Is Superbad Based On A True Story? The Comedy's Inspiration Explained

The Superbad true story helped create a wild but undeniably authentic teen comedy that fans have praised for years. Directed by Greg Mottola, with a screenplay by Mottola, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg, Superbad tells the story of a group of friends navigating the last weeks of high school and figuring out what to do with the rest of their lives. The teen genre can vary widely, with most contributions being insipid, toned-down portrayals of real situations for teens that they're never allowed to approach the style of Superbad.

With more uses of the F-word than Scarface (187 to be precise), unabashed discussions of sex, and a candid approach to the questionable decisions made by minors, it's more genuine than peers like The Breakfast Club or Not Another Teen Movie. By treating its young stars with respect and authenticity, it managed to avoid coming across as fake and overwritten. Its true story origins helped it become a coming-of-age movie that defined millennials, and while it might be about getting wasted or getting the girl, it's also about learning life lessons, friendship, and love.

Superbad Was Loosely Based On Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg's Life In The '90s

Seth & Rogen Were Fictional Versions Of The Writers

Superbad was closely based on Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's senior year in the late '90s, and at one point during the film's 12-year development, Rogen even considered playing Jonah Hill's role. Instead, the two main characters ended up with Seth and Evan's names, and younger actors were hired when Rogen's physicality prohibited him from playing a high schooler convincingly. All the rest of the characters and locations were inspired in some way by real places, students, and acquaintances they grew up around in Vancouver.

Rogen and Goldberg started developing the movie when they were still teens. Unlike other teen movies approached from an adult headspace, this approach guaranteed raw honesty in all the characters. Rogen and Goldberg could easily reflect on some of their recent core high school memories. All the characters interact in believable ways that, even at their most cringe or uncomfortable, feel more like real people than just ciphers and archetypes like the ones found in most teen comedies.

Why Superbad Took So Long To Write & Develop

It Took Over A Decade To Get The Movie Made

The effort required to depict a specific time in their lives accurately meant that Rogen and Goldberg took over a decade to make Superbad. In an interview with E!, Rogen mentions that some characters were so over-the-top that they were worried they wouldn't find anyone to play them, like McLovin, resulting in a very drawn out casting process "We thought he was inactible," Rogen explains, citing the character's particular blend of social awkwardness yet indefatigable confidence, but they eventually found their McLovin just as they were preparing to scrap the character and rewrite the script completely.

After years of writing and proving themselves in Hollywood, Rogen and Goldberg finally got studios to take them seriously. Most producers weren't willing to take a risk on such a debaucherous comedy with unproven leads. Still, the material was strong, and studios conceded the inspirations of Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Graffiti. Though the curse words, toilet humor, and moral quandaries present in Superbad have come to be expected in teen comedies, the fact it was based on the real lives of made it an iconic classic that's now an inspiration to other teen comedies.

The Timeline To Make Superbad Happen

How Did Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg Get The Movie Made?

As for the decade that it took for Superbad to get made, the timeline showed that it was a labor of love for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. This all started in 1995 when the two friends were 13. They said they didn't connect with the mainstream teen comedies of the 1990s and preferred more adult-oriented films like Clerks, Swingers, Out of Sight, and Pulp Fiction (via Vanity Fair). The two teenagers started to write their own movie, and one decade later, it finally hit theaters.

Goldberg said he met Rogen in Bar Mitzvah class, and they went to the same high school. The two loved movies and would go to a video store where they could get seven movie rentals for seven dollars. They watched some of the worst movies imaginable. The two teens decided they could write a better movie, and they decided to start trying it with Superbad. It was in 1995 that the two 13-year-old boys wrote the first "awful" draft of the screenplay.

When Rogen was 16, Judd Apatow cast him in Freaks and Geeks, and then he moved on to Undeclared. After this, Apatow agreed to do a reading of the script and had Seth read the Seth role and Jason Segal read the Evan role. Director Greg Mottola said he heard it and thought, "This is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard." However, they all knew that teen comedies had become PG-13, and they needed this to be R-rated.

The studios rejected the movie. However, some more movies came out that made it possible. When Talladega Knights (2006), Anchorman (2004), Knocked Up (2007), and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) were successes, studios finally agreed to take a chance on Superbad. It was also lucky that Apatow was the producer of two of those previous movies. This was 12 years after the two began writing the film. Apatow called Mottola to direct it, and in 2007, Superbad finally hit theaters.

Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and produced by Judd Apatow, Superbad follows high school seniors Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera), two best friends who are desperate to join the popular kids' party before heading off to college. After asking their friend Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) - A.K.A. McLovin - to use his fake ID to purchase alcohol, Seth and Evan end up getting drawn into a night of criminal misfortunes that threatens the very fabric of their friendship.

Director Greg Mottola

Release Date August 17, 2007

Runtime 113 minutes