Knocked Up

(Alright, this is a disclaimer, because I can't actually in good conscience recommend this movie to anyone. It's got a TON of crass humor, not to mention nudity on occasion, and a birthing scene worthy of NOVA. Be that as it may, I was more than pleasantly surprise to see, yet again, that Jude Apatow has made a movie that against all odds has a really good heart and an even more admirable message. "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" had a similar amount of crude humor, but guess what!? Life has crude humor, it's life! And in the end of that one Andy, the main character, waited until he was married to have sex and it was a good thing, and it was shown as a good thing. What I'm trying to say is that without getting all preachy and all that, Apatow manages to entertain uproariously while still holding to some moral values that are rarely seen in movies these days. It's the same this time around. Abortion is mentioned, at one point some horrendous character or another tells Alyson that she should do what her sister did, which was "take care of it" and then later have a "real baby." That character was shown to be a pretty cold hearted bitch, (excuse my "hateful" language against abortion) and I was like, "heck yes! People who think that's the way it works have a whole other thing coming!" I digress. What I'm trying to say is that you should definitely check plugged in and/or screenit before you rush off and then blame me for recommending it. I liked the movie a lot, and I really liked that in the end the two characters are happy they kept their baby, and recognize what an amazing thing it is that they had it, however irresponsible and unplanned it was. Without further ado, here is my "official" review)



“Knocked Up,” the second directorial effort from Jude Apatow of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” is a movie that really could not have come at a better time. I say this for a number of reasons.
The first reason is that it is redemption for Katherine Heigl, best known for her role as Izzie Stevens on the vastly overrated, ridiculously soap operatic, soon-to-be-going-the-way-of-The O.C. (if there’s a God that is) Grey’s Anatomy.
Let us not be hasty to hate this poor reviewer, I will after all admit that I watch the horrid show, though why I still can’t quite figure out. The point of all this is that I had more or less begun to loathe Izzie, of late, for the unscrupulously skanky way in which she slept with George after he had gotten freaking married. In my haste to hate the little tramp I’d begun thinking poorly of the actress, but this has all been changed.
Katherine Heigl has quite the comedic timing, which she has displayed from time to scalpel gripping time on television, but here she finally has a role to showcase that talent completely and she’s truly fantastic.
The second reason that “Knocked Up” could not have been better timed is that, I think, audiences across America are in need of a little proof that a movie can be shamelessly crass and vulgar and then in the blink of an eye pull out some heavy emotional topics without feeling bogged down.
Anyone who watched “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” perhaps knows what I’m talking about. It was a pretty crass movie; there were conversations and situations that were enough to make even the most seasoned moviegoer blush, but it didn’t make fun of its hero, it commiserated with him.
“Knocked Up” is more or less the same way. It lets the audience laugh one of those uncomfortable “Oh dear God, please don’t EVER let this happen to ME!” laughs as the couple finds out about the unplanned pregnancy, and it lets us laugh at more pop culture references and, especially, pointed digs than we can even count.
But the characters are humans, meaning they are as neurotic, insecure, stupid, and vulnerable as any of us. And when Apatow takes a moment to interject some poignancy into the movie it is vastly more effective than most sappy by the book love movies you see these days.
Looking back on “Knocked Up,” I remember a couple times when I was floored by a particularly shocking joke or ploy, but I don’t feel like I’ve been drug face down through a seedy porn dungeon, which is exactly how I felt after watching such poor offerings as “American Pie” or “Van Wilder.” The real life humor and sentiments are what stick out in my mind, not the usual vulgarity.
This brings me around to the last, and arguably most relevant, reason why the timing of this release is so perfect. For those of us finishing up school, finals week approaches, and where there is stress, there is desperate need of humor.
This movie is really hilarious. In case you don’t know, it’s about an up and coming TV interviewer who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand with a less than impressive guy. Both of them are counseled by different people to “just take care of it,” but they decide that they’re going to raise it and give “them” a chance at being a real couple.
It’s unbelievably “sitcomesque,” so much so that I’m kind of shocked it hasn’t already been made. The resulting movie is one of the funniest things you’re likely to see all summer, or all year, for that matter. The script succumbs to no cheap ploys, and the acting is terrific.
Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (Apatow’s real life wife) are perfectly cast as a married couple who aren’t really happy, but don’t really know how to fix it. And Heigl plays opposite Seth Rogen, a loveable hopeless nerd who barely has what it takes to run his “fleshofthestars” website, much less be a father.
All in all it’s a pretty great movie. It’s not for everybody, but I’m not going to complain because I think that changing any of it to make it more suitable or appealing would be to ruin its delicately hysterical nature. If you want to laugh, or rather, if you want to make it through finals week without your head exploding, give it a shot. Chances are you’ll gloss over the parts you may dislike, and think fondly of what you enjoyed.

B+