A-List: Seth Rogen
By Josh Spiegel
April 9, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
I say "for the moment" because there are some people (not me) who are getting a bit tired of Rogen's goofy stoner shtick, his raspy laugh, and his quirky style of humor. Though I'm not too sure yet if Rogen's right to play a superhero like the Green Hornet (he has definitely slimmed down a lot as of late, though), his style of comedy not only lines up with the Judd Apatow school of humor, but it's about the best type of cinematic laughs we have now, unless you're looking forward to the Wayans Brothers making fun of dance movies. If you are, well...you might think this is the F-List, I suppose, but the Wayans brand of comedy seems to have thankfully passed its prime.
As I said earlier, Rogen wasn't always a big star. Frankly, until the summer of 2007, he was still a solid supporting player in the Apatow stable, alongside other great comic actors like Paul Rudd and John C. Reilly. Once that summer passed, however, and Knocked Up and Superbad hit the big time, Rogen was a newly minted star. Still, the success he's had is all owed to Judd Apatow, the man who helped turn Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared into small-time TV successes. Apatow got Rogen a role on Freaks and Geeks and even let him take on some writing duties during the run Undeclared had. So, don't be surprised that...well, everything on this list has Judd Apatow's name attached. With that in mind, here's the A-List's look at Seth Rogen.
The 40-Year Old Virgin
I've already mentioned Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and, since Rogen's appearance is so short, I think it'd be cheating to put it here. However, if we're talking quality, both Anchorman and this film would be on the top with a bullet. It's hard for me to figure out which is the better comedy. At the end of the day, though, thanks to its heartfelt emotion and stronger, slightly more realistic characters, The 40-Year Old Virgin wins the day. The debut of Apatow as a writer-director, "Virgin" is about Andy Stitzer, a...well, just read the title. You'll figure it out, I'm sure. Andy works at a Circuit City-style store as an equipment manager; once some of his rowdy male co-workers find out about his virginity, they do everything in their power to get him laid, and get him laid fast. Their ideas include hitting on drunk women (such as Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann, in a great cameo), watching tons of porno movies, and an infamous trip to get Andy's chest waxed. Rogen plays Cal, Andy's fellow equipment employee at the Smart Tech store; Cal figures, at first, that Andy's probably a serial killer but, once he learns that Andy's a virgin, advises him how to speak to the beautiful clerk at the bookstore next door (Elizabeth Banks). The irony is double: not only does Cal end up hooking up with that beautiful clerk, but Banks and Rogen ended up getting pretty close in last year's romantic comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Anyway, here's what you need to know: the beginning of this new wave of comedy really began with "Virgin," a sweet, raunchy, silly, and incredibly hilarious comedy all about finally becoming a man.
Freaks and Geeks
Although it happens almost every season on television, Freaks and Geeks seems like the poster child for a show that wouldn't have been canceled, if only people had watched it. Created by Paul Feig (who's a frequent director of NBC's The Office), the show takes place in Michigan in 1980. The main characters are Lindsay and Sam Weir (Linda Cardellini and John Francis Daley), embarking on new phases of their lives. Lindsay, the eldest, has always been considered a math-loving geek but decides to switch things up during the new year of high school and become a freak, like Daniel Desario (James Franco). Sam is just entering high school and still pals around with Neal and Bill, but doesn't want to be a geek all his life. Though not as uproarious as other Apatow-related productions, the amount of painful realism and appropriately moving emotion makes this one a home run. Rogen got his first major role here as Ken, one of the freaks; at first, we only know him as one of the drier characters (my favorite line of his remains this: "I don't know. What are you gonna do?"). However, one of the more adult storylines later in the series' 18-episode run was all about a romantic conflict of his, as he fell in love with a girl who'd been born with male and female genitalia. Though Freaks and Geeks never made it past its first season on NBC, it remains one of the great TV series. If you haven't seen it, you must see it as fast as you can. Frankly, if you've got the money, buy it. It's that good.
Knocked Up
Here's the movie that made Seth Rogen a star, or one of the two. This early-summer 2007 release had a poster that said everything: featuring a picture of Rogen, looking chubbier and more stoned than ever, the caption read: "What if this guy got you pregnant?" The only real wrinkle in the plot is that the woman who gets pregnant is, at the start, way out of Ben Stone's league, Stone being Rogen's cinematic counterpart. Ben is a slacker who's hoping to start up a doomed-to-fail Web site that shows all the nude scenes in every movie ever made. Allison (Katherine Heigl) works at E! Entertainment and has just been promoted to on-air talent when she meets Ben and has a one-night stand. Some complications lead to her being pregnant and the two opposites dealing with this major twist of fate. The second film written and directed by Apatow, Knocked Up has even more realism than "Virgin," and is sometimes more painful to watch, especially during a heated argument between Allison and Ben at the doctor's office. Still, there's plenty of humor (the running gag about Ben's friend's ever-growing beard still makes me laugh out loud) to go along with the pathos. The cast, including Mann, Rudd, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, Jason Segel, and Kristen Wiig, are all doing their best work here. Though 40-Year Old Virgin is a funnier film, Knocked Up is a stronger, more dramatic piece of film.
Undeclared
On the one hand, Judd Apatow has every reason to avoid network television for the rest of his life. On the other hand, every time he goes to that well, he brings great stuff with him. It didn't take more than a year and a few months for Fox to start airing the college comedy Undeclared, all about a group of incoming freshmen at a East Coast university. The lead is Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel), a dorky guy who ends up sleeping with the girl of his dreams, Lizzie (Carla Gallo), by the end of his first night. Steven is joined by Lloyd, a sexy British guy who woos women with his accent (Charlie Hunnam), and Ron, a lovable stoner (Rogen). Rogen's role is slightly bigger here, but unlike Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared is pretty much an out-and-out comedy. With the exception of two storylines (that of Lizzie's despondent ex-boyfriend, played by Segel, trying to get her back; and Steven's dad unsuccessfully dealing with being recently divorced), this 17-episode series is good for laughs and not much else. That's not to say that this show wasn't great on its own terms. Like Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared had an excellent ensemble of young actors, sharp writing (as mentioned earlier, Rogen was on the writing staff), and strong relationships. There were also some hilarious cameos, from the likes of Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller, the latter playing a version of what Lizzie's ex-boyfriend could turn into if he continues to be a slacker. So, if you're one of the uninitiated, check Undeclared out.
Superbad
Once again, Rogen proves that he doesn't need to be the center of attention to make a stronger impact. Though he co-wrote Superbad with his longtime friend Evan Goldberg (both of whom wrote the script for last summer's stoner action comedy Pineapple Express), the stars here are Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as longtime friends...Seth and Evan. Okay, so at one time, Rogen had wanted to star in Superbad as himself, but the years made him look too old to a play a 17-year old version of Seth. Instead, he plays Officer Michaels, one of two cops who end up being part of the wildest night of Seth and Evan's lives. What starts off as two guys trying to impress the girls of their dreams ends up as something far weirder. Evan winds up singing for coke addicts, Seth dances with a girl on her period and gets some proof on his pants, and they wind up on the run from the law. Rogen's writing here is stronger than his performance as Officer Michaels; though he's funny, the biggest stretch in the film is that the two cops would essentially forget their job description for one night to help a couple of gawky teenagers have one cool night. The writing of the relationship between Seth and Evan, and their awkwardness about being separated for the first time in their lives is best here. Not only do Hill and Cera sell that weirdness, but the emotions in the dialogue are genuine and heartfelt.