Reality often inspires art, and if it’s popular enough, art can inspire reality, in turn too. Remember 2007’s Superbad? Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s character iconically donned a fake ID with the “legal name” McLovin in order to buy alcohol at a liquor store ahead of a high school party. It’s a hilarious highlight of the bro comedy from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and now an underage man has now been arrested for possessing the ID with the same name.
Seth Rogen found the report and cleverly responded on Twitter with this:
On Friday, local police officers arrested a 20-year-old man from Iowa for possessing the McLovin ID he apparently bought from Amazon. He was approached by an officer at a bar while consuming a drink with vodka in it. After admitting he was drinking alcohol, he was taken outside the bar and asked to show his ID. Daniel Alfredo Burleson did so, revealing his age of 20. When he was probed for his fake ID, he said he didn’t have one but when he went through his wallet the police said they could see his “fake Hawaii ID with the name ‘McLovin DOB 06/03/1981”, exactly mirroring Superbad!
According to the arrest report, Burleson smelled strongly of alcohol, had slurred speech and bloodshot watery eyes. He was wearing a wristband from the bar – begging the question did the McLovin ID work? Or maybe he was he able to just get in without being carded? He was arrested and charged with public intoxication, possession of a fake ID, possession of alcohol while underage and being in a bar after 10pm while being under 21.
It’s true the McLovin “fake ID” can be easily purchased on Amazon for $7 but clearly to be used as a joke. Even though the night ended in an arrest, it’s a hilarious way to get booked. The 20-year-old almost seems pleased with himself in his mugshot picture. Take a look:
Going back to Seth Rogen, one might imagine the Superbad writer finds a source of pride in a story such as this. Having something you wrote reach such popularity that it inspires an actual illegal act is a next level cultural phenonmenon. It’s a rather innocent one too, considering the 20-year-old wasn’t too far away from being allowed to attend a bar and consume alcohol legally.
Superbad was certainly a life-changing comedy for Seth Rogen, that propelled his, Jonah Hill and Michael Cera’s careers further-- along with providing a jumping off point for Emma Stone and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Most recently, the writing partners reinvented the Superbad concept with middle schoolers in a sense with Good Boys. It reached an R-rated comedy box office milestone over the summer by crossing $100 million worldwide.
And, Superbad remains a classic, the new generation of young people seem to be latching on to.
