Those who were introduced to McLovin in the 2007 teen-comedy Superbad may feel old, as the Hawaiian organ donor with no last name has just turned 40.
The raunchy comedy put many of today’s big Hollywood actors on the map, including Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
The movie is loosely based on the real-life adventures of Rogen and Goldberg’s teenage selves as they were growing up in Vancouver in the 1990s.
The movie versions of Rogen and Goldberg were played by Hill and Cera, but the true scene-stealer was their friend Fogell, played by Christopher-Mintz Platz.
Fogell is responsible for the movie’s most memorable gag, which involves a fake ID and a very unconvincing name. For that scene alone, Fogell became better known as McLovin.
Seth Rogen celebrated McLovin’s 40th with a throwback image of the iconic fake ID which quickly went viral.
“Happy 40th birthday McLovin. (We wrote this joke when we were 14 years old),” captioned Rogen.
Rogen and Goldberg not only wrote Superbad about their experiences as teenagers, but they wrote most of it when they actually were teenagers. This is most likely why the film found so much success, as so many people could relate to their teenage years.
The movie grossed over $170 million worldwide and saw Cera pick up the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Performance by a Male, while Rogen and Goldberg won Best Writing.
Jordan Gordon-Levitt and fans wish McLovin a happy birthday
Actor Jordan Gordan-Levitt, who starred alongside Rogen in The Night Before, also gave McLovin his best birthday wishes.
“Happy 40th birthday, McLOVIN.” He wrote alongside a picture of the infamous ID.
Fans also celebrated McLovin’s big day with their own stories of McLovin’s legacy.
“there is a liquor store in my neighborhood that has a “NO MCLOVINS” sign under a display of fake IDs they seized over the years,” wrote one fan.
While another shared, “My favourite moment during my short time working at Publix was completing the Wine Certification training and seeing this ID pop up as an example of what NOT to accept. McLovin’s legacy lives on.”
Why Superbad 2 never happened
A sequel to the comedy hit never happened simply because none of the movie’s writers, directors, or cast were on board.
In a 2015 interview with Cinema Blend, Superbad’s producer Judd Apatow revealed that he wanted to make a sequel out of affection for the main characters. The movie would have followed Seth, Evan, and Fogell as they attempted to navigate college life. However, none of the cast wanted this to happen.
During the interview, Apatow said, “The actors, no one with Superbad thought we should do another Superbad. But I wanted to do Superbad in college desperately, but no one would listen to me.”
In a 2020 interview with LADbible, Rogen revealed that he simply didn’t want to mess with perfection.
He stated, “I’m so terrified of subtracting from it in any way with a bad sequel or spin-off that I’d never do it. I have so few actual good accomplishments that I’m horrified to f**k with the ones I have.”
Considering that Superbad was a comedic look back at real events from Rogen and Goldberg’s lives, it’s understandable that Rogen has no plans of making a sequel.