Knocked Up

Knocked Up

Directed by: Judd Apatow

Starring: Katherine Heigl

Genre: Comedy

Run Time: 129 min.

Release Date: June 2007

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

KNOCKED UP has some of the funniest dialog and delivery you’ve probably ever seen in the past year. Although the plot is a bit contrived and unrealistic (the stoner dude with no ties would probably tuck tail and run when he found out about the pregnancy!), the acting is quite good with a cast that reflects the moral ambiguity of our times.

This is the story of a one-night-stand that never should have happened. The girl, Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is sexy, funny, and successful. The boy, Ben Stone (Seth Rogen, THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN) is a pot-smoking and frumpy loser with nearly pornographic ambitions.

The two unawares meet up at a hoppin’ club and bump into one another at the bar. Alison has already had too much to drink and Ben is also well on his way. The two dance, chat, and eventually end up in bed, much to the chagrin of Alison come coyote morning. The two happily separate from one another and both think that is that. But a few weeks later, Alison’s morning sickness kicks in. She and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, BOTTLE ROCKET) rush to the drug store and buy up every brand of pregnancy test they can find and, yep, that little red line shows up every time.

Alison and Ben are thrust back together in the name of impending parenthood. Alison quickly decides that abortion is out of the question; she wants a kid and is already getting “older.” Forced to either accept the pregnancy or leave Alison and her unborn child to circumstances, Ben tries to form a bond with Alison, only to have multiple obstacles thrown in his path. First is his lifestyle. He lives with a bunch of stoners who’s only wish is to create a website that focuses on female nudity. Ben’s father (Harold Ramis, THE ICE HARVEST, director) can’t give much fatherly advice since he’s a washed-up stoner, too. And Alison’s sister Debbie doesn’t really want him around.

Alison and Ben’s on-again off-again relationship seems doomed. The two have nothing in common except the pregnancy and the audience is left (for a while) to wonder if Alison wouldn’t be better off raising her child away from Ben anyway.

Eventually the fateful delivery day looms and Ben has set himself onto the path of fatherhood, moving himself away from his pot-smokin’ days and buddies. Although Alison has shunned him, the two are forced back together again once Alison’s labor begins and she has no way to get to the hospital. Rushing her through traffic, Ben gets her to the delivery suite and Alison and he are eventually united via the bonds of babydom.

The funniest parts of the film are surprisingly not between Heigl and Rogen, but instead between Rogen and Paul Rudd (NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM), who plays Pete, Debbie’s husband and Alison’s brother-in-law, as they head to Vegas on a roadtrip after Debbie boots him out of the house and he finds solace with Ben. Their ‘shroom experience is absolutely fantastic and will probably have you wetting yourself (“There are five different kinds of chairs in this room.”)

This is, without a doubt, director Judd Apatow’s best film to date; it’s even above THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN and ANCHORMAN. But it is unrealistic. People as varied as Ben and Alison do not get together. And even if they initially did, they certainly wouldn’t stay so. That said, I will say that it was refreshing to not see two hunky actors in the prime roles. Although Katherine Heigl is a damn fine looking lady, there are other actresses that certainly look better. And Seth Rogen appears as a sloth, which was an interesting dichotomy within the sexual portions of the film.