school changed dramatically when you switch from the 90s to the 2000s because it was like, post Columbine, cell phones, all of this. Only hearing you describe that kind of mayhem and flashing back to the free range high school years that feel dramatically different of the past of the 20th century, makes me realize, huh, I bet in Superbad, you really can feel that. This is a movie that comes out in 2007, but was written in the

[Paul Scheer]

90s, and it's really interesting to watch. This movie that was written in the 90s, came out in the 2000s, and now watching it in 2026 has another layer to it, which is like, are these acceptable jokes? What's going on? And, you know, it's this.

[Amy Nicholson]

I mean, they're not. They're not by chance.

[Paul Scheer]

No, I mean, look, there's totally things that we have grown past. Right. And I think Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have. They've said like, oh, yeah, we have regret for certain jokes, but at the same time, these lines are very authentic to the time. Right?

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah.

[Paul Scheer]

It's not like.

[Amy Nicholson]

I don't know. I feel like at that time, this movie was considered woke because it was like, male friendship's cool. And that was like, more than enough at the time to be like, this is a sensitive comedy.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, you know, there's a thing that I always get bothered by, which is somebody not of an age writing for people of an age. And, you know, because Seth and Evan wrote this or started writing this as teens, they really had the voice. They knew what the voice was. It wasn't like they're trying to think, oh, what would we be like at this time? It feels. I mean, I. Let me just not dance around it. It's the euphoria problem. To me, like, euphoria doesn't feel like it's written for kids.

[Amy Nicholson]

No. It's a euphoria party by a guy who was never invited to any parties.

[Paul Scheer]

Right, Right. You know, so that. That kind of is like, the difference so, yeah, like, to me, I don't know why comedies have to answer for things that dramas don't. And maybe it's because, oh, it's just meant to be funny. So let's make sure we ask these filmmakers if they apologize for the language. Well, the language was authentic for the time, the same way the language was authentic for French Connection. You know, like, the political social mores of films from the past are often a reflection of the time that they are in. The question you have to ask is, if you made a movie about the 90s in 2026 and used this language, then there might be a bigger discussion to be had.

[Amy Nicholson]

But if you made a movie about the 90s and 2026 and acted like people didn't talk like this, that would also be really weird.

[Paul Scheer]

Right.

[Amy Nicholson]

I mean, I think comedies have the problem because you're asking people to giggle at a joke about how it's totally cool to hook up with somebody drunk if you're also drunk. Like, in drama, you could have that line and be like, oh, yeah, maybe they're serious when they said it the first time. But, like, serious, serious, earnest. And then now you can be like, well, they're serious sad about it. You can interpret it differently.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

Here, you know, you're supposed to laugh in a way. That's one of the core things to think about when we get to watch movies like this, that sort of clash against time periods is that we can hold those things that itch in the back of our brain. Kind of an interesting time capsule, ideas. We're going back into the past. We're seeing how it was. That movies, my favorite movies, are timeless. But if you can be timeless and time stamped, that's a really interesting paradox.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, it's the reason why I think a lot of comedies don't stand the test of time, because, you know, comedy is a reflection of the now. When this movie came out, I watched it and I was like, holy cow. I've never seen a movie that has the language of me and my friends. Right. Or like. Or that I understood from a perspective that felt really fresh and different. I think this movie does stand the test of time. I don't think that, you know, you know, jokes that are inappropriate are going to make that not work. But I have to also acknowledge that for comedies to be effective, and the most effective comedies have to feel incredibly fresh. And I think that's why they. I don't even think they age badly, but that's why every generation has their favorite comedies.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. You know, speaking of which we haven't gotten a chance to say. Hey, did you notice that the AFI switched their comedy list? They demoted the number one, Some Like It Hot and Elevated, Blazing Saddles.

[Paul Scheer]

Wow. Interesting. I'm glad. I'm glad to hear that.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, I feel like we kind of advocated for that when we did episodes on both of those.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's talk about Superbad here. Cause the year is 2007, and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are on the set of a movie that they have been working on for roughly 11 years now. For context, Seth and Evan are only 24. So like we alluded to, they started writing Superbad at age 13.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. That is when they met in bar mitzvah class in Vancouver and they became friends. They were the two kids who were really into films. Seth and Evan. They go to the same high school. They hang out all the time. They rent movies. One night, they're watching a movie that is so bad, they start grumbling about how they could just write a better one. And so they decide that they will. They start typing the script for Superbad that year, circa 1995, on a shared family computer. Oh, and then they just keep brainstorming scenes for years.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, their goal is to write an R rated teen comedy that doesn't feel like it's written by adults. Exactly what I was talking about. A movie that really captures how teenage boys feel about sex and booze and friendship.

[Amy Nicholson]

And it's about them. You know, it's about two best friends named Seth and Evan who set out to bring booze to a party so that they can hook up with their crushes. Their friend Fogle, aka McLovin. He has the worst fake ID ever, but he is down to help them buy alcohol until he gets thrown into a police car by two cops. And the pressure is on to make this night magical, because in two months, Seth and Evan are going to graduate and go to separate colleges.

[Paul Scheer]

Now, the real Seth and Evan go to a high school that throws a lot of house parties. So they collect.

[Amy Nicholson]

I'm so jealous.

[Paul Scheer]

And they collect a lot of real life material. I mean, yes, they did fill a laundry detergent bottle with beer.

[Amy Nicholson]

That's wild. I cannot believe you could rinse it well enough to make that work.

[Paul Scheer]

That's what I feel like you. They could do it. But I was thinking, I was like, it's gonna taste bad. It is. I mean, but again, when you are that young, just the idea of sipping a beer, you don't even know what it tastes like. I Remember, just hating the taste of beer now. Oh, can't get up without one.

[Amy Nicholson]

But then a few years into the writing the Superbad script, they get separated too, because Seth gets cast in Freaks and Geeks, he moves to la, but they keep writing long distance. When Freaks and Geeks spins off into the TV show Undeclared, the show's producer, dad Apatow invites them to do a script ready of Superbad.

[Paul Scheer]

And everyone loves it. I mean, Superbad is, you know, one of those scripts that I think just jumps off the page. Greg Mottola wants to direct it, but here's the thing. No studio wants to make it. No one thinks that an R rated teen movie is going to sell tickets. And Seth and Evan have no interest in making it pg 13.

[Amy Nicholson]

But when Judd Apatow officially becomes a brand, brand, brand with the 40 year old Virginia, finally Superbad gets greenlit. Amy Pascal is basically like, bring me everything these guys are doing. They have something. But by then, Seth is too old to play himself as a teenager. So they go with Jonah Hill. Jonah hill is only one year younger. He's 23, but he really, really wants the part. Seth thinks he's too old, but then Jonah Hill shaves his face, insists on an addition and lands the role.

[Paul Scheer]

That blows my mind. He's only one year younger. He looks, I mean, when you look at them, because they're both in the film, he looks significantly younger. I never realized that.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, it's really wild. And it's wild to think that seth is only 24 and playing a cop with this handlebar mustache.

