Superbad
At the Movies
A cappella has made its mark all over the movie world across the years. In At the Movies we spotlight highlights and lowlights from the musical form we love in motion pictures.
At it’s best, a cappella can come across as simultaneously spontaneous and polished. At it’s worst, well, you get something like this.
While Michael Cera has proven himself as an adequate vocalist in other films (see the closing moments of Juno, in Superbad he reinforces his more established reputation as a master of awkward comedy, improvising a dreadful lead vocal, backed by an a cappella band of untrained, stoned singers. No, this is not a cappella at its best, and that’s refreshing, in a sense, for demonstrating that great aca ain’t easy.