Knocked Up

I went into the theater not knowing what to expect, not having seen the trailer, and two hours later I felt I had seen a decent movie, quite funny at times, but I couldn't figure out what everyone was making such a big deal about. Compared to a lot of what passes for comedy in the cinema these days, Knocked Up is great, but it's hardly the "instant classic" that I've seen it called in many professional and IMDb reviews. It's certainly worth seeing, but maybe at a discount matinée instead of a full-price evening show.

Much of what is wrong with Knocked Up is simply an over-reliance on Seth Rogen to deliver the laughs. To be sure, Rogen is a funny guy - he handled the jump from second-tier supporting actor (a la 40 Year Old Virgin) to leading man surprisingly well, appearing confident and charismatic. The problem is that as the film goes on, he just doesn't get a whole lot to work with from his supporting cast. Rogen doesn't have enough in him at this point to carry an entire film on his shoulders, but often he is forced into that role, providing the only humor in many scenes (especially in the second half of the movie). At times it almost seems as if Rogen has landed in the wrong film, delivering clever quips and laughs while the barely-likable characters around him remain too serious. Paul Rudd manages to break this up, taking some of the burden off Rogen, but Katherine Heigl and Leslie Mann's unfunny and quasi-sympathetic characters drag them down.

To be sure, the first half of Knocked Up is great, but by the second half the script becomes mired in slow, cliché drama. Marital dissatisfaction and the loss of youth are interesting themes to explore, but in doing so, Knocked Up fails to establish a consistent tone. As the film trudges past the 90-minute mark, it is sometimes humorous, sometimes dour, often clichéd, all resulting in an awkward mix of styles.

Overall, Knocked Up was a good effort, but a little more editing of the script would have helped a lot. I don't mind long movies at all, but 20 minutes could have been trimmed from this film to good effect.

Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) meets Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) at a bar, they get drunk and have a little fun afterward, then they part ways. That is, until a few weeks later, Alison discovers she's pregnant and Ben is the father. This simple story makes up the hilarious film Knocked Up. I really enjoyed this, it has a lot of great laughs and it also has a lot of heart spread throughout.

Seth Rogen does an excellent job, I'm glad he's been given the chance to be the lead in such a big film. And Katherine Heigl is equally entertaining. The two of them are so great together, they're just so much fun to watch on screen. The supporting actors are also wonderful. Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd are perfect together. And I think Kristen Wiig steals the show with her small yet hysterical role as one of the workers at E!.

When people go to see this they'll want to compare it with 40 Year Old Virgin. Though I'm not a big fan of comparing movies to other movies, I guess I'll have to go through with it. For me, 40 Year Old Virgin is a funnier movie, but Knocked Up is a better written film and it has more heart to it. Both films based their story on a simple premise (a nerdy 40 year old hasn't had sex, a guy has a one night stand and gets the woman pregnant), but it seems like 40 Year Old Virgin used its idea to just get laughs. Knocked Up, on the other hand, uses its set up and continues the story throughout the film, developing its characters.

So, Knocked Up is a very enjoyable film, it has some big laughs (I particularly love the side story with the bearded roommate) but its also very sweet at times. I'm sure people will love it. See the movie and you'll get more than just laughs.

Although the subject matter wasn't really appealing to me, the critics and general audience reviews are right: this is a very well made movie. The acting is great, the plot fast-paced, the characters believable and the dialog witty and clever. It reminds me of Superbad - another movie that I would never normally see, but one which wins you over by it's sheer (albeit crude) brilliance.

The basic premise is simple: a young TV reporter celebrates a promotion by getting drunk and inadvertently pregnant. The father-to-be is a good natured, pot-head slacker who has no money. When she decides to have the baby, she's not sure what her relationship with the father should be... and the movie progresses from there.

It's a simple plot but the dialog is what makes this movie shine. No matter the scene, it was always fun to hear what the characters were going to say. Even though most of them were one-dimensional, the dialog made them seem human and easy to relate to. A fast-movie plot also kept the movie moving along - something was always happening and there was never a dull moment.

While there is a certain level of crudity throughout, the movie is generally lighthearted and innocent. It's a fun movie to see.

"Knocked Up" is a well-made, enjoyable comedy about the consequences of an unprotected one-night stand. It has dual lessons for its lead characters: Seth Rogen has to learn to grow up and accept responsibility and Katherine Heigl has to choose between a professional life as a television interviewer or a possibly less rewarding (as she sees it) life as a stay-at-home mom.

And because it's Judd Apatow, he handles the sex gags carefully and with enough maturity that it doesn't become another stale sex comedy. But I think some people jumping on the Apatow bandwagon are so eager to praise him as the "Savior" of the sex-comedy genre that they are overlooking some of the film's flaws.

First of all, if we're going to be picky, the comedy isn't very consistent. Which is OK - I'd prefer it that way - but when you see reviews touting it as "the funniest movie of the year," expectations can't help but build.

I didn't think the acting was as good as in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Seth Rogen is a great supporting actor - but I find him rather irritating as a lead character. His revelation at the end of the film, too, isn't very believable - they spend so much time focusing on his life as a slacker that the transition between him being a man-child and accepting responsibility is as realistic as a "Rocky" training montage; he has a heartfelt talk with his dad (Harold Ramis) and suddenly he's 100% willing to become committed. Okay.

I'm not a big Heigl fan, but she fit the role well here. Paul Rudd was the real scene-stealer, though. But he's thrown off-balance by the casting of Apatow's wife - can he PLEASE stop putting her in all his movies? She can't act.

Overall, this is an OK comedy - better than most of its genre - and the drama is more realistic than most sex comedies, but some people were so willing to jump on it as a "masterpiece" of its genre before it even came out that the hype just killed it for me.

This film is about a successful TV presenter who gets pregnant after a drunken one night stand.

"Knocked Up" tells a story that a lot of people fear, and a lot of people can relate to. The two individuals in the spotlight are very incompatible with each other, and yet they try to be in a relationship for the sake of the unborn baby. The film s funny at times, but most of the time the five pot heads are far too annoying to be entertaining. Watching them acting irresponsibly like spoiled teenagers is not my idea of comedy.

I cannot help compare "Knocked Up" with "This Is 40", which is the sequel of this. I found "This Is 40" funny but fragmented; "Knocked Up" is cohesive but not so funny. I think it is over-hyped. If it wasn't for Katherine Heigl's charm and Leslie Mann's attitude, "Knocked Up" would have been a bore.