[Paul Scheer]

I know, wow. See, facial hair changes everything. Michael Cera plays Evan Christopher Mintz Platz McLovin. Now that's the real find. I mean, that was like, who do we get to play this character? Allison Jones, one of the classic casting directors of all time. Like, if you love comedy, you have seen her cast. She does everything from the Office to Widow's Bay to Undeclared. Like, I mean she's her list of

[Amy Nicholson]

she shaped everything like she's everything.

[Paul Scheer]

Give her Oscars, give her Emmys, give her everything. But she finds this kid like out of nowhere and wow.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. And she finds Emma Stone. Emma Stone and Martha macisa as playing their crushes, Jules and Becca. And this is Emma Stone's first movie too, by the way, as you mentioned. Seth Rogen, Bill Hader, they play the two cops.

[Paul Scheer]

Now Superbad is released on August 13, 2007, two months after the massive success of Knocked up. It cost about 18 million to make and it Makes almost double its money back that first weekend, earning 170 million. Now, I may be wrong on this, but I don't think I am. Superbag came out, like we said, in August, which is kind of like not a trash month for movies. But it's. I always like an August release because it's like mid August means we're taking a chance here. We don't know if this is going to work. And if I am correct, Superbag came in not at number one, but worked its way to number one. And it's something that I always think about. It's like we very rarely have movies that go up, right? They just go down. And I think this is probably one of the last examples of a movie that's not like an independent one, that's in like a thousand theaters or even less, probably 500 going up. This is a wide release film. That word of mouth actually makes it become a bigger hit.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah, I remember I was a baby critic when this came out and there was this huge excitement over the 12 punch of 40 year old version and Superbad. It really felt like, okay, you know, this isn't just going to be like the Adam McKay Will Ferrell Show. Like, this is a whole family of people that are really going to start changing things in this town.

[Paul Scheer]

So wild. I mean, this really became the new comedy. We talked about that a lot in our 40 year old virgin episode. As a matter of fact, we said that might have been a defining movie of this time. Anyway, Superbad is a defining movie of this time. It's number 157 on the letterbox. Top 250 films with the most fans, right? Kind of in the middle, Roughly in

[Amy Nicholson]

the middle of being at the top.

[Paul Scheer]

You know, Amy, you and I both saw this movie in the theaters and like we were saying in the beginning of the episode, it was kind of mind blowing because, you know, 40 year old virgin was incredibly funny and it felt like, oh, wow, this is a different R rated comedy than Wedding Crashers, right? It, it, there's like a little bit of love in it. There's a little bit of softness in it. And I, and I say that with the utmost respect, right? You could have two things at once, which is like you could go for the full gross out. You can go for these jokes that you would never make, like, you know, what porn site should Jonah Hill be subscribing to, right? And. But then have some real heart, real characters. I mean, one of the things I have to call out about this movie that makes it Incredibly Special is Martha McIsaac and Emma Stone because their characters are realized and fully, you know, have wants and needs that aren't just the girl.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, they're really funny. Like that was the part that popped to me this time is there. You know, there's this scene where Martha as Becca is super wasted. She's trying to seduce Michael Sarah and she's a little too drunk to do any of this. But her version of drunk is so funny. This is her stripping and just making goofy little noises. A little something for you under here. You look so pretty. Did he under there?

[Paul Scheer]

Hello. Dooba doo doo doo.

[Amy Nicholson]

Oh, you're the best. You're so unique. Come here. Like that's what I like about this movie is that it gives the girls a chance to be as funny.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah. And I feel like it's a good representation of. Everybody has these urges too. Right. It's not like we've spent so much time in teen comedy for the most part watching guys want to get laid. Right?

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. That's like every 80s movie ever.

[Paul Scheer]

Right. And so this movie I think levels the playing field. And obviously we are with Seth and Evan. It's their journey, but it's their mindset which is narrow. But like Emma Stone can roll with Jonah Hill who is like arguably the grossest guy in the movie as far as like his level of humor and the things that he says. Like she's not just a girl who laughs at him like that typical thing, you know, where it's like the laughing girl like oh you're so funny. Like she can go toe to toe with him a little bit.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah, she shows up clear eyed, sober, with her own opinions on things. I mean he's basically like what, human Cartman?

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, I mean truly.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, he is. Like when I hear him talk, I just hear human Cartman. You know when you hear girls saying like, ah, I was so shit faced

[Paul Scheer]

last night, I shouldn't have fucked that gu. We could be that mistake.

[Amy Nicholson]

He, he's like that just gigantic big ball of like energy, testosterone id wants a bunch of things that he doesn't know if he should if what they even would mean for his life. Right. Just grasping, grasping, grasping. Like there's something about Seth the, the Jonah Hill version of Seth that is like almost like he's putting on grown man dress up. Right. Like he's saying what he means, but it's kind of also what he thinks he should mean.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, I feel like that's what makes Jonah's character so lovable. He is putting on A mask too. Like, he does have these emotions. And I think that the combination of Judd Apatow and Greg Mottola coming in help get this movie to feel really emotionally complete. Because Greg Mottola, you know, if you don't know or you're not familiar with him, he's kind of, at this point, known, like, as maybe the next Woody Allen. Like, his debut movie, the Day Trippers, won a Grand jury prize at Slamdance, you know, and even Woody Allen put him in movies, right? Like, wasn't he in, like, Celebrity? I have to look that up, and I should probably do that before the episode. But all I will say is that Woody Allen likes Greg Mottola and Greg Mottola. I love Day Trippers, and there's a grittiness to it, but there's also an emotional core there. And, you know, Mottola now is directing for Apatow, and I feel like his ability to make these characters real is a real fine touch. And I think Seth and Evan obviously have that in the script, but they're pushing them towards. Let's give us a little bit more. Because the original ending of the script was just Seth and Evan waking up after they pass out at the house. And, like, Seth's character makes fun of Evan's mom having nice breasts, and Evan says, fuck you, and then credits.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, that was like a kind of eternal cycle of shame, right?

[Paul Scheer]

And that's how the movie kind of starts. And. But, you know, Jud really pushes him. Like, we need to. We need more. We need. Like, we need to see more here of you guys. So that started to be about developing the full sleeping bag scene. You know, what's going on here, like, what's happening between these two characters. And. And then adding the mall scene, which I think really let you look at the movie in a completely different way. It's the emotional climax of the film, and it kind of absolves or explains a lot of the characters. And you see them kind of grow up in that moment.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah, you have to go on this arc with them. You know, this kind of gets seeded from them being, like, two guys who are just joking and kind of screwing around, you know, being like, this dude. Eh, whatever. I can't imagine what you're gonna do without each other next year. Evan told me he didn't get to Dartmouth.

[Paul Scheer]

I got into some schools, some pretty good ones, so I'll be fine.

[Amy Nicholson]

You gonna miss each other? No. Miss each other? No. Thank you. I know I don't miss each other.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, I'm gonna cry myself to sleep.

[Amy Nicholson]

Every night. Me too.

[Paul Scheer]

When I'm out partying.

