Superbad spawned a lot of memorable quotes when it came out ten years ago, but one of the big ones was Jonah Hill's flippant use of the term D.T.F., or "down to fuck." That phrase has lived on longer than most of the other moments from the movie, helped along by the Jersey Shore cast and more. However, it wasn't originally even written into the script. Recently, Jonah Hill explained where "down to fuck" actually came from, noting,
I didn't come up with it -- these kids I knew were taggers and their crew was called DTF, 'Down to Fuck.' I just said it in a scene and they left it in.
The scene in question features Hill's character, Seth, telling his other pal Evan about how he plans to hook up with a girl he likes. The scheme involves first buying a shitton of alcohol for her upcoming party and then using that alcohol as leverage to hook up with her on some level. During the conversation, he's talking about possibly making out or fooling around with the girl at the party and then potentially working into actually dating her and getting laid before college. While filming this scene, Jonah Hill casually dropped D.T.F. on set while ad-libbing, and thus the term D.T.F. was born.
Although he blatantly stole a phrase his tagger friends had thrown together, Jonah Hill said that at first they thought it was pretty freaking cool. And why wouldn't they? The year Superbad came out, the movie was a pretty huge phenomenon, showing how teenagers can actually behave in their natural environments. (Answer: pretty freaking vulgar.) We say at first, though, because according to what Hill told The Ringer, that goodwill for D.T. F. has not lasted.
They were hyped it was in the movie. [But then] they were really pissed off. The Situation ... made T-shirts and made a lot of money off it. I just thought it was so interesting --you say this thing that comes across your mind in a moment and then it's just there forever.
Yes, that's right, Jersey Shore made the quote its own and it has since become a more regular part of our cultural lexicon. While there are plenty of other comedies that have been around and have had avid fanbases for much longer than Superbad, I can't understate enough that Superbad came out a whole decade ago at this point. A decade ago, guys. It served as a launching point for a lot of careers, including giving Jonah Hill and Emma Stone their first big roles, and it has maintained a fanbase over the years.
If somehow you've missed out on this epic movie moment, you can give it a watch, below.
It's the anniversary year for Superbad, and as such a lot of great movie facts are running around. Whether you're D.T.F. or not, maybe now is a good time for a re-watch of the raunch comedy.
