Two Sides of the Same Coin: Opposing Characters in Superbad

There comes a time when every boy must become a man. In Superbad, Judd Apatow's 2007 hit comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, two socially inept teenage boys attempt to do just that, in one dramatic, panic-driven evening. The film was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who reportedly drafted the script while they were between the ages of thirteen and fifteen years old. Its main characters, two polar opposite peas in a pod, are named after the writers themselves. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are ridiculously dependent upon each other's friendship. They've been inseparable for many years, but they've recently gotten into different colleges, and thus have to contemplate life apart from one another. It is clear early on in the film that this unhealthy dependence upon one another must be broken for either boy to mature. This essay is an attempt to identify the film's binary opposition of Seth and Evan's characters. Seth is a vulgar, sex-obsessed misogynist, while Evan is a responsible, timid, undersexed feminist. While the two leading males in this film are completely characteristically opposite, their combined traits help create a picture of any typical modern pubescent boy making the transition to manhood.

Much can be learned about the main characters by paying attention to the language they use. When we first meet Seth, he is on the phone with Evan, seriously contemplating whether or not to subscribe to the “Vag-tastic Voyage” Internet porn site. Because the site comes with free access to a variety of other porn sites, he finds it most appealing. “That's disgusting! You're like an animal,” Evan tells him, recommending he subscribe to a site with better production value and an ambiguous name like “Perfect Ten.” Seth rejects this advice, saying that sites like that “don't actually show penis going into the vagina.” “You ever see a vagina by itself?” he asks. “Not for me.” Seth is so obsessed with sex that his language is covered in it. He emasculates his best male friends with sexual remarks such as, “Don't be such a vagine!” or by calling them names like “dick-mouth.”

Seth's regard for women is determined when he claims how proud he is for getting into a community college, where the “girls are half as smart, thus twice as likely to fellat[io]” him. He recommends that Evan “bang” his crush object, Becca, and then leave her, saying that, “She looks like she could take a dick.” This is when we see the first moral differences between the two male characters. Evan is offended by Seth's crudeness towards the girl he likes. He is more concerned with making Becca his girlfriend, while Seth is only concerned with having enough sex before college to be in control of his sexuality. As a matter of fact, Evan often times seems terrified of sex. He complains to Seth about his embarrassment at having to hide his erections, saying that the world he one day wants to live in is a world where girls desire to see “boners.” This sensitivity becomes even more prevalent as we see Evan prove to be the feminist of the duo. When the boys approach a woman who has undergone a breast reduction, Seth says that “making your tits smaller is like slapping God against the face for giving you a gorgeous gift.” Evan argues that the poor woman had back problems, and that she looks better than ever now that she can jog comfortably.

The boys' differing approaches to sex are best exhibited in their interactions with the leading females in the film. Seth uses humor to communicate with the ladies. When he is paired with Jules in Home Economics class, he makes crude sexual gestures behind her back so that his friends can see. He is shameless, because later, he makes a crude sexual gesture to her face. When she asks him to buy the alcohol for her party that night, she tells him if he scratches her back, she will scratch his. “Funny thing is, Jules,” he says, “Is that my back is located on my cock!” Seth uses humor to try to overcome his low self-esteem, which stems from the fact that he is a chubby, unattractive pubescent male. He is convinced that sexual experience will help him make up for his shortcomings. Evan is just as awkward with women, but in a different way. When Becca catches him staring at her breasts in class, he quickly diverts his gaze. He is odd, quirky and uncomfortable in every interaction the two share. He tries particularly hard to be masculine by, for example, offering to purchase Becca's Goldslick vodka for the evening's party. After this romantic gesture, we are reminded of his fear of sex when, while standing in the hallway at school, he is knocked into Becca, and his hand inadvertently touches her breast. He apologies profusely and is utterly embarrassed.

