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Live From Studio 1A: Superbad and High School Musical 2

Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 8:55 AM by Dan Fleschner
Filed Under:

On paper, the coinciding successes of Superbad, the latest Judd Apatow-produced raunch-fest, and High School Musical 2, the sequel to the blockbuster made-for-TV Disney Channel movie, seem unrelated.

Correspondent John Larson examined each film's success this morning on TODAY.  WATCH VIDEO

Superbad exceeded expectations by topping last weekend's box office figures, grossing $31 million. High School Musical 2 set a cable TV record with 17 million viewers on Friday.

Superbad is an R-rated movie featuring plenty of sexual humor about awkward high school boys searching for alcohol and girls. High School Musical 2 is the wholesome story of two teenagers finding true love.

On paper, it seems that aside from the ages of the main characters, these films don't have a lot in common. But they are more similar than you might think.

First, let's look at High School Musical 2, which, I must admit, I haven't seen (if you have kids aged 6-16, you most likely have). It focuses on the relationship between the basketball team captain, Troy, and top student Gabriella. In the first edition of the film, Troy and Gabriella upset their rivals to win lead roles in their high school's musical production.

In the sequel, there's more singing and dancing, more romantic intrigue, and Troy and Gabriella consummate their relationship with an explosive kiss. As John Larson said in his piece this morning on TODAY, "In High School Musical, true love conquers all, with the help of a great soundtrack."

Well, he could have said the same thing about Superbad. The soundtrack includes some new and some classic funk songs, and the love is between the two main characters, Seth and Evan, who go on the quest for booze and girls. Like Troy and Gabriella, they consummate their relationship too, but rather than with a kiss, it involves a drunken hug and some loud declarations of their love for each other.

Clearly, the two films are aimed at different audiences, and I wouldn't take my 7-year-old niece, who is a fan of High School Musical, to any film Judd Apatow has ever produced.

But these movies speak to our innate desire for wholesome relationships, both romantic and platonic.

The characters in High School Musical are squeaky-clean, like they stepped out of an "Up With People" song. And by the end of the first movie, the audience is desperate for Troy and Gabriella to let their romance blossom.

The characters in Superbad are addicted to Internet porn, have trouble forming relationships not only with teenage girls but also other boys, and are outcasts in their high school community. But by the film's conclusion, they have reestablished their own devotion to each other, and there's even hope for both of them to establish wholesome relationships with the girls in their lives.

Are they basically the same movie with slightly different presentations? Well, not exactly. But is the underlying message the same? Absolutely.

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Comments

Though I haven't seen it, I probably wouldn't want to see "High School Musical 2" or its predecessor because it looks like a dream-land. I did "Superbad" because I related to the situation, wanting acceptance from some young lady at the time. Still, both films are valid for the people who enjoy each one.

Roy (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:38 AM)

have we become so uptight as a society that we can't just appreciate a movie for what it is? it's just a fun, hilarious take on what high school was like for a lot of people. (inlcuding me - and i'm not in that 13-15 year old bracket either). if you don't like it - don't watch it!

carly, nj (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:24 AM)

to all those who disliked Superbad and thought it was excessively vulgar and obscene, I must say that you obviously have never seen many movies in the past 20 years because I can make a grocery list out of the films that eclipse Superbad in vulgarity and obscenity. Films that would shatter the glass house you live in and expose all your hidden insecurities to finally reveal your 'sins' to the outside world that is so deadly and dangerous.

for those unfamiliar with film outside of what is plastered on the screen and advertised on television, i will state the obvious answer of BORAT. a hilarious film that pokes fun and everyone and everything, offending nearly every person on the planet in some way or another. so whatever happened to all you 'haters' crying about that huh?

to all those who think 'hairspray' is all giggles and fun and family fare well how about watching the original hairspray by john waters? then afterwards find some of his other films, which are a lot better. such as polyester, female trouble, pink flamingos, serial mom and desperate living.

other notable films that may be less known to the general populous but are surely to offend are: Nekromantik, Nekromantik 2, schramm, cannibal, visitor q, cannibal holocaust, thriller: a cruel picture, gozu, singapore sling, i spit on your grave, murder set pieces, versus, hard candy, the list goes on and on.

