‘Knocked Up’ loaded with laughs
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ISSUE: 11/08/07 > A&E > ‘Knocked Up’ loaded with laughs
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Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen star in “Knocked Up,” a romantic comedy about a one-night stand that leads to much more than anticipated. |
For the last few years, the amount of good comedies released has been few and far between. That is why we all should thank Judd Apatow for finally giving us consistently funny, well-written comedies; this is especially true for his newest comedy, “Knocked Up.” Following a string of underrated television shows and a comedy hit in “40-Year-Old Virgin,” Apatow proves once again why he is setting a new standard for comedies that few other writers or directors can reach.
“Knocked Up” tells the story of a one-night stand between stoner-bum Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and E! anchor Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl). After going their separate ways, Alison reluctantly contacts Ben when she discovers she is pregnant. Ben decides that he wants to be a part of her pregnancy, and from then on we see the highs and lows of their relationship as Ben “tries” to shape up and Alison tries to decide if she really needs, or even wants, Ben in the picture.
What makes “Knocked Up” so different from so many other comedies is the authenticity in Apatow’s writing. He rarely uses physical humor, but relies on dialogue and interaction between characters as the basis for the humor. It makes the humor more easier to relate to, thus more effective. “Knocked Up” succeeds where other movies fail because it takes a real life situation and uses real life humor within it.
The major component of “Knocked Up” that separates it from other comedies is the way in which Apatow focuses on giving the audience intelligent humor as well as a well-constructed story. So many movies try to provide humor through outrageous situations. But “Knocked Up” works because it has a very serious storyline through the situation with Alison and Ben, and at the same time, scenes between Ben and his friends and Alison and her sister provide some very funny moments.
The one minor downside of “Knocked Up” is that Apatow didn’t want to sacrifice any of his story to save running time, but that didn’t mean the movie needed to be two-plus hours. I applaud him for giving us more than 90 minutes of laughs with no plot, but to keep from losing the audience in the end, a tight hour and 40 minutes would have been perfect.
One major aspect of the movie that everyone needs to be forewarned about is the content. A majority of the scenes are genuinely funny, but there is also some heavy sexual dialogue and some sexual situations that definitely deserve the R rating. If you can stand some adult content, “Knocked Up” has a little something for everybody that will have you laughing during the movie and smiling at the end.