[Amy Nicholson]

Go to school, boys. To finally realizing that it's okay to get this open. And I wanna play a lot of, like, the ending scene. Cause I think it's really beautiful. I owe you so much. You carried me. I love you. I love you, man. I love you. I love you.

[Paul Scheer]

I'm not even embarrassed to say it. I just. I love you.

[Amy Nicholson]

I'm not embarrassed.

[Paul Scheer]

I love you.

[Amy Nicholson]

I love you. It's like, why don't we say that every day? Why can't we say it more often? I just love you.

[Paul Scheer]

I just want to go to the

[Amy Nicholson]

rooftops and just scream. I love my best friend Evan. We should go up on my roof. For sure. I mean, I have to ask you this, Paul. Like, was it that mind blowing to see teen boys talk like this to each other?

[Paul Scheer]

You know, at this point, I'm older and I think I want these moments in film because I'm a sucker for a rom com. Right. I'm ready to go. Like, I want to have these emotional moments.

[Amy Nicholson]

And.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, you love your friends. Like, I watch the way that my wife speaks about her friends. And, you know, I would say within the last 10 years, the thing that's come into my life with my male friends is like, hey, I love you, man. I love you. Like, there is that way of speaking that I don't think was ever there, not in high school. And I do think that there's a lot.

[Amy Nicholson]

No, my boy has commented on that too. Yeah. He's like, lately, my guy friends all say that they love me a lot. And it's, like, really nice.

[Paul Scheer]

It is. And I feel like a movie like this kind of puts it out front and center. Right. Here's what I would say. I may not believe that these characters could say it, but they're saying it maybe in this drunk moment. And I think that that's what's so really nice about it. When they're booping each other's noses like that. And that's the elevated version of the script. But I think that that impact, this movie's impact is this. We were able to get in touch with our core. We can be everything we are. We can be multidimensional people. But you can say I love you. And it's maybe it's also. It's 2007, so I don't know. There's always been homophobia, especially, you know, in this era. There's a lot of gay jokes in this movie, but I don't feel like the movie Is anti gay. But I also feel like, you know,

[Amy Nicholson]

this movie, they're very adamant to show that their sleeping bags are different colors. So you know that they're not under like the same blanket.

[Paul Scheer]

But, you know, I think that it's kind of coming out of this area where we would maybe be nervous from a heterosexual point of view to be like, well, can two heterosexual guys say I love you? It's like, yeah, you can. But nothing is. There's nothing wrong with that. Like, there's nothing wrong about showing emotions. And that's really back to the Apatow of it all, what he brings to it. And I think that his emotional core, the thing that Apatow says he brought to this movie was I told the guys it was about the panic of losing your best friend to growing up. And, you know, this is this thing that I think is hard to articulate, but that senior year of high school, going away, life is changing. Yes. You're leaving your parents, and we often are like, oh, I'm sad to leave my house, I'm sad to leave my dog. But what about your friends? Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

When you're in high school, your friends are, I would say, more important than your parents.

[Paul Scheer]

100%.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. It's just like shaping your life, shaping who you think about, shaping what matters.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

It's scary to be like, this is my crew that I have spent years with and what's gonna happen? Cause you know that it's gonna be different. Like, I mean, I just got to see my high school best friend, like this month. It was terrific. And it was like, wonderful to kind of just slip back into, like, ta da. We could still talk just exactly like we did in front of her, like, young son who's now the age that we were when we first started hanging out.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, that is so special. That's so special. I'm like freshly just reminded of how special it is. But it's scary cause you know that you will probably see them less going on in the rest of your life than you did in the last four years.

[Paul Scheer]

It really. It's a big emotional shift. And even by addressing it, I think this does wonders for that. Like, it's something that I've never seen in a movie. That's the most unique thing about it. Yes, the language is interesting, the way they talk about it, but it's like really addressing that. You know, we see it in Boyfriend, Girlfriend, but we've never seen it with friends.

[Amy Nicholson]

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[Paul Scheer]

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[Amy Nicholson]

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[Paul Scheer]

The hurting tell me talk about the

[Amy Nicholson]

hurting and I will never be right on. And then you have Jonah Hill kind of thrust into this world of, like, a group of guys who are like, yeah, beat each other up, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, at this, like, adult house party where everybody genuinely looks old. And I remember that feeling of going to a party where you're like, oh, wait, no, I'm not cool enough to be here yet. As much as I want to think that I am.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, the movie does a great job of, like, you know, undercutting them, right? Putting them back in the position of, no, no, these are children. Like, these are, you know, they're not. They're not even out. They're just out of high school. And I think that, like, Jonah is a guy who can say disgusting things but still be sympathetic. And I think moments like putting him in that adult party also help lower his status, right? And that's what you need to do. Like, you need to. Like, he's a big talker and that. And that's the fun. You see him in the first, you know, scene of the movie, or roughly the first scene, getting spit on by that older kid.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, but that older kid also looks lame himself. Like, it looks like somebody should be spitting on that kid.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah. I mean, look, 100%. And I feel like. But it's a hierarchy. Like, he was. He's not cool. These are not cool kids. They set them up as not being cool kids. And Michael Cera, you know, I think he's so lovable in this movie. I think he's lovable always, but he's also so funny and awkward and shy, but in a way that is real. And I think both of these personalities are true to the high school experience. Right? They are. They're neither the nerdiest. They're not the outcast. They're just kind of like that crew. Like, I had a crew. We all have crews. Like, we're not the. We're not. We're neither the superlatives nor the ones that people are making fun of. We're just, like, kind of in our own little world. And I think Michael Cera is trying so hard to bust out of that crew, but there's a safety in that crew. And, you know, his casting seems so crazy, right? Cause it's like, I think Jay Baruchell told Rogan, like, dude, you should cast this kid. Michael Cera and Seth Rogen hadn't even seen Arrested Development. He's like, all right, great. Now, whether or not that is true, who knows? But it was kind of just put together on a lark. And I think that Michael has a heart on his sleeve, but also can deliver jokes so well. That opening scene about, hey, your mom's hot, or, what was it like to suck on those, you know, breasts? And he's like, well, I don't know. What was it like to suck on your dad's dick? Or whatever? Like, whatever that opening line is.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, when he says something filthy, it's

[Paul Scheer]

shocking, but it's also like, oh, you can't fuck with this guy. Like, he's not like, a wimp. He's not like, oh, don't say that about my mom. Right. It's different kind of stereotypes.

[Amy Nicholson]

And that's really hard to do because I think a lot of this kind of passive character gets played as the wimp. And instead, I think, like, Sarah kind of finds a way to be really funny in his nervousness. Like, in his deadpanness, the way, like, he doesn't really break character, like, even tiny things. I love it when he shows up at this party finally with all of the boos, and Becca's friend is like, oh, my God, she totally wants to hook up with you. And I just want to hear, like, the musicality he brings to the word. To the word? What, she told you that she thinks

[Paul Scheer]

I'm a good guy?

