'KNOCKED UP' IS PREGNANT WITH INSIGHT.Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic It feels a little weird to praise "Knocked Up" for its insightful character comedy. After all, the thing is basically a schlubby guy's fantasy. Immature, unemployed, overweight pothead pot·head n. Slang One who habitually smokes marijuana. Noun 1. pothead - someone who smokes marijuana habitually head - a user of (usually soft) drugs; "the office was full of secret heads" Ben Stone (Seth Rogen Seth Rogen (born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and Emmy-nominated writer. Rogen began his career doing standup comedy for four years during his teens, coming in second place in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest when he was sixteen. ) wins the heart of hot blond career woman Alison Scott ("Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl (born November 24, 1978) is an Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American actress and former fashion model. Biography Early life Heigl was born in Washington, D.C. ) after getting her pregnant one regrettably drunken night. Yeah, you could say it happens; but mostly just in dweebs' dreams. Brought to us by "40-Year-Old Virgin" writer-director Judd Apