After seeing Judd Apatow's hilarious smash comedy "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and hearing the great things about his follow-up movie, "Knocked Up", I looked forward to getting a chance to sit down and watch it. However, I seemed to never get around to watching "Knocked Up", the movie that many called `the best comedy of 2007', so I eventually just forgot all about it. That is until my wife and I caught the trailer on TV recently and we finally decided to go rent the movie and see if it could live up to all the hype that had been bestowed upon it since its release last year.
"Knocked Up" tells the story of Ben (Seth Rogen), a slacker who has nothing more on his mind than hanging out with friends and having a good time, and Alison (Katherine Heigl), a career woman who longs for bigger and better things to come so long as she can stay focused on the path she's set herself upon. Then, after an intoxicated one night stand, and two months and countless pregnancy tests later, Alison and Ben find themselves in for the surprise of their lives as they must prepare themselves to welcome a new bouncing bundle of joy into their world. Now these two complete opposites are trying to get to know each other and begin a relationship, figure out what they need for the baby, and above all else how to become two mature, responsible parents.
Well, I guess the question is, did "Knocked Up" live up to all the hype that moviegoers built up around it, or was the weight of it all too much for it to handle? I would have to say that the movie successfully lived up to the hype with relative ease, as my wife and I laughed aloud numerous times throughout the movie, and easily enjoyed every minute of it. The story for "Knocked Up" was hilarious, often times crude, and surprisingly heartfelt several times throughout the movie. I liked that the story didn't solely rely on sight gags to get the laughs, it featured a smartly written script that was chock full of hilarious one-liners, and uncomfortable yet hilarious situations that can occur throughout pregnancy and child birth. Kudos to Judd Apatow for delivering a solid script that was not only incredibly funny, but was also serious at times to break up the proceedings without being too overly dramatic to distract from the fact that it was still a comedy. Some comedy writers are too scared to try for any actual drama within their story, which is fine as well; while others try to fit it in but fail to make the various elements gel properly. Which is what makes Judd such a great writer is that he knows how to make each of the components of his story work well with each other and seem natural within the overall movie.
The cast was hilarious and fully capable of handling anything Judd Apatow's script could throw at them, and each created such fun and engaging characters that there was never a dull moment in the movie. Seth Rogen's ("The 40 Year Old Virgin") character of Ben was hilarious as we get to see how uncomfortable he is around kids, yet over time he matures into a more responsible adult who is essentially ready to do what is necessary as a parent to a newborn child. Katherine Heigl (TV's "Grey's Anatomy") brought a more serious character with Alison to balance out Ben's more outlandish behavior, though she wasn't without her moments of hilarity as well. Even though her character was much more mature from the start, she still had her own arc that took her from career-minded woman to a pregnant woman full of uncontrollable hormones who is struggling to keep her sanity amidst a somewhat dim-witted boyfriend, a controlling sister, and a job where her looks define her success, and eventually into a woman ready to welcome a child into the world with the man she loves, no matter how mismatched they may be. The supporting cast led by Paul Rudd ("40 Year Old Virgin"), Leslie Mann ("Drillbit Taylor"), and Jonah Hill ("Superbad") were hilarious and made their characters just as memorable as the two leads. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann's married characters of Pete and Debbie were a possible glimpse into what the future held for Ben and Alison, which was a nice way to show the do's and don'ts of parenting and marriage. Jonah Hill was absolutely hilarious as the outspoken and opinionated Jonah, who is one of Ben's many slacker friends. Turning up in surprising cameos are actor/director Harold Ramis ("Analyze This") and Joanna Kerns (TV's "Growing Pains") as Ben's dad and Alison's mom, I guess this just shows that a Judd Apatow movie will attract all different types of talent, so you never know what to expect.
"Knocked Up" is a hilarious, laugh out loud movie that easily lives up to the hype surrounding it, and did not disappoint in the least. I highly recommend watching "Knocked Up" if you're a fan of Judd Apatow or if you are a person who is not easily offended and is looking for a hilarious comedy that will keep you laughing from start to finish.
"Knocked Up" is available in rated R and unrated editions both contain language and nudity/sexuality. |