[Amy Nicholson]

No, no, she said something more like, I will fully blow him to. I mean, in that sound, you have, like, a tiny bit of excitement, a lot of fear, a huge amount of doubt. This really can't be true. And paralysis. You know, he gets all of that in, like, a one weird, strange, lilting syllable.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, I'll tell you, Amy, if we're talking about, like, the awkwardness or the excitement of that, I will say the moment or the most uncomfortable I am in this movie is watching the sex scenes for that same kind of reason. It doesn't feel like a movie sex scene at all. I'm like, ooh, now I feel like I can't watch this. It's not even explicit, but it's so uncomfortable.

[Amy Nicholson]

I hate the McLovin one, honestly, because that's the one female character who's just sort of there.

[Paul Scheer]

Yes.

[Amy Nicholson]

Right. I'll just hook up with anybody. I wear visible underwear. La dee da da da. Like, that's the one who's just like, I'm a stock bimbo from, like, every single movie ever.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, she's a little, like. She's definitely. We don't spend that much time with her to know, but I think it's a funny. It's almost like you need her to ramp up something, like, with him for, like, a climax.

[Amy Nicholson]

Uh, it's a climax.

[Paul Scheer]

Don't climax. But I guess, like, in all those. All those moments, you're just feeling like, oh, oh, oh. Like, they all want this thing so bad, and the movie doesn't glorify it. It kind of shows how complicated and awkward it is, and that's really interesting. And again, it goes to lower status, right? Because every high school movie I've watched before this, it's like, the getting laid section is, like, it all worked out perfectly, you know? And. Nope, like, here it doesn't work out, but it's also not bad. And it's like, yeah, the guys and the girls are afraid, and it's. No one's that cool. I think it is a really important movie in that way. The same way, like, Big Mouth, I think, is really important for kids to watch as they go through puberty or American Pie.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, it's been a minute since I've seen American Pie, but I feel like American Pie kind of laid the first groundwork of just even saying women want it, too.

[Paul Scheer]

Yes, 100%. Yeah, 100% now.

[Amy Nicholson]

But, yeah. Like, nobody in this movie, though, is, like, the hot guy from the teen movie. You know, there's, like, this hot guy villain who's like, I get all the girls and I do all of this. Like, nobody in here is actually cast as, like, the person who kind of throws off the reality of the situation.

[Paul Scheer]

No, I mean, the hottest guy in

[Amy Nicholson]

here is, like, Dave Franco, who shows up as, like, the dude who just, like, is known around school for peeing his pants. And just in honor of the World Cup, I have to play a tiny bit of that scene. Look, Evan, we're down two points. Fucking calm down, Greg. It's socce. It's soccer. Fuck you, man. Hey, Greg, why don't you go piss your pants again? That was, like, eight years ago, asshole.

[Paul Scheer]

People don't forget.

[Amy Nicholson]

Ah. We are all back to the world of just soccer. It's just soccer.

[Paul Scheer]

Wait a second. I was gonna say, I thought the hot guy in the movie, you know, is Kevin Corgan. Like, he's, you know, he's like the tough, cool, like, guy, you know? But I mean, like, he carries himself with this weight of, I don't know what's going on with that relationship with his girlfriend. And, you know, Carla Gallo is so funny in that, you know, but there's so much going on. And even Joe Latrulio, who's just so, like. There's so much creepy but cool but whatever.

[Amy Nicholson]

I don't know what's going there on MySpace. Oh, God. Jolietre.

[Paul Scheer]

I know we talked about this before, but, you know, Christopher Mintz plots another character. This is, to me, probably the most stereotypical character or archetype, like, the nerd. But, whoa, Never have we seen this level of nerd, right? It's not. It's not the same nerd. And there's a funny quote, I believe, that Seth Rogen was saying, like, at a certain point, after seeing all these auditions for McLovin, they're like, this is unactable. Like, did we write a character that no one can perform? They were going to.

[Amy Nicholson]

He has a nerd with swagger.

[Paul Scheer]

Yes.

[Amy Nicholson]

He has to be a nerd that when you look at him, everybody agrees that's a nerd. It can't just be like, he's a hot guy and thinks he's a nerd. Or, you know, like, the girl, put the glasses on. Take the glasses off. He's nerdy. He's not. He's nerdy. He's not. Like, he has to be a legit, inescapable nerd who thinks he's cool as hell.

[Paul Scheer]

And it's a very true Persona that we've never really seen. Right? And this is the cool thing about the movie is, like, they're giving you the more realistic versions. It's not the Breakfast Club versions. Right. Breakfast Club does such a good job of saying, like, hey, you know us as this, but we are also that. This is really what high school's about. You're not really anything, you know, for the most part, you're a little bit of everything. And Allison Jones, like, we talked about, she, you know, actually set up a MySpace profile to get auditions for this character. And. And that's how, like, Mintz Platz found out about it. And, you know, just kind of came in, took his headshot on a flip phone, and, you know, I think there's a line where Mottola said he was a kid who probably had seen the inside of a locker. And that, to me, is like, yeah, you feel like, oh, yeah, this is a kid who. Who even had the swagger to audition for this without having any acting experience. Like, that is McLovin.

[Amy Nicholson]

And, yeah, I actually pulled a little bit of his audition.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, great.

[Amy Nicholson]

Because I want you to listen to how he interacts with Jonah in particular.

[Paul Scheer]

What the fuck?

[Amy Nicholson]

Just pick a normal name. Fogle. Actually, Seth, I know you wouldn't know this because you're stupid, but Muhammad is the most commonly used name on earth.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, actually, I did fucking know that, but not in where we are right now. Fucking Iran. It's the most common name, but not here.

[Amy Nicholson]

Do you hear how he's kind of stepping on Jonah's line? Oh. How he's kind of impatient to, like, insult him. I mean, he's improving some of the insults that he does in his audition.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, and Jonah hated it.

[Amy Nicholson]

Hated it. Hated him. Was like, do not cast that guy. Do not cast that guy brilliantly. They were like, we're definitely casting that guy. It's gonna make the tension between them so good.

[Paul Scheer]

Mottola had a great line. He was like. He was Dean Martin instead of Jerry Lewis. Right? He was playing it like the coolest guy in the room. And that's such a fun part. And I forgot how much he separated from the guys on his own adventure, you know? And, you know he's on this journey. But that swagger is so important because he thinks he's pulling off this. This kind of, hey, guys, I'm actually 25. I mean, you know, like, and that energy helps him.

[Amy Nicholson]

He's like. He's stunned that he thinks it's working right. But then he leans in, he's pulling it off, but he's like, I guess I am. This is incredible.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah. You know, he's getting advice about, like,

[Amy Nicholson]

how to live, how to don't meet women at bars, you know, like, by these two cops who, like, I think are kind of lovingly bonded over, you know, their ex wives and knowing each other's, like, foibles. He's. He's becoming welcomed into the world of men, where I think he has just been, like, expecting to belong, but not entirely expecting that he will belong.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, it's so interesting how this movie, I think, prevents so many actors from being pigeonholed. Right. You know, I mean, it's hard to

[Amy Nicholson]

be a Christopher Mentz Platt.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, yes, that is. Well, it's also this character. I don't even know what that character is because he is that kind of version. But I'm saying, like, the. More like the Jonah Hill and even the Emma Stone, like, you see them more like, if they were in a traditional movie, I think you'd always see, like, Jonah Hill as a side character who's like, the, like, the bad version of John Belushi in Animal House. And Emma Stone might always be, like, the girlfriend or something like that, but this movie really does a service to everybody. And I do believe Christmas Plots gets us, too, to be fully fleshed out characters. They get to show more than a typical teen movie would ever let them show.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah.

[Paul Scheer]

Not just in a moment.

[Amy Nicholson]

Chris isn't, like, bullied into casting, like, a normie for the lead. Yeah, we need an everyman to be the lead. You know, it makes it. Honestly, now that I'm thinking about it, I feel like this had to be at least partially a template for it. Have you seen Pizza Movie yet on Hulu?

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, I love it.

[Amy Nicholson]

Pizza Movie's so good. Pizza Movie. People who have not seen Pizza Movie, this is one of my favorite, like, just throwback retro comedies that just came out this year. Amazing. It was at South By. It's one of the best things I saw at South By. It has this in it, right? You've got, like, the blustering character, and then you've got, like the. The Sarah character kind of roaming around and it. Yeah, it's A good template because I feel like when a studio is forced to cast like a. Everybody relates to this guy. Normie, honestly, those movies are less interesting to me.

[Paul Scheer]

I totally agree. You know, it's. To me, we are getting more and more into not, like, niche, but this idea of, you know, I think it's a bad thing to say, write what you know, because then it's like, well, can't we just write bigger than what we know? But I think that that note is often misconstrued because it's about right from a personal experience. Like, you can imbue your characters with. With a personal experience. It can be in an outlandish world, but make your characters real and grounded, and that's what this movie does. And I think Judd Apatow starts this off. And as you can see, Seth and Evan and Jonah and, you know, they all make their movies and they all go forward. And that's the one thing about them, they feel autobiographical. Whether it's the Amy Schumer movie or, you know, or the Pete Davidson movie. They work to varying degrees. But it's like, let's embrace that these are not cookie cutter characters. We've been living in the 80s and 90s that delivered such, like, staple characters. And I feel like the 2000s really is about creating, I think, less stereotypes in a way.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, it's strange because this is coming out, I would say the real surge of nerd power. And I feel like it's kind of folded into nerd power, even though these are characters who don't want to wear the mantle of nerd, are trying to shake off the mantle of nerd. Instead of being like, I'm a nerd and this is my space, and you're not allowed here. V can't answer these 12 things about the Thunderbolts comic book series. But what it does, I think, have, too, is in the realness of seeing somebody like McLovin on screen. And why I was saying kind of like my heart goes out to Christopher Mintz Platz, too, is because I cannot imagine what it's like to not have thought a year ago that you were going to be an actor and then suddenly start getting chased out of Chipotle's. Suddenly Just be so recognizable as how you are, as how you kind of look in normal life. Like, he shows up to the audition just looking like this. This is how he looks. He's not shaving his face all the way down like Jonah is trying to pass for high school. I cannot imagine that kind of zero

[Paul Scheer]

to 60 fame yeah, I mean, I know Chris and I worked with him on Year one, you know, after this movie, and Sarah actually. And, you know, it's really interesting. Cause it's like. It's like the Joey from Friends, Right. He becomes iconic. It's Napoleon Dynamite. It is such a character that it's hard to see him any other way.

[Amy Nicholson]

And

[Paul Scheer]

I feel like those performances, while great, are such. Can handcuff you, it can make you. It's an albatross in a way. So I don't know. I feel like it's. You know, movies like this, especially high school movies, when you're discovering people, it's. Sometimes that's the problem is, oh, it's the first time I'm ever seeing anybody. So you become that.

[Amy Nicholson]

And it's like, no wonder that, like, Anthony Michael hall, like, got really buff.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

Before he, like, switched into movies like Edward Scissorhands.

[Paul Scheer]

100%.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. I mean, I will say, you know, Fogle is based on a real guy named Fogle. Because a lot of the characters in here are just name checked on people that, like, the real Seth and Evan knew in real life. The real Fogle, who. I'll let you hear his voice in a second. He grew up kind of good looking.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, there you go.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, today we're on the set of Super Bad. And there's a very, very special guest today. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the real Fogle. Hello. Almost every character is based on a

[Paul Scheer]

real person, so there is a real Fogle. And when he was around 13 or 14, he acted exactly like the character in the movie. And we really had a hard time casting it. We thought it was unactable.

[Amy Nicholson]

That's how hard it was.

[Paul Scheer]

We started thinking we wrote a character that no one in the world can perform properly. And we were literally just going to change it. We were like, maybe we have to completely rewrite it. And then this young man came in

[Amy Nicholson]

and stole our hearts. I was happy to see that. Good for you, Fogel. Like, you're going to carry this name around for the rest of your life. But at least people will be like, oh, better than I expected. Good job.

[Paul Scheer]

And I will say that the real Fogel was present from many of the experiences that ended up in the movie, including the cocaine party. Uh, you know, so they. And. And I think Seth and Evan have said, like, he was never as nerdy as the one that they wrote. I think that Seth and Evan, you know, they use similar names all throughout. Like, there's an. I think there's a character in here called Remic. And that's whose character. That's the same name that Seth uses on the studio. Right. So it's like, there. I think that's just kind of getting in all their friends, by the way.

[Amy Nicholson]

But, like, how would you feel, though, if there was a character like this named Paul Scheer?

[Paul Scheer]

Um, well, if it was Sheer, I'd be okay with it. If it was Paul Sheer, probably be a little tough, but if I'm not an actor, who cares? It'd be fun. It's like, oh, that's me. And then you would know me. And then it would be like, whatever. But you know what? We can ask somebody else. Steven Glansburg, who is mentioned in the movie. There's like a throwaway line where it's like, what am I eating lunch alone? Like, I'm fucking Steven Glan. That is also a childhood friend of them, of Seth and Evan, who grew up to be a family law attorney. And he says he still gets approached about Superbad, so he doesn't mind it. So Steven Glanzberg doesn't mind it. I won't mind it.

[Amy Nicholson]

Priceline negotiator.

[Paul Scheer]

It's me, the Priceline negotiator. We don't need the jingle twice. What about a third time? Stop it. This is about vacation inflation and how Priceline negotiates amazing deals on hotels, flights and rental cars.

[Amy Nicholson]

Seems like they decided.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, but I didn't mention that you can save up to 60% off hotels in the Priceline app.

[Amy Nicholson]

Time to be the timeline.

[Paul Scheer]

Fine. No one deals more deals than. Please stop Priceline. Touche.

[Amy Nicholson]

Priceline.

[Paul Scheer]

Priceline. King of the Hill is coming in hot.

[Amy Nicholson]

Bobby and Connie are official.

[Paul Scheer]

We were just warming each other up.

[Amy Nicholson]

Shut up. Oh, good God.

