Jonah Hill makes the need to be liked funny, then allows it to become uncomfortable. We rate him most when he keeps that vulnerability visible beneath the crude talk, giving us a reason to care about difficult company.
Fi1m perspective
In Superbad (2007), Jonah Hill's Seth keeps talking beyond the point at which his friend needs, or wants, another word. Hill makes the excess funny without losing the boy's fear of being left behind. College means separation from Evan, played by Michael Cera, and Seth's talk about sex keeps the more difficult subject safely out of the conversation. We recommend Hill most warmly here, where he can be exhausting and still make us care. The wish to be liked is obvious even when he makes liking him hard.
Cera's hesitation gives Hill something to respond to, and neither settles for repeating one comic rhythm. Greg Mottola gets tenderness from both actors, helped by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's script, which takes the friendship seriously from the start. We laughed at the obscene doodles because their sheer accumulation makes adolescent obsession look absurdly consuming. There are limits to what the performances can repair: the police subplot outstays its welcome, and the girls need more attention. Hill's ability to make Seth worth caring about does not excuse everything Seth does.
The move towards drama came with Cyrus (2010) and Moneyball (2011), where his work as Peter Brand brought credibility to a supporting character. He continued in comedy opposite Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street (2012). Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, gave him an outrageous, repellent character whom he could still make believable. These parts make sense after Seth: Hill had already shown how closely he could attend to someone whose behaviour might otherwise drive us away.
Mid90s (2018), his feature debut as writer-director, marks a move behind the camera, but it does not alter where we would begin with his acting. Start with Superbad and watch how carefully Hill and Cera respond to each other amid all that talk. Allow for the detours with the police, and choose company with a tolerance for the vocabulary.
Biography
Jonah Hill, born Jonah Hill Feldstein, is an American actor and filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in I Heart Huckabees (2004) and first gained prominence with his leading role as Seth in Superbad (2007).
Hill received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Moneyball (2011) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He has also appeared in 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, voiced characters in the How to Train Your Dragon films and The Lego Movie (2014), and made his directorial debut with Mid90s (2018).
