By Collin Kornfeind
The title says it all.
E! Network correspondent Allison (Katherine Heigl) gets knocked up by random stoner/loser Ben (Seth Rogan-you know, the guy who just three years ago was credited as “Eager Cameraman” in Anchorman and is now the poster child for a big-budget Hollywood comedy) after a night of heavy drinking and confusing sex talk. Two hours in movie time later, the baby is born and the credits roll. But it’s in the nine months of anticipation that the film finds its life, warmth and hilarity.
The supporting cast fills this simple story pool with liquid and keeps the viewer buoyant with interest and laughs-no matter how low the humor goes. Ben’s four pot-head housemates keep the weed and sex-related one-liners coming throughout while Allison’s sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd) make with the typical stuck-in-a-rut, married couple humor.
Everything described so far is a formula for mediocrity, but Judd Apatow of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Undeclared fame directs this film (that he also wrote) with a very personal feel, whether it is in the candid moments of girl/guy banter or unflinchingly showing the nauseating reality of childbirth. So beware: do not expect The 40-Year-Old Virgin, despite the fact that the posters for the films side-by-side look like they were shot at the same studio with a different color scheme.
Knocked Up does not spend time with the sporadic, “you know how I know you’re gay” jokes but instead takes the “oh yeah, that’s so true” road in its most touching scenes, finding humor in human interaction, manners and, of course, how having a baby actually changes everything (guess those Johnson’s commercials had it right all along). One great example is Pete’s observation of the amusement his kids get from bubbles and the jealousy he feels at the fact that he doesn’t love anything as much as his kids love bubbles.
Don’t let this deter those of you who want easily-digestible comedy gold because the film covers those bases just as well (see Paul Rudd tripping on shrooms in Vegas). If it weren’t for the gigantic product placement and celebrity cameos, you might mistake Knocked Up for an observantly-funny indie movie in the vein of Clerks or In the Company of Men. Instead, what exists is one of the most wholesome major studio productions in years.