[Paul Scheer]

Hulu's hit animated series is back for a brand new season of big changes.

[Amy Nicholson]

Our communication skills could be a little better, Peggy. It's against golf etiquette. What does golf etiquette say about jamming this club into your mouth? Frowned upon.

[Paul Scheer]

The new season of the Hulu original King of the Hill, premiering July 20 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney. For bundled subscribers, terms apply. Couple interesting things about this movie. Dtf, right? I believe was started by this movie.

[Amy Nicholson]

It is. Which I did not believe until I really, really went and did the math. I was like, no way, no way, no way. Like, here is the first ever use of dtf. She's dtf.

[Paul Scheer]

She's down to fuck, man.

[Amy Nicholson]

P and V. G. She wants to fuck, man. And then here is probably why everybody on the planet started Saying dtf.

[Paul Scheer]

So Mike had also set something up where if he didn't bring anything back, he had these two girls that were DTF that would come to. To the house.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. Jersey Shore immediately picked it up and ran with it. I love it. I mean, wow. Have they done, like, the great expose on, Did Jersey Shore forever change our culture?

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, I mean, it's coming. It has to be coming.

[Amy Nicholson]

It has to be coming. Like, we're finally getting enough distance for it to be like, oh, my God. I mean, to have these two youth party phenomenons next to each other is kind of interesting because one thing that I admire about Superbad is they're on this whole quest for beer. Which, by the way, do you remember being on those kind of quests?

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, my gosh.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, I remember when somebody gave me a beer that I didn't feel like drinking at the time, and I took it home and hid it in my closet. So when I wanted that beer, I would have that beer. And then somehow, even though it was inside a perfume box, my mother found it. And I have always just considered that the great mystery of my life. How the hell did that happen?

[Paul Scheer]

As a parent, now I can tell you we know everything. I remember Zima was big for me, and I was like. I thought, okay, I don't like beer, but I like Zima. Cause it tasted like Sprite. And I was like. And so it was always like, we could get Zima and Boone's Farm. That was the two that were the most accessible to.

[Amy Nicholson]

Oh, my God.

[Paul Scheer]

And it was so sugary and so gross.

[Amy Nicholson]

I remember in college trying to convince people that the Carlo Rossi giant jug of wine in the paisano flavor was wonderful. Like, no, no, no. Get the paisano. It's the best one of the Carlo and Rossi gigantic milk chunks of wine. But no, what it was hard to say, though, is, like, when you do finally get to the party with all of the booze except for the Goldschlager, that gets broken. The movie doesn't make getting drunk look that fun. Honestly. No, it's hot fun for a minute. And then everybody just looks tired, lazy, exhausted. Shaggy not present, right.

[Paul Scheer]

No, it's. I think what this movie shows is the reality of a high school party. Like, there are mistakes made. I. You know, the idea of it, it's like New Year's. The idea of New Year's and going out and having a great time sounds so good. But then the reality of it becomes, like, a mess, and you realize, oh, maybe the best New Year's is just like, the one where I'm just chilling with people that I love to hang out with. And it's really fun. And in many ways, I see this movie kind of as a connector to, like, Fast Times, you know, Fast Times, like, Cameron Crowe embedded himself to get, like, a real world perspective of, like, what it was like to be a teen. And this movie is kind of doing the same thing. It's showing you, like, yeah, getting drunk. It's, like, fine. And the sex is awkward, if you even have it. And you. It's weird to look at the person that you kind of messed up with the night before and how do they feel? And I love that scene at the mall because it's like they're also dealing with the effects of the day after, which no one ever talks about, like, no, like, in movies or at this point, like, that's always. The hardest part, is like, oh, what did I say? What did I do? Remember, I kissed a girl at a party that was dating somebody else. And then I had to, like, lie about doing that. And I was like, oh, no. You know, it's like.

[Amy Nicholson]

And you made all the drama so big because it was really, like, all you had going on.

[Paul Scheer]

Of course. And I feel like this movie shows the reality of it. And it's not like, and we'll never do that again. It's just like. But it's real, and that's what's relatable about it. And I think that's why Fast Times also connects. It's like, yeah, that's what was going on then. Fast Times doesn't connect to me because it's older than me. This movie connects to me because it's about the same age as I am, you know, and.

[Amy Nicholson]

And I feel like I'm more of a Fast Times girl because I feel like Fast Times definitely has such a female pov, thanks to Amy Heckerling, that I can really see myself in those characters. Like, I like Jules and Becca in here because I think, like, Emma stone and Martha MacIsaac do a really good job grounding them. Like, they feel real, but I don't feel like the film is actually ever in their heads. They're just real. And that's fine. Like, it isn't. They are. They're not the star. They're not the star the way, like, you know, Jennifer Jason Leigh is of Fast Times. But I do appreciate how, honestly, Emma Stone's character is really the only one who's able to kind of set things right. She kind of comes in at the end at the mall. Basically, like classic Jane Austen. Emma. I'm the person who arranges everything, who sees who should be with who. Let me put them all together. You go with her. You go with her. She just kind of solves it straight away. And I don't know, there's something about Emma Stone's delivery like that. That wizened voice inside of this, like, cheerful high school girl that just feels mature.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, absolutely. I feel like this sets the precedent for her whole career. And it's funny, cause studio didn't want her. Like you said, this is her first movie role. She was in, I think, Malcolm in the Middle and was very close to Heroes, but lost that to Hayden Panettaire. And one of the things that they did that kind of, I don't know, defines her. But Judd Apatow was like, you know, she should dye her hair red. And that, you know, separated her from, I guess, the way that she was like.

[Amy Nicholson]

Cause they both have brown hair. Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Scheer]

And it became like her look. And I feel like people liked her energy and her attitude. And I feel like she can come out of this movie as somebody who has that self assuredness. You know, she. You know, her career is launched out of here. You get Easy A, which I think is another great, great movie, La La Land, you know, and then now she's doing a myriad of great, weird, fun things. But I feel like.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, well, you know what she was known for before this, if she was known at all, it's because she was on this reality show that was about trying to make a new version of the Partridge Family.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, I remember that.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. Where people were competing to be part of the new Partridge Family.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, I didn't realize she was on that.

[Amy Nicholson]

So she. She was on the competition and she won. This is her, like, competing to be one of the Partridge Family singing, I would say, a stone cold 90s classic. Wow. Here comes Emily Stone. So good to me I know But I can't change I tried to tell you but you look at me like

[Paul Scheer]

maybe I'm the angel of the people

[Amy Nicholson]

in a s. I'm a. I'm a

[Paul Scheer]

lover, I'm a child I'm a mother I'm s. Holy cow. That is nuts.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. I mean, she's going by Emily Stone here. That's how early it is. Emily Stone. This woman will go on to be one of our great living actors, which makes me be like, should I watch reality show competitions? I have no interest in doing it. But you never know.

[Paul Scheer]

You never know. Speaking of music, the music for Superbad is also very cool. Right. The whole score is built around 70s

[Amy Nicholson]

funk, which I love.

