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Printer-Friendly ModeApatow's skill behind lens shows in Knocked Up
June 25, 2007 —
Knocked Up, like its predecessor The 40 Year Old Virgin, depicts one of life's great moments surrounded by imperfection. Writer and director Judd Apatow seems to have a knack for this, as both films are highly successful at showing life with both goodness and humor despite the shortcomings of their respective characters.
Seth Rogen stars as the appropriately named Ben Stone, who spends most of his time getting high with friends while occasionally making halfhearted attempts at putting together a pseudo-erotic Web site.
Katherine Heigl costars as Alison Scott, who works at E! and is promoted to an onscreen role during the opening scenes. The portions of Knocked Up that took place at the network were some of my favorite in the movie, and I wish they showed more - there's an outstanding cameo by James Franco, among others.
Obviously, events must take place which inspire the title of the movie. In one drunken night out with her sister, who is married, Alison hooks up with the unlikely Ben. Due to a pretty stupid and unbelievable act of miscommunication, Alison ends up pregnant.
Here's where things really get good, surprisingly. The depiction of Alison and Ben, who are very different people, as they struggle with the situation they find themselves in feels real and honest. Their developing relationship has a lot of ups and downs as they try to come to terms with the pregnancy, and at some points I found myself unsure of how things would end up. That's a rare thing in recent movies.
Accompanying Alison and Ben's story is that of Alison's sister Debbie (Leslie Mann), and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd). Already with children of their own, Debbie and Pete show a different element of the imperfect realities of relationships. Pete is cold and detached (and very humorously so), and Debbie - not without reason - suspects him of cheating. Debbie, on the other hand, soon becomes out of control in her insecurities, and Pete's behavior begins to be more understandable. When we find out where Pete has really been sneaking off to on the nights he says he has to work, the situation comes across as funny, serious, and bittersweet all at once. While easy to watch, this is not a simple film.
These plot developments are highlighted by their realism, but also their humor. Every major character has a unique relationship to the others, and all of them grow throughout the film. Yet while they do this, Knocked Up manages to be a very funny movie. The aforementioned cameos aside, there are a lot of excellent comedic scenes to be enjoyed. Ben and Pete's relationship was particularly funny to me, culminating in a humorous trip to Vegas that was surprisingly gimmick-free.
On the downside, Knocked Up is a little long for what it has going on. It's a bit unnecessary that it exceeds two hours, and probably could have benefited from a good 15 minute cut. It isn't that I wasn't pleased by the conclusion, or the buildup to it, but there were scenes that could be reasonably described as filler. Sure, that's part of the idea. In order for Knocked Up to succeed, it needs scenes that build up the characters and show the audience their trials and tribulations. Otherwise the audience would feel as detached as Pete by the time the conclusion rolled around. The movie just takes it a step too far.
Overall, Knocked Up is an excellent movie, and sits alongside The 40 Year Old Virgin as part of a promising directorial career for Judd Apatow. Here's hoping for more like it in the future.