I enjoyed superbad a lot because it really reflected my life in high school as a teenager. i got mostly high grades (high 80's to low 90's in all classes except gym) and no i wasnt raised in a crackhouse or beaten severely, i was raised by a single mother who raised me and 3 other kids, and eventually a grandchild by her oldest, on the salary of a cook and then a grocery store cashier and did a damn good job of it. but when youre living on food stamps and making $6k a year, you really dont have the time to fluff your child up with pretty tales of disney characters and high school basketball captains and dancing. most of your time is spent trying to clothe and feed your children and give them a dose of reality so that they can fend for themselves when that time comes. and yes i did drink and do a few other things but thats what every other kid was doing too. it was an adventure, it was life and you can only be a teenager once so why not make all the mistakes you can so that when youre older you can look back and go 'wow i was dumb! but i sure had fun doing it!' instead of being some uptight adult who cant laugh or enjoy life because its not ok to have fun unless its some 50's sock hop style ultra sterile environment where no one touches and everyone drinks fruit punch and eats white pound cake.

btw im 26 and a half years old and work for a fortune 500 multi-national corporation and this is my 7th year at this company. i make upwards of $50k/year after taxes, have a house, a car and lots of musical instruments to entertain myself with. now if my child grows up doing the same things i did as a teenager (which are nearly identical to those in superbad) only to end up as well of as i am, then i say more power to  him!

ps: superbad was super awesome!

cracked corn, abq, nm (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:27 AM)

You cannot cheer the Disney Corp and expect to remain blameless for what's going on in the real world today.  As a corporation, Disney is one of the few remaining media conglomerates who create the "news" and "entertainment" and force it down the throats of today's members of society who are afraid to think for themselves.  Disney operates strictly for the bottom line and if it was in their interest to sell vulgar product, they'd sell out your little Johnny or Susie without thinking twice.

One earlier post wondered how many of the Disney fans here are also fans of Fox News, thus being comfortable with being told what to think and how everything was better in the 50's (and blame the Democrats for how everything is in the gutter now). These are the same sheeple who post about how "great" HSM is.  HSM is just a remake of the same garbage that Disney has been putting out for the past 50 years - and it really wasn't any good to begin with.  But it does fuel the fires of these sheeple who beleive that the culture of america is toxic and all we need to do to fix things is just think good thoughts.

Disney Corporation is the Anti-Christ.  It demands payments and tribute on a regular basis.  It gets your kids hooked on poorly animated movies, sub-standard toys made in China, and demands that you spend your savings to visit an over-priced "amusement park" which is neither amusing nor even close to being park-like.  In return, they will tell you how to think, how to act, and how to live.  I suspect that when the "real world" bursts into that dreamland, you get people posting here about great HSM is because it doesn't have any of those things that remind you of what the real world is like.

TJ, Wisconsin (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:33 AM)

I have seen bits and pieces of highschool musical and myself a parent of a 17 year old soon to be senior, I believe he would rather see Superbad.  I have not seen it yet, but it sure looks funny, and enlightening!!!  Superbad is rated R and this is for the 17 and up crowd.  The two movies are uncompairable so I don't know what the argument is.  Of course if I had a child under 17 I wouldn't let them see Superbad.  I'm sure my son will be going to the movies soon to see it which is fine with me.  A lot of parents today are in denial thinking their child would never do that.  As a parent I have learned to never say never.  Parents that keep their children sheltered, never exposing them to the real world are in for a rude awakeening.  It's called rebellion when their kids turn different than the ways of their parents.

Detroit

D Detroit, Michigan (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:33 AM)

The only problem that I have with high school musical 2 is the part in the movie when zac efron tells ashely tisdale that he doesn't want to sing with her and that he thinks more of what his friends think of him then anything else. That line made me so mad, as a 18 year old if I had the chance or one of my friends had a chance to get a full ride scholorship by just singing with a girl or doing other stuff to help me get the scholorship i would support my friends and my friends would tell me to go for it to. So what is HSM2 really teaching kids throughout america go for college or because your friends complain about you, you will give that scholorship up.

Brian, Fairfield, Montana (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 12:50 PM)

I have not seen superbad because I do not want to.  However, I want to thank Kenny Ortega for making such a great movie in HSM 2 (and of course, the first one too).  My neice was having her 14th birthday party the night that HSM2 premiered and had several high school students (boys and girls) so glued to the TV that they didn't pay one bit of attention to the band my sister hired for the night.  The following night my daughter had a HSM2 party and we had boys and girls from ages 4-11 here and they ALL loved it.