Of course, it is Seth who comes up with the master plan for the evening, one that will assuredly culminate with sex for both him and Evan. Seth assumes that since he has been put in charge of bringing the alcohol, he and Evan can make sure Jules and Becca get drunk enough to sleep with them. “Fucking is an actual possibility,” Seth enthusiastically tells Evan. “You know how girls say, 'Oh, I was so drunk, I shouldn't have fucked that guy!'? We could be that mistake!” Seth avoids thinking that Jules might be using him for alcohol, and jumps right to the conclusion that “she wants [his] dick in or around her mouth.”

Seth's plan begins crumbling around him before it has a chance to get off the ground. First of all, his plan requires that he and Evan work together, but the tale's underlying theme – boys finding independence which will lead them to manhood – interferes. When Seth first learns about Jules' party, and again, when Jules asks Seth if he can buy alcohol for everyone, he runs straight to Evan to tell him the news. It is almost as if Seth can't make a single decision without running it past his good friend's voice of reason first. Evan's reliable voice starts to fade, however, as the boys begin growing apart. Evan's first move towards independence comes just after Seth opens up to him, confessing his traumatizing “Ghostbusters lunch box dick treasure chest” tale. Seth confides in his best friend about how he was subjected to therapy for his penis-drawing obsession, but Evan simply states, “That's super-gay,” and walks away. For the first time in their relationship, Seth feels truly abandoned.

Seth will continue to feel abandoned by Evan throughout the night, as his sex-driven alcohol chase leads them into one bad situation after another. When a fight breaks out at a house party where they end up, Evan wants to bail. “I don't wanna lose my balls!” he exclaims. “I'm just gonna tell Becca how I feel. I'm not gonna get her drunk to have sex with me. I respect her. I'm not gonna put that kind of unfair pressure on her.” Seth, who has clearly lost sight of reason, exclaims that he would “kill for pussy, no questions asked.” There is absolutely nothing brotherly or fraternal about this remark. We already know Seth has no real respect for women, and now, he has admitted to have no respect for anything other than sex.

At the same house party, Seth's decision to place sex higher than anything else works against him. As he walks through the living room, surrounded by young women grinding up against men on the dance floor, the camera pans back and forth between several girls' breasts and a bucket of beer sitting at the end of the room. Eventually, Seth's gaze hones in on one particular girl who chooses to dance with him. The girl is sexy and has no qualms grinding up against Seth. This is very uncharacteristic for Seth, as this is the first time we've actually seen him “get some” in the film. It is no surprise that this reward is only to humiliate him. When another male party-goer notices a red stain on Seth's leg, he realizes that the girl leaked menstrual blood onto his pants. This plot device used to humiliate Seth is verified when the girl actually screams “You humiliated me!” at him. It is humorous that Seth is so steadfast to his plan until he is sidetracked by sex. It is ironic that he is, in turn, humiliated for the one sex act he is able to achieve. Furthermore, Seth has been humiliated by the reality of a woman's sexuality. His desire to avoid such feminine characteristics garners such a humiliation.

Despite the misogynist tones that Seth brings to the tale, the portrayal of women in Superbad is realistic. Sideline characters, like the liquor store clerk, are average women. She happens to be a very intelligent woman who is upset she has to deal with simple-minded police officers because she has to take a veterinary exam the next day. Officer Slater (Bill Hader) discusses his ex- and current wife, the former a whore and the latter a sweetheart. Superbad includes all types of females. Just as it juxtaposes the characters of Seth and Evan against one another, the two leading females in the cast are similarly positioned. Jules and Becca can both be said to possess opposite characteristics that can inherently be found in any modern blossoming woman.

Jules is the cool girl in school. She's hosting the big graduation party, and Seth just knows he's going to be able to get her drunk enough to sleep with him. However, Jules isn't the typical drunk party girl that Seth expects her to be. As a matter of fact, she doesn't drink at all. Instead, she just wants her guests to have a nice time. When Seth tries to make a move and finds out his hopes have been dashed, he becomes very emotional and starts crying. “This is my last chance to make you my girlfriend,” he says. “You'd never get with me while you're sober.” Jules manages to tell Seth she's sorry, but that she's flattered, before he passes out and busts her in the face.

