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Endearing Then Glitchy ‘Y2K’ Runs Out of Comedic Bandwidth

Coming off his little-seen but largely effective feature debut Brigsby Bear, SNL alum Kyle Mooney’s sophomore feature attempts to mash up Superbad and This is the End in an apocalyptic teen comedy that fails to fully connect. Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison star as Eli and Danny, two unpopular best friends on a quest to kiss girls, and feel boobs, and stuff. After a few shots to steel their courage, the dorky but sweet pair head to the kickback at Soccer Chris’ spot, where Eli’s longtime crush Laura (Rachel Zegler) is recovering from her recent breakup. Part virginity-losing quest, part end-of-the-world action-comedy, Y2K presupposes a revisionist past where all the Y2K fear-mongering was not, in fact, misplaced. The moment the clock strikes midnight in the year 2000, the electronics throughout Chris’ house, tethered together into an apocalypse-minded singularity, band together to attack and subjugate humanity. As is often the case with high-concept comedies, it’s funny until it’s not. Read More

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‘BOOKSMART’ a Sincere (And Sincerely Funny) Ode to High School Ride or Dies 

In August of 2007, Superbad hit theaters and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I had graduated from high school three months earlier and though I’d never sat in a ride along with infantile po-po, or forced to sing karaoke to a room full of coke heads, the theme of life’s defining crossroads and their inevitable effect on friendship struck a nerve. Underneath the playful sheen of a raunchy teen comedy, Superbad spoke to the challenges of an unknowable future and the tectonic shifts that crackle in the multitudinous friendships you’ve curated over the years. A few days after Superbad, I left for college.  Read More