Knocked Up: Movie Review, DVD Review, HD DVD Review (2007)

8/26/2007 Posted by Admin

"Knocked Up"
Written and directed by Judd Apatow, 129 minutes, rated R

Some might scoff at the idea that a picture as good-naturedly raunchy as the new Judd Apatow movie, “Knocked Up,” also could be smart, warm and funny, but that’s nevertheless the case. Mirroring Apatow’s last film, “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” the director’s latest is a terrific, deceptive sleight of hand.

Its title makes it sound purely low-brow, which it certainly is in parts, but not in whole. No comedy this consistently laugh-out-loud funny could only be the result of sex jokes--after 10 minutes, they'd lose their punch. The energy would evaporate. Boredom would settle in. Nobody would bother to light up.

But light up they do. It isn't often that you come upon a comedy that succeeds in generating laughs from each joke it goes after, but that's true for “Knocked Up.” In the wake of such recent disappointments as "Shrek the Third" and the awful “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” the movie already is shaping up to be one of this season’s brighter highpoints.

The film stars Katherine Heigl as Alison Scott, a producer for the E! cable network who is celebrating her promotion to entertainment reporter when she meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a 23-year-old, bong-smoking slacker who literally charms the pants off Alison--and who leaves her pregnant after a heated one-night stand.

What ensues is a movie that has no agenda other than to observe--there is no finger wagging here. As such, instead of creating an uneasy comedy that finds Alison and Ben wrestling over whether to abort their child and each other, Apatow instead follows the awkward courtship that springs from their unlikely relationship.

It's in this way that "Knocked Up" recalls the genesis of its title--it's something of a throwback. Ben is an immature wreck, for sure, but he means well and he wants to do right by Alison, who recognizes in Ben (at least until her hormones kick in) someone who might be able to go the distance. As with all of all of Apatow’s characters, they feel real, which gives the film a soul it otherwise would have lacked, and also unexpected depth that doesn't sacrifice the humor.

Much of the laughs come from the superb supporting cast. There's Alison’s calculating sister, Debbie (Leslie Mann, Apatow’s wife), and Debbie's husband, Pete (Paul Rudd), who have been married for years--and it shows. Also onboard are Ben’s stoner friends, a scattershot bunch who are as endearing as they are emotionally stunted, with Apatow seamlessly weaving their idiosyncrasies into the plot.

Comedy is too difficult to craft, its elements too challenging to get right, for its success to be a fluke. And nothing is a fluke in "Knocked Up." As with the best comedies, the film mines its laughs from recognizable human traits. Its premise might sound like something some folks might dread, but as a movie, it’s everything you could wish for.

Grade: A