Wahoo to High School Musical!  I hope that Kenny keeps up coming up with good clean fun movies for us to watch.  

And, oh for all of you that think that HSM is unrealistic, too bad huh?  Would it be nice to go to school as a teen and be accepted for who you are and what would be the harm trying to have clean fun?

S., Grove City, Ohio (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 12:58 PM)

I saw Superbad last night and thought it was hilarious!  I was howling with laughter the whole movie--and I'm 39 years old.  The characters are just like I remember when I was in high school.

Cathy, Dupo, IL (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 1:06 PM)

Being the single mother of two girls 8 and 4 I have to disagree with Joshua in every way I don't think my daughters by watching High School Musical are going to believe life is just like that singing and dancing thru life, but I also think that real life is tough enough and it's alright to let children be children, let them enjoy their childhood and maintain their innocence for as long as possible.

Cecilia, Newark, N.J. (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 1:19 PM)

The movie and plot are the same, just as everything in America, SEX sells!!! I sat down to watch Superbad and laughed my butt off, whereas HSM 2? Well I havent even seen the first one and I own it.

Jeremy, Winchester, VA (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 1:33 PM)

Minnie, you're 100% right!

47, you also.

You could have also mentioned any number of "teen, high school" movies including Porky's, Bachelor Party, etc. Even in the John Hughes films from the 80's, the stories depicted teen drinking, drug use and s-e-x. Read the studies: teen drug use and sex is actually down from 10-15 years ago and less than a generation ago. Get off your high moral horses and stop needing to look down upon others in order to make yourself feel good.

HSM's target audience is girls aged 6-12 (and 12 is pushing it). It's a pefect movie and sequel for that age group and they love it! How do I know?...I have an 8 year old daughter.

That is NOT the target audience for SB. So, there's little point in comparing the two.

Finally, I'm sick of all the "world was so much better back then" talk (meaning the '50s specifically). What made it better?...The racism of segregation?...The lack of opportunities for women and minorities?...Our society is a much better place now and the "younger generation" is much better educated and aware than even 20 years ago. Given them some credit.

KH, Dallas, TX (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 1:40 PM)

i will be a freshman in high school this year & i know that h.s.m 2 is rather unrealistic because it is a musical.i know that no one at school will be singing and dancing like the movie, but i think the message is good.i am not allowed to watch rated R movies and i don't want to.people my age(14) do not need to hear everything that is in the movie but i do realise that i will be hearing most of what i know will be in a movie based on a plot of 2 guys whose goal is to get laid.

carson (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 2:17 PM)

My husband and I loved Superbad.  We are in our early 40s and think this movie is true to life.  Yes, it is extremely vulgar and certainly not appropriate for anyone under 17, but how can you not love McLovin. It made me think happy thoughts about my high school days, when your having the best time of your life. PS My kids loved High school Musical 2 and so did I.  

Jen R (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 2:59 PM)

To B.A in NY, to quote Judd Apatow, 'the movie is funny and filthy, but is also a beautiful movie about friendship'.  Why would you go see the movie if you are offended by vulgar language and sex?  

Julie (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 3:27 PM)

In the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird", Atticus says to his son Jem, after a run-in with the antagonist Bob Ewell: "Son, there are a lot of bad things in this world.  I wish I could keep them all from you - but I just can't".

The picture here is that the parent recognizes what is good and what is bad - and weighs it by the innate ability to discern which is which - not by weighing it by the world's "norm", because the world, as Atticus stated, is exactly where all the "bad things" are to begin with!

IMHO, to say that it's "perfectly OK" to let kids fill their mind with "Super-bad"-type material because "that's reality" is a cop-out and very large load of crap.  Furthermore, it mocks the absolute values of right and wrong.  You're either believing the lie that it's not really "bad" or you're just giving up the fight for what is truly "good".

If I offer you a delicious plate of brownies which I happen to also mention contains a tablespoonful of dogs___ from our backyard, you're going to:

A) Eat them anyway and insist on believing that the secret ingredient is not really "bad"; or
B) Eat them and rationalize it by saying "well, that's how Brownies are being made these days"; or
C) Recognize the secret ingredient for what it is and say "why in the world would I want that?".

Just because we can't keep ALL the bad things in this world from our kids doesn't mean we give up trying to do so by copping out, buying in, and selling out to the depravity which symptomizes the lion's share of Hollywood's profits today.

