Review: Knocked Up

Originally posted at Epinions



Knocked Up isn’t the sort of movie I will normally go see in the theater. It’s the sort I would normally wait to rent or wait for a friend to bring it over or maybe wait for it to show up on cable. 40 Year-Old Virgin was fun and all but not $10 (or more in certain places) worth of fun.

You know, occasionally, I can be wrong.

I did go see Knocked Up in the theater. In fact, I’ve seen it twice. It’s a movie that I thoroughly enjoy. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s moving. Sometimes it’s just plain wrong but it’s also down to earth and something that I think people can actually relate to. There are so many moments that make me think of my friends, situations they’ve been in, antics they’ve been up to. I’m not sure what that may say about myself and my friends but I like to think that it means Judd Apatow is somewhat in touch with reality.

Knocked Up is about Ben and Alison and the results of their drunken one night stand. Alison is a gorgeous blond who is working her way up in the entertainment news industry while Ben is an overweight stoner with about $100 to his name. From the title of the film the results of their one night are a given. It’s the journey they take over the next nine months that the film is concerned with. How do two people who are so different, headed in such different directions in life, reconcile themselves to a fate that has tied them together? Can they make it work? Is making it work enough?

Katherine Heigl and Seth Brogan star as Alison and Ben. They are joined by Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd as Alison’s sister Debbie and Debbie’s husband Pete; Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, and Charlyne Yi play Ben’s band of fellow stoners. Joanna Kerns, Harold Ramis, Alan Tudyk, and Kristen Wiig make appearances as well.

I really enjoyed all of the performances. Heigl and Brogan work well together, their chemistry is convincing and I believe in the relationship that slowly builds between them. It’s an awkward situation, to say the least, and I like the way that their characters work it out. I also enjoyed the supporting cast. Debbie and Pete create a great sub-plot that adds tension and conflict to not only their relationship but to Ben and Alison’s as well. As far as the stoners go, well, I may know a few people like that. They seemed fairly realistic to me.

As good as the acting in a film like this may be, what it really comes down to is the writing. And in that regard Knocked Up wins. As a comedy it kept me laughing through the entire film. The second time I watched it I still laughed the entire film. The jokes don’t get old, the movie is never boring. It’s a movie I can see myself buying and pulling out for a movie night with my friends, even when we’ve all seen it already.

My favorite part of the movie, two times through: The scene between Ben and Pete in the hotel room in Vegas. There really were a lot of chairs.

Knocked Up is a lot of fun. At a running time of just over two hours some people might get a little antsy but I don’t think it’s overly long. There aren’t any scenes that feel unnecessary. It’s all funny, it’s all well written, and it’s really all very likeable.