Going from childhood best friends to some of the most sought-after writers in Hollywood, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have delivered some of the funniest movies in recent memory. While Rogen had established himself as a comedic actor in Hollywood thanks to roles on Freak & Geeks and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, it was when he started writing scripts as well that his star really began to rise. However, Rogen was not alone in this endeavor as his old friend Goldberg served as his writing partner, quickly proving themselves a hot commodity.
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Rogen and Goldberg came around at a time when R-rated comedies were still a strong bet for Hollywood. With the vulgar teen comedy Superbad and the wild action-comedy Pineapple Express, the duo began the rise in the industry. They soon began directing their own movies as well as venturing into television with shows like The Boys and Preacher. While they have shown plenty of success elsewhere, the films written by Rogen and Goldberg stand out as great modern comedies.
10 Drillbit Taylor (2008)
Young Teens Hire A Bodyguard To Protect Them Against Bullies
Drillbit Taylor PG-13Comedy
Drillbit Taylor is a 2008 comedy film starring Owen Wilson. It follows three high school freshmen who hire a homeless man posing as a bodyguard to protect them from a bully. Directed by Steven Brill, the story is influenced by an original idea from John Hughes. The film combines elements of adolescent challenges and comedic misadventures.
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*Availability in US Director Steven Brill Release Date March 20, 2008 Cast Nate Hartley , Troy Gentile , Ian Roberts , Owen Wilson , Casey Boersma , Dylan Boersma Runtime 102 minutes
Though Superbad was a vulgar R-rated ride, Drillbit Taylor is a look at even younger high-schoolers in a slightly tamer comedy. The movie follows a trio of young teens who find themselves a bodyguard to protect them against a school bully who is constantly harassing them. Owen Wilson takes on the role of the titular bodyguard while becoming an unorthodox mentor to the kids even though he’s not the combat expert he claims to be.
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The screenplay for Drillbit Taylor was written by Seth Rogen, in his only screenwriting effort without Goldberg’s contributions, and Kristofor Brown. It is also based on a story by John Hughes, the legendary director of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Unfortunately, the mix of Rogen’s brand of comedy while also trying to capture the 80s charm of Hughes movies doesn’t really mesh very well. The bright spot is a funny performance from Wilson, who makes it a watchable comedy.
9 The Watch (2012)
Bored Suburban Men Uncover An Alien Invasion In Their Neighborhood
The Watch is a sci-fi comedy that brings a star-studded ensemble of very funny actors together to deliver a disappointing final product. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade star in The Watch as a band of bored suburban men who form a neighborhood watch to escape the mundanity of their lives. However, they unexpectedly stumble upon an alien invasion happening in their own suburban community.
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According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Watch was initially conceived as a PG-13 vehicle in the vein of Ghostbusters. When it was retooled as a raunchy R-rated affair, Rogen and Goldberg were brought aboard the project to inject it with a healthy dose of vulgarity. As a result, the R-rated material feels a little forced in the movie without getting any big laughs. As strong as the case is, Hill is the only one who really stands out as the somewhat unhinged member of the team.
8 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)
A Married Couple And Former Enemy Team To Take Down A Sorority House
After Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne) successfully ousted a fraternity that moved next door to them in the first Neighbors movie, the second one sees a sorority moving into the very same house. The couple now has new challenges in store with taking on a group of wild party-animal young women who are.
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After they resisted the urge to pen sequels to Superbad and Pineapple Express, Neighbors 2 marked the first time Rogen and Goldberg had written a follow-up to one of their movies. It could’ve come off as a rehash of the original, but Sorority Rising adds a unique twist as the couple reluctantly teams up with Zac Efron’s frat boy Teddy, the villain from the first one. The movie also cleverly subverts expectations on the sorority girl characters, making them girls looking for independence and empowerment rather than just trying to attract men.
7 The Green Hornet (2011)
A Spoiled Rich Man And His Bodyguard Become Masked Heroes
As the superhero movie genre continued to explode, Seth Rogen made for an unlikely masked hero in the adaptation of The Green Hornet. While the original and iconic television series of the same name was a serious action adventure, Rogen gives his take a comedic edge as he plays the rich and spoiled son of a newspaper mogul who becomes a masked vigilante alongside his much more capable bodyguard Kato (Jay Chou).
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There is also a fun play on the legacy of the old show, as the movie acknowledges that Kato is the much more impressive hero compared to his bumbling “boss.”
A lot of diehard Green Hornet fans were upset that Rogen and Goldberg adapted the property as a straightforward comedy, but their script has a nice balance of action and humor and director Michel Gondry brings some dazzling visuals to the proceedings. There is also a fun play on the legacy of the old show, as the movie acknowledges that Kato is the much more impressive hero compared to his bumbling “boss.”
6 Sausage Party (2016)
Grocery Store Food Learn The Terrifying Truth Of Their Existence
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Rogen and Goldberg brought their particular brand of raunchy hard-R humor to the typically kid-friendly realm of computer animation in 2016. Sausage Party is a hysterical riff on Pixar’s premises about anthropomorphized objects as it follows the lives of various food products in a grocery store. However, the premise takes a hilariously dark turn when the food learns the truth that these giants who are selecting them are not taking them to paradise, but rather eating them.