[Paul Scheer]

It's so cool. And they actually reassembled a lot of amazing musicians. They had Bootsy Collins doing bass. They had Bernie Worrell from the Parliament Funkadelic. Clyde Stubblefield, which is James Brown's drummer. Also Jaebo Starks. Also, like, they actually had a whole reunion of James Brown's backing band, which is cool. I think that, like, you know, and the songs were like, Curtis Mayfield, Rick James Casey and the Sunshine Band, you know? It also, I think, makes the movie feel timeless, you know? Yeah. You have Van Halen's Panama, but even that is old. By the time this movie comes out, it's, you know, it's neat.

[Amy Nicholson]

It is. I mean, I love that opening where you have, like, the retro funk and they're doing little dance moves. You're getting a tiny bit of their personality. It also, to me, looks very much like, hey, we're doing an ipod commercial.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah. Oh, I love that. That opening is so great.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah.

[Paul Scheer]

By the way, did you know this is a weird, like, side thing, and I don't know if I could pick up on it, but the score was written in the key of F, so all the new compositions blended seamlessly with the vintage soul and funk tracks. But that's, like, a really cool, neat thing.

[Amy Nicholson]

I thought you were gonna be like,

[Paul Scheer]

you know, the key of F. Oh, geez. By the way, you know how many

[Amy Nicholson]

notes each song has? 69.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, let's talk about the key of F. How many times do you think the F word was uttered in this movie?

[Amy Nicholson]

Oh, 69.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah. 186 times. That is. Wow.

[Amy Nicholson]

That's three times as big as.

[Paul Scheer]

That's an average of 1.6 F words per minute. And Jonah Hill, how many times did he say the F word out of the.186 times.

[Amy Nicholson]

Do you really want me to say it?

[Paul Scheer]

Do you know it?

[Amy Nicholson]

69.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, yeah. 84. 84. Superbad has more F words than Scarface. Scarface says it 182 times. And I believe Scarface is longer.

[Amy Nicholson]

So this is more condensed.

[Paul Scheer]

Yes. By the way, I watched the extended cut. I was like, you know, I'm gonna watch the extended cut. Here's the thing. The best compliment I can give to a movie is I did not notice the movie being longer, that it was extended. It's like, almost two hours at the extended cut. And I'm like, they probably. I was like, oh, I think that that's an added scene, but it's just you want to live in this world. You love these characters. The conversations are really funny. And, you know, they have that thing, like the Quentin Tarantino thing where you're just like, oh, I just want to, like, hear these characters give each other shit or talk about this or whatever it is. It just. It didn't feel long.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah. I mean, you know, part of why it's longer is there's just these, like, detours when, you know, Jonah Hill, Seth, is getting everybody to do shots at the party. There's a dude just doing a random Christopher Walken impersonation.

[Paul Scheer]

Let's do another one.

[Amy Nicholson]

To me, to this man right here.

[Paul Scheer]

The bringer of the booze, the instigator of the imbibements, the allocator of the alcohol.

[Amy Nicholson]

Seth to you.

[Paul Scheer]

Let's do one to be uncomfortable right now.

[Amy Nicholson]

I mean, that's just the sort of thing where you're like, we don't need it, but why not?

[Paul Scheer]

No, I mean, that's the fun of it. It's just like, these little bits, like, I may remember even in, like. And Knocked up, like, just like, the fun. Like, Wu Tang stuff. Like, it's like. I feel like that's what gives the movie its flavor. That's what makes it feel like, oh, it's in our world.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, that's also one of the things I think is really scary about the cop scenes is because, you know, like, Seth Rogen, to get these cops right, he went on LAPD rides. He went on this LAPD ride with this one cop all around town, and he said, this is his quote. It was truly one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Because of the cop. The cop was the worst cop on earth, or maybe an incredibly average cop. He didn't seem to give a fuck about anything. He was antagonizing people, bothering people. He saw it as funny. Everything we do in the movie was within the capabilities of this guy that we went on a ride along with. Would. Would potentially act well.

[Paul Scheer]

But. But it also is based on Seth getting, like, kind of arrested by a cop too. Right? Isn't that part of this thing?

[Amy Nicholson]

What, he got arrested by a cop, too? Is he filtering that level of, like, oh, my God, this guy's a moron who doesn't know what he's doing. He's just trying to act, like, in control of being a bully.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, wait.

[Amy Nicholson]

Coming through his own filter or something.

[Paul Scheer]

Sorry, I'm confusing the story. Bill Hader based his character on a cop that arrested him. Yeah, he was telling Jimmy Kimmel, like, He said that Hayter was trying to create this prank that his dad told him about where you stretch a rope between two trash cans across the road, and then it would bang into a passing car. And the car was growing up in Oklahoma, probably.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[Paul Scheer]

And the passing car was a police cruiser. And he tried to play it cool and act innocent, and, you know, and the cop was like, fuck you. Made him pick up beer cans and arrested him. And the cop had glasses, which Hader told Rogan. And he was like, I can't take a cop with glasses seriously. And that's how they kind of base that character on him. Like, this kind of tough sometimes, because they get really tough at certain moments. Like, oh, shit. Like, they. They seem dangerous, but then they also. But they also have humanity to them as well. It's kind of interesting.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, they're big dorks. They're dorks. I mean, they're dorks. Lightsaber fights with their flashlights. But they're.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, they are McLovin or they. Or they're Seth and Evan. I mean, that's the other thing.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, they have guns. Like, the movie doesn't overlook the fact that these guys should not have guns. Yeah.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, it's a little sloppy. I mean, they do hit a kid, although he was pushed out in the middle of the road.

[Amy Nicholson]

But then they want to kill the kid as punishment.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, it feels like they're making a lot of bad decisions. I mean, they do lie on their reports, too. I was gonna say, you know, through all of this, you look at these movies that are part of the next generation, and I don't know if we've had the next one yet. I'm not sure. I love pizza movie. Talk about that. I think that Booksmart is really good. I don't know if that's, like, a culturally as important culturally as either Fast Times or Superbad. Maybe we don't know what the next one is, but I understand.

[Amy Nicholson]

I mean, we're due. We're due. There's a couple people in Pizza Movie besides the kid who's in Stranger Things that I'm like, yes. I want to see much, much, much, much, much, much, much more of them. I mean, the kid who plays the villain in Pizza movie, Jack Martin. Amazing. I want to see this kid in every movie.

[Paul Scheer]

I love that. That movie is so good. I wonder if, like, you know, we're experiencing this moment where it's like the back rooms of it all and the obsession of it all.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, it'll come when those Guys start making films where they can cast their own buddies too, or then the comedy

[Paul Scheer]

version of them come, like, you know, I didn't have to put a square peg in a round hole.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, they also do comedy. That's true. But I feel like

[Amy Nicholson]

that's true. Like, if we're looking at YouTube for directors, I wonder when we're gonna start, like, not just casting influencer talent, but talent. Talent.

