“Knocked Up”Starring: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann
3.5 stars out of 4
Director-Writer Judd Apatow is now on the short list of comedic genius’s working today in Hollywood. Apatow’s debut film “The 40 year old Virgin” provided audiences last summer with many laughs, while the film also received great reviews for its originality and substance. This time around Apatow centers his film on a one night stand gone completely wrong, the effect is a stoner and a career driven women coming together to make it work, and figuring out things about themselves in this brilliant comedy that is even funnier the 2nd time around.
Seth Rogen, plays Ben Stone, a stoner who lives with 4 of his buddies who are all working on a website devoted to movie stars and there specific nude scenes in the movies they appear in. Ben is not your usual hunk, hes overweight, jobless, but sometimes charming. Katherine Heigl plays Alison Scott, who is rising in the ranks of her job on the E! Channel. When Alison is out celebrating her promotion with her older sister Debbie, she encounters Ben; they dance, drink, and wind up back at her place when Ben’s miscommunication leads him to not using a condom and conceiving his future child.
The next day Alison realizes how drunk she actually was and feels disgusted for having sex with this naked man snoring in her bed. Ben offers to take here to breakfast, where they make short conversation, and that is the last that they see each other. 8 weeks later, Alison finds herself throwing up and realizes she is pregnant with Ben’s child. The film is smart in making us appreciate and like these characters right from the start, that we immediately find that whatever happens will be hilarious.
Another key aspect of the film is how Alison accepts Ben for not his looks, but as a man trying his best to support her at times, and be interested in all the pre-baby shopping/activities. Its fun to see Alison taking a liking into this comedic genius played by Seth Rogen, who is ultimately climbing the ladder with every role, he plays. Rogen and his buddies make the film; they are up to date on all pop culture, which is key in making fun of each other, among other things. Also the film is very up to date with the modern world, “Spiderman 3” is mentioned 3 times, also Alison sister insists on her kids goggling everything. While the film will draw heavy comparisons to “The 40 year old Virgin” for its disgusting jokes, crude humor, and foul language, I must say that both films are huge successes when its comes to Apatow’s talent for comedy and relationships.
Paul Rudd, who plays Debbie’s wife Pete, is also very funny; he plays the sarcastic bored husband to a tee. Rudd is a hidden gem among working actors, he recently said in an Entertainment Weekly article that he likes to be under the radar, and not that popular, Rudd has appeared in such films like “Clueless”, “Anchorman”, and “The 40 year old Virgin.” It’s only appropriate that I dedicate a whole paragraph to this man, because he and his wife Debbie, played by Leslie Mann propel this comedy further along with the rest of the cast. It’s amazing how charming and downright hilarious this film allows itself to be. Some of the humor is hard to recognize, because the script talks about other movies and people that some people may not pick up on, but Apatow is clearly in the know of what makes audiences laugh for 2 hrs and 15 minutes.
Apatow also balances the film to actually make it good, other than just funny and amusing, Heigl brings freshness to young female actors, while the rest of Apatow’s cast is just running throw the motions in making this film great. I cant say enough about the chemistry of the cast, and the classic dialogue, trips to Vegas, sex scenes, and busting a man at a fantasy baseball draft have never been funnier. Kudos to Apatow, keep up the good work.
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