Jonah Hill Talks Bromance In 'Superbad'

For Jonah Hill, "Moneyball" is a major change. Though he has a number of awkward moments that draw uncomfortable laughs, the movie is his most dramatic turn in the mainstream -- his mumblecore film "Cyrus" offers no comparison -- and tackles issues of insecurity and friendship.

In many ways, as Esquire points out in their new interview with the actor, the movie can be seen as a sort of bromance between Peter Brand -- Hill's character -- and Billy Beane, the Oakland A's general manager who is played by Brad Pitt. Plucked from obscurity in Cleveland and given enormous power in the remaking of a baseball team, the two develop a bond that is more powerful than any game.

Known best for his raunchy, semi-sophomoric coming-of-age films such as "Superbad," Hill told Esquire that that breakout film, which tracks the friendship of two graduating high school seniors, had its own deeper message -- one that many people who like the film couldn't quite handle.

"One of the greatest moments of my career was on the road promoting Superbad with Michael Cera and Chris Mintz-Plasse. We were showing the movie at colleges," Hill remembered. "The kids were losing their minds. But then there's that moment in the sleeping-bag scene when Michael and I say 'I love you' to each other, and all those kids kinda squirmed in their seats in the weirdest way. James L. Brooks wrote the Superbad gang an e-mail after he saw it, and it was really beautiful for us because we all worship him, obviously.

"He watched Superbad with his son, and there was a moment where he looked at his son and realized his son couldn't handle the realization that he loved his best friend," he continued. "The great romance of your youth is your best friend at that age. But when a comedy takes you from laughing your ass off to feeling something without a moment's notice -- that's just different. It just is."

For much more from hill, click over to Esquire.

Comments

[eepah]

05:05 PM on 09/21/2011

They were DRUNK!

[outloud]

03:42 PM on 09/21/2011

Awkward primarily to 'merican men. There's no hope for them in general.

I believe in evolution until I talk to most men.....still knuckle draggin'.

[atoonce]

02:16 PM on 09/21/2011

I remember the scene well. It was a good idea for them to bond and appreciate each other at the end, but men (of any age) don't talk like that. You don't even think the words, unless it's "I love you man" which I picked up when I saw the movie of that title. When I was in my high school years, I would have NEVER told my friends "I love you", all semi-teary eyed, even if I had gone through what the characters went through. It's unspoken appreciation. If they had handled the scene in a more restrained and less verbal way, it would have worked better. But I'm sure they improvised 50 different versions and decided to use this version. If this is the best they could do, they should have just cut it, it wouldn't have affected the movie.

[rabb046]

11:54 PM on 09/21/2011

And that's why you are not a writer.

[Chicho]

12:21 PM on 09/21/2011

Yeah that scene was awkward in an otherwise Awesome and FUNNY movie

[LEX CENTRIC]

12:20 PM on 09/21/2011

i love this movie! i liked it much more than the "hangover". there are much more quotable lines in superbad than in hangover. hangover you will never forget "mclovin".

[PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS]

11:51 AM on 09/21/2011

Wouldn't mind being in a sleeping bag with Michael Cera, he is adorkable! :p

[Daws]

11:44 AM on 09/21/2011

I loved that scene of the movie. And isn't that profound: "The great romance of your youth is your best friend at that age." Awwww! Never looked at it that way.

[mojo filter]

10:59 AM on 09/21/2011

Another horrible, misleading headline from HP. Why do I keep coming here, I often ask myself.

[aknishtus]

10:14 AM on 09/21/2011

I didn't get far enough in Superbad for the sleeping bag scene. The chicks blood on the guys leg was a perfect example of how we've lost the ability to be genuinely funny. That scene spoke perfectly for the movie it was indeed, Superbad! God bless Mel Brooks!

[bradenton]

09:15 AM on 09/21/2011

I usually find R-rated movies uncomfortable "straight".

[skybar]

08:41 AM on 09/21/2011

That's one of the best scenes in the movie.

[Shikamaru]

03:28 PM on 09/21/2011

i thought it was hilarious as well, the movie was so raunchy and then you have that awkward ahhh moment, which did not fit quite right, but that made it perfect.

[KPinSEA]

02:31 AM on 09/21/2011

"The kids were losing their minds. But then there's that moment in the sleeping-bag scene when Michael and I say 'I love you' to each other, and all those kids kinda squirmed in their seats in the weirdest way."

Maybe because it didn't ring true and felt contrived ... good or bad, it's just not something you're likely to hear two straight guys in that situation say, and the minute dialogue takes you OUT of the movie and makes you think "the writer made a statement here," it's bad film.

[coolhandfreak]

12:17 AM on 09/21/2011

Even though I am a middle aged man I still appreciated the comedic genius of ''Super Bad''. Just an excellent voyage into high school separation angst between best friends. Chock full of crazed silliness that I found to be profoundly enjoyable. You have to be homophobic to let that ''drunk in the sleeping bag'' scene bother you.

[tcnsrq]

11:53 PM on 09/20/2011

there are many gays in baseball.

[Mort]

11:28 PM on 09/20/2011

Pontificating about the message of his silly film. A little large in the ego, Jonah?

[shadypotential]

11:51 PM on 09/20/2011

what? hes just talking about his film after esquire asked him a question. get over yourself

[Mort]

11:05 PM on 09/21/2011

I tried to get over myself. But the farther up the ladder I went the more I climbed up to meet me.

[ChelleAgain]

01:09 AM on 09/21/2011

He's talking about a touching moment in the film, not claiming you can wave a copy over the Red Sea and it will part.

[Mort]

11:05 PM on 09/21/2011

Touching... (giggle)