Why McLovin’s Mom Was Forced to Witness His Cringiest Superbad Scene Will Shock You

Have you ever wondered how a film about underage shenanigans, ill-advised fake IDs, and a chubby little drawing notebook could burrow so deeply into the British psyche that 18 years later, an entire nation still giggles whenever someone utters the name “McLovin”? Me too. Superbad isn’t just another coming-of-age comedy—it’s an accidental time capsule, giving us both outrageous laughs and a wild sense of nostalgia. There’s something about Seth and Evan’s clumsy quest for booze, Emma Stone’s breakout charm, and those gloriously incompetent cops—played to perfection by Bill Hader and Seth Rogen—that makes it all feel like a fever dream you never want to snap out of. But let’s get real: the real legend here is Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s Fogel, better known as McLovin—a name so iconic it probably belongs in the British Museum by now. With BBC bringing it back to terrestrial TV for another midnight run, I can’t help but ask: is it possible to watch that infamous fake ID reveal without collapsing into fits of laughter—or secondhand embarrassment for poor Mintz-Plasse, who had to film that sex scene with his mom literally on set? Grab the popcorn, unearth that old ID you thought was impressive, and prepare for a masterclass in awkwardness. LEARN MORE

Superbad is a film that, since its release, has achieved legendary status in the UK.

This is clear from the fact that tonight, almost 18 years on from the Jonah Hill and Michael Cera classic, BBC are set to screen it for free on TV tonight.

Many aspects of the film are iconic, whether it be the main duo playing characters Seth and Evan, the number of young stars it spawned such as Emma Stone, or the cop duo played by Bill Hader and Seth Rogen.

For many, however, the most resoundingly memorable part of the film is McLovin.

The character, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, is the co-lead alongside Hill and Cera, and is the fake ID alter-ego of Mintz-Plasse’s Fogel.

McLovin is an iconic part of the film (Sony)

While Mintz-Plassse pissed off Hill to the point of trying to stop Judd Apatow hiring him, he ended up being given the now iconic part – but was forced to go through the embarrassing moment of having his mum watch him film a sex scene for the movie.

The film follows Seth and Evan trying to buy booze to throw a party so that Hill’s Seth can impress Emma Stone’s Jules.

Fogel gets an ID to try and secure the booze under the name McLovin and begins his own adventure, joining Hader and Rogen’s cop duo.

Eventually his character ends up hooking up with a girl Nicola, announcing the fact he has a boner and leading her to ask him if he has a condom.

Shortly after they start – his two cop friends run in and c*ckblock him.

The legendary fake ID (Sony Pictures)

If that wasn’t awkward enough, now picture all that with Mintz-Plasse’s Mum looking over the camera whilst it was happening.

The reason for this is the fact that the actor was 17 at the time, legally making him a minor in Los Angeles.

He spoke about this at a fan expo last year when asked what the craziest thing that happened during filming Superbad was.

He said: “The weirdest moment was, I was 17 so the sex scene that I shot, my mom had to be there on set. I didn’t know that at the time, because it was my first movie.

“I came to set, I was like ‘oh I’m doing my sex scene, I’ve got a boner’. All that kind of ****. They were like ‘where’s your mom’, what are you talking about?

“She had to drive all the way from the valley, we had to halt production for like an hour and a half. She came to set and she was a **** delight, man.

“She was eating popcorn, talking to the producers, watching me have fake sex. It was absurd, absurd.”

Finally he added a slightly hopeful extra note, saying: “But it made watching the movie with her a lot easier.”

Superbad is available to watch on BBC One tonight, June 13, at 11.25pm.