The film has a lot of fun depicting people eating various foods as if it were a scene from a graphic horror movie. As if the sex jokes and swearing weren’t enough for the movie, Sausage Party‘s script is quite bold in how it becomes a religious satire with the food losing faith in their beliefs. It makes for a unique animated movie for adults.
5 The Interview (2014)
A Dim-Witted Talk Show Host And His Producer Interview Kim Jong-un
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Rogen and Goldberg’s second directorial effort after This is the End, The Interview, stars Rogen as a tabloid TV producer and James Franco as a late-night celebrity interviewer who’s invited to North Korea to interview Kim Jong-un. When the CIA catches wind, they task him with assassinating the infamous dictator. However, the plan is made more complicated when they arrive in the secretive country and Franco’s dim-witted celebrity forms a friendly bond with the dictator.
This movie has the distinction of being the only movie in Rogen and Goldberg’s filmography to cause a geopolitical crisis. North Korea condemned the film and launched the infamous Sony hack on the studio, leaking copious amounts of confidential emails and company details.
With President Barack Obama commenting on The Interview losing its theatrical release because of the controversy, it is wild to see the movie and recognize that it is just a silly comedy. It never takes itself too seriously, and while it could be condemned for addressing the real abuses within North Korea in such a light way, it is a largely inoffensive and fun comedy.
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4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
The Young Turtles Encounter A Mutant Gang
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8/10 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ActionAdventure
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an animated film in the enduring action-comedy franchise. Directed by Jeff Rowe, the movie follows the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael—alongside their mentor Splinter, as they confront new adversaries and navigate their teenage years. The film combines humor and action while maintaining the core themes of the beloved series.
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*Availability in US Director Jeff Rowe Release Date August 4, 2023 Cast Nicolas Cantu , Micah Abbey , Shamon Brown Jr. , Brady Noon , Jackie Chan , Ayo Edebiri , Seth Rogen , John Cena Runtime 100 Minutes
Stepping into an established IP for the first time since The Green Hornet, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg helped to bring an exciting new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem finds the young heroes in a half-shell craving a life outside of the sewers. However, when attempting to take down a nefarious crime syndicate, they discover that they are not the only mutants in New York City.
The action in the movie is also fantastic with the style of the animation looking similar to the
Spider-Verse
films.
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Rogen and Goldberg’s script immediately stands out in the franchise for one clever detail — emphasizing the point that these characters are teens. It is something glossed over in a lot of TMNT movies, but this vibrant animated adventure uses that to make them more rounded and interesting characters. The action in the movie is also fantastic with the style of the animation looking similar to the Spider-Verse films.
3 This Is The End (2013)
Self-Centered Celebrities Face The End Of The World
After observing the work of directors like Michel Gondry and David Gordon Green bringing their scripts to life over the years, Rogen and Goldberg finally tried their hand at directing in 2013 with the apocalyptic comedy This is the End. The movie stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and others as fictional versions of themselves. As they party at a celebrity-filled bash in the Hollywood hills, the actors are soon faced with the end times as a biblical apocalypse hits.
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All of the stars of the movie have a lot of fun poking fun at each other as well as their own images. It is a hilarious satire on self-important celebrities and hilarious seeing them try to survive the end of the world. The movie is also filled with amazing cameos, from the likes of Channing Tatum, Emma Watson, and Michael Cera in a hilarious reversal of his usual roles.
2 Pineapple Express (2008)
A Stoner And His Dealer Go On The Run
Almost every Seth Rogen movie is about weed in some capacity, but his most overtly marijuana-oriented effort is Pineapple Express. The action-comedy stars Rogen as a process server who witnesses a murder and goes on the run alongside his clueless yet friendly weed dealer (James Franco).
However, the comedy comes from imagining how these types of action movies would go if the lead characters were not action heroes, but rather hapless stoners.
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The movie is a loving homage to 80s action flicks with some genuinely solid action sequences. However, the comedy comes from imagining how these types of action movies would go if the lead characters were not action heroes, but rather hapless stoners. After starring in the cast of Freaks & Geeks together, Rogen and Franco proved themselves a terrific comedic team onscreen. While Superbad was seen as another example of the comedy machine that Judd Apatow had perfected, Pineapple Express solidified that Rogen and Evan Goldberg were a winning writing team in their own right.
1 Superbad (2007)
Unpopular Teens Try To Score Alcohol For A Party
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The modern comedy classic that put Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg on the map, Superbad is a coming-of-age gem about two high schoolers – aptly named Seth and Evan – trying to secure booze for a big party. However, the seemingly simple task turns into a series of wild events, including a drug-fueled party, a pair of drunken police officers, and an ill-advised fake ID. It’s set up as a typical American Pie riff about sex-obsessed teens trying to lose their virginity, but Superbad is really about Seth and Evan’s separation anxiety as they prepare to go to different colleges.
According to The Guardian, Rogen and Goldberg began writing Superbad when they were 13, which explains why the teen angst rings so true. Superbad was the script that launched Rogen and Goldberg’s screenwriting career and, having been fine-tuned over more than a decade, it remains their strongest script to date.