[Paul Scheer]

I think that the most important thing, though, you know, we talk about this movie. It stylistically is interesting. It's incredibly funny. It's of the time. It creates terms that are still within our world. It creates characters that become iconic. It launches careers that are really running our industry right now. And all of that stuff is great. And it's sort of like this idea of like, well, how do we recapture that? And I think it comes down to what Amy Pascal said when she greenlit the movie. She said, yeah, this is a movie about boys who like to talk about their anatomy. In fact, they're obsessed with it. But the trick is this is a movie about friendship. And, you know, you take. That's why this movie is timeless. That's why I think kids will always be able to look back at this movie. It doesn't. Doesn't embrace, like, we'll always have a liquor store. We will always have high schools, you know, and it's really about friendship and it's about that. That's the core of this movie. It doesn't feel like it's trying to say this is a time period as much as it says this is a life experience that we all go through. And I think that that's really important. I think that people forget that. I think that we try to amp up so many things around it. And I love pizza movie for. I mean, the concept of it is really great, but it also, at its core, it's the same thing. It's very super bad coded, but it's got a lot more heightened shit in it, you know? Cause they're out of their mind high. But it's still. But that root is still there. It's about the friends. It's about the friendship. It's about, you know, this relatability. And I know where movies like this miss. It's because they're just going for the shock or they're just going like, remember that movie, like Project X? Remember that? It was like the house party found footage.

[Amy Nicholson]

Miles Teller was in that.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, Miles Teller also supposed to be in this, but wouldn't audition.

[Amy Nicholson]

Really?

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, it was going to be miles.

[Amy Nicholson]

Jonah, don't you know who I am? I'm going to be in Flashdance soon.

[Paul Scheer]

As Seth Rogen said he wouldn't audition, which means we couldn't afford him anyway. But 18 million. This movie made for 18 million. Isn't that crazy? Like, to think about that, like, 18 fucking million dollars. Like, this would be a movie that I feel like you'd make for six now. Not in the sense of, like, that's what used to do. We used to be able to make, like, a movie. Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

And trust in movies like this, which I miss completely.

[Paul Scheer]

I do.

[Amy Nicholson]

And, you know, I wanna. I wanna pick up on something you were just saying, and then maybe. Maybe I'm gonna do it with, like, a heightened metaphor. But, yes, this is a movie that has a lot of dicks both mentioned. And an illustration, like, the montage of all of the drawings of the dicks,

[Paul Scheer]

by the way, drawn by Evan's brother.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. That Jonah Hill has been doing since he was a kid. And there's, you know, like, chest burster dicks, Titanic, Mr. T, sushi chef, Iwo Jima, like Dr. Strangelove. I mean, this movie does have, like, a lot of great tiny film jokes, you know, being the Orson Wills of sex. But I think this movie maybe says, using the most primitive illustration of manhood, that men can be anything. You can take a man and he can do anything he wants. He can become a Mr. T. He can become, I don't know, Medusa. Like the. Now. Now. I'm stretching it too weird. But, like, I don't know. I think there is something in the idea of, like, you don't have to be limited to one idea of what a male role is. Look at all the things this. This dick can do.

[Paul Scheer]

And you know what, Amy?

[Amy Nicholson]

Are you gonna go with me on that? I am.

[Paul Scheer]

I actually am. I'm gonna go with you because I think the idea under this movie is don't judge a book by its cover. You know, you have Jonah, who's so abrasive but so sweet. You have these two friends who are afraid to say what they want or what they need to each other because it's too scary too. Right. Like, it's. It's so. They're acting in a way that they're trying to present themselves to be, like, it's not a big deal. And I think this movie is about, like, we all are more than what we see on the surface or even what we say on the surface. And you have to have that trust and that love to get to the best stuff of people and relationships.

[Amy Nicholson]

So you have to trust in the evolution of man into a giant dick.

[Paul Scheer]

I love it. Well, there. You can't say it better than that. Now, Amy, I've been getting a lot of feedback online that I am not letting you do American Tail. A lot of people are mad at me. They're like, just let her do it. Just let her do it. And It's American Tail 50.

[Amy Nicholson]

Wait, the Internet good after all.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, look, if you want to do American Tail, the wedding song of my mother is in this. When she got remarried somewhere out there. I would love to talk about that with you. I would love to talk about a Don Bluth movie. I said, I'm never stopping her from doing it. She just doesn't want to do it. I was like, we're always saying we want to do something. I've never said, let's not do American Tail.

[Amy Nicholson]

I've just been listening for your enthusiasm, and now I hear it all.

[Paul Scheer]

Right, there it is. American Tale, which you can watch wherever you want. I mean, I'm looking right now. It seems like YouTube is the best option, but I'm ready to jump in to some good. Some very good mouse patriotism. Yeah, some mouse. Some. What do I call it? The Yakov Smirnoff as a mouse, Fievel, a young Russian mouse, immigrates to America. And we're going to see it all. We're going to get it all.

[Amy Nicholson]

This is a terrific movie for people who have not seen this film and

[Paul Scheer]

a great way to celebrate America 250. Even though we're technically past the fourth, we're still in the vlog.

[Amy Nicholson]

We can celebrate all year.

[Paul Scheer]

I love it.

[Amy Nicholson]

I feel like we haven't gotten enough of the real celebration, so we'll just celebrate whenever we freaking feel like it.

[Paul Scheer]

Let's do it. American Tale. It's on Netflix. It's on YouTube. Let's get into it. I can't wait to watch this with you. And by the way, by the way, if you want to continue our super ad discussion, do it on our substack. We are releasing little substacks every week about the movies that we just talked about. But we also have brand new merch in the store. We have our Odyssey shirt. We have our letterbox shirt. We have our Terry Gilliam shirt. Check it out. You can make them into stickers or mugs or laptop cases, whatever you want. Unspooled is produced by Amy Nicholson, Paul Scheer, Molly Reynolds, and Harry Nelson. Sound engineered by Cory Barton. Music by Devin Bryant, episode art by Kim Troxall, show art by Lee Jamison and social media production by Zoe Applebaum. This is a Rome production. See you next week. Bye for now. From the parents behind Law and Order

[Amy Nicholson]

comes a mystery the whole family can enjoy.

[Paul Scheer]

Patrick Picklebottom Everyday Mysteries Step into the

[Amy Nicholson]

whimsical world of Patrick Picklebottom, a precocious 11 year old with a love for

[Paul Scheer]

reading and an uncanny ability to solve mysteries. Inspired by the beloved children's book of the same name, this podcast vividly brings

[Amy Nicholson]

Patrick's tales of deduction and everyday adventures to life as he unravels baffling enigmas and solves clever cases. Patrick Picklebottom Everyday Mysteries is perfect for

[Paul Scheer]

kids and is just as entertaining for grownups who love a good mystery.

[Amy Nicholson]

The whole family can listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Paul Scheer]

The war is over and both sides lost. Kingdoms were reduced to cinders and armies scattered like bones in the dust. Now the survivors survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the Darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadowdark, the Darkness always wins. This is old school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time and when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules light nightmare with a story that emerges organically based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s and man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadow Dark every Thursday night at 8pm Eastern on YouTube.com theglasscanon with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the Dark.