I would find it interesting how the average 40-something year-old "real man" who wouldn't be caught dead in HSM2 would feel about taking his 12-year old daughther to see Superbad.  No problem, you say?  My point - exactly.

I've read this entire message thread, and I must say.....whoa.

Here's the point, kids - there's right, and there's wrong, and there's nothin' in the middle - it's one or the other - period.  There REALLY is absolute truth, and what is not is lie.  And this world?  Well, it's fallen.  But that doesn't mean we have resign ourselves to falling with it to wallow around in its darkness saying "Yup, that's reality!"  There REALLY does exist the option to strive to rise above it and say "you know, if that's what the world has to offer, then I'm not buying it".  Just because that's the way it is doesn't make it right.

If not for your own sakes, then for the kid's sakes - ya know?

As far as the article which started this whole trail of brain droppings - I've never been to a rodeo, but I'm sure they're very similar to the opera I went to once - I mean, from the standpoint of how all the characters strive to achieve something.  ;)

Bill, Jacksonville, FL (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:00 PM)

Wow, some of you make me really sad.  I agree with Ceceila, let's just let the kids be kids -instead of making them think they must act like the kids in Superbad just to be normal.  I had about 8 14-17 year olds at my house watching HSM2 and having a great time.  Sure, some of the boys made fun, but they could have gone in the other room to play video games or jumped in the pool, but they were intrigued by the movie.  Yes, it's a little "leave it to beaver", but it's amazing how many of these kids tell me, "I wish my mom was home after school".  I also saw SB (took my 16 year old and friend), growing up in the John Water's 80's and also enjoying American Pie, I expected a good laugh.  I was horrified.  This movie was so over the top it was truely fantasy also.  Sadly, if they had toned it down some it could have been quite funny and still appealed to their intended audience.  For all you kids out there, no, this is not normal behavior for the majority of kids.  You don't have to be foul mouthed, drunk or obsessed with sex to fit in.  It doesn't prepare you for real life unless you plan to be a clerk at an adult video store.

Kim, Arizona (Sent Thursday, August 23, 2007 7:39 PM)

I tell you what, them young girls dancing around in High School Musical are a lot prettier than that fat guy from Superbadd

Mel Cletus (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 11:41 AM)

HSM = bad actors, even for young adults, formulaic music, lyrics, and plot, overdramatized everything.  It was the perfect disney moneymaker because any parent with children under 12 has no other choice for wholesome content.

Superbad is not for anyone under 18, and I'm guessing is funnier for those at least a few years out of high school, but probably not over 40.  I loved it, it was a much more exciting version of my last days of high school.

Eric, Chicago, Il (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 12:01 PM)

I baby-sit two little kids...and they and their friends abolsutely *love* HSM.  I went to the theatre and watched Superbad.  I loved it.  Yes, the film is extremely vulgar and yes HSM is just way too corny...but they're both great films.  I would rather have the kids look up to something like HSM than people like Paris, Britney and Lindsay...yet on the other hand, for mature teenagers and adults who just want to laugh Superbad is a must.  Think of Oscar Wilde.  He said, "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life."  Think of this when considering both films.  

Jane Doe (Sent Friday, August 24, 2007 2:42 PM)

Misery loves company.  Hollywood will continue to make movies that are vulgar for that very reason.  That is a fact of life.  Isn't it something that folks LAUGH at the truly immoral?  Satan must be laughing as well.  I guess you could say I have got those rose-colored glasses firmly in place, thank God.    

Melissa, Memphis, TN (Sent Saturday, August 25, 2007 12:19 AM)

To 47 in Seattle--I went through public high school AND college in the 60's. My point is that as many as half of those students were NOT just looking for booze and sex, nor did they use pot or other drugs.  But films get made about the other half!

I'm glad to see something like HSM provide balance.  And yes, I am a member of the Parents Television Council and I hope more will join!  

The longer you've lived, the more clearly you can see the deterioration of both values and behavior over time.  Comparing this slide with the decline of censorship, it is clear that whatever films depict as "normal"  actually does BECOME the norm.  The notion that the media only reflects reality, rather than shaping it, is a convenient excuse, but it doesn’t hold up to the real-life experience of “the other half”  . . . or third . . . .or is it only a tenth now? . . .

Sharon, Monrovia, CA (Sent Tuesday, August 28, 2007 5:56 PM)



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