Becca, much to Evan's dismay, is the typical drunk party girl. When he arrives at Jules' party, she is already “smashed,” and has admitted that she wants to “fully blow” Evan. “Isn't that unethical?” Evan asks Becca's friend. “Not if you're drunk, too,” she replies. So, reluctantly, Evan locks himself in the bathroom in an attempt to get himself drunk enough to contend with Becca. However, he can't get past thinking that taking advantage of a drunk girl is wrong. Even when horny, drunk Becca tries to encourage Evan to drink some more, he toasts, “To people respecting women!” Later, when he rejects Becca's sloppy advances in the bedroom, she complains, “I don't understand why you have to be such a little bitch about it.” Becca is representative of today's liberated young woman, who finds comfort in committing acts of sexual exploitation while intoxicated. She justifies Seth's perception of women, while Jules defies it.

After Seth is rejected by Jules and Evan survives his adventure with Becca, the cops bust the party. Seth finds his intoxicated friend passed out on the living room couch, so he picks him up and carries him out the door. “He's my best friend!” he exclaims to fellow party-goers on his way out. Once out on the street, Evan wakes up to find himself being cradled in Seth's arms. In a true throwback to their past together, and to prove that nothing really changed on this wild night, they decide to have a sleepover at Evan's house, complete with Pizza Bagels. While bundled up in side-by-side sleeping bags, Seth tells Evan, “I was being a dick,” and confesses his love to him. “I'm not even embarrassed to say it,” he says. The boys hold each other, whispering “I love yous” until they fall asleep. The next “Morning After” scene mimics a typical heterosexual scene after a one-night stand. Seth and Evan both wake up and share an uncomfortable glance. Seth scrounges for his shoes and says he should get moving. “You don't have to rush out like that,” Evan tells him. They make plans to go to the mall together. On the way out of the room, to eliminate any remaining awkwardness, Seth retreats to his tried-and-true character, exclaiming, “Cool, so, uh, your mom's got huge tits!”

At the mall, the boys surprisingly run into Jules and Becca. Predictably, Becca claims she doesn't “remember much,” but thanks Evan for being a “nice guy about it all.” Seth exchanges an apology, too, telling Jules he “acted like a fucking idiot” and that she doesn't “deserve that.” The couples then decide to divide paths, Seth going with Jules to buy cover-up and Evan going with Becca to buy comforters. The irony lies in the fact that each boy has selected a girl similar to his best friend as a mate. As far as binary oppositions go, Jules is Seth's Evan and Becca is Evan's Seth. The boys share one final awkward moment, when they agree to call each other later. As Curtis Mayfield's “P.S. I Love You” plays through the scene, Jules and Seth head down the escalator. Seth gazes lovingly at Evan as he rides down the stairwell. Seth has learned he must divorce himself from his best friend if he is ever to find his own sexual independence. Evan seems to already understand this, and is now free to mature at his own pace without Seth's juvenile antics to hold him back. He's also now had his first semi-sexual experience and doesn't possess the same fear of females as he did before.

The binary opposition of Seth and Evan's characters in Superbad helps us understand the opposing forces within every modern pubescent male. He receives mixed signals from the females he attempts to pursue. Today, women expect a man to be both passive and aggressive, sensitive yet in control, a sex machine, but not a sexual predator. Seth interpreted these messages in the most misogynistic manner possible. Evan avoided the messages altogether, holding back his own sexual urges out of an extreme respect for women. In reality, most young men are a combination of these traits. The sub-story of Officers Micheals (Rogen) and Slater is a cautionary tale. If Seth and Evan don't mature soon, they could potentially emerge into similar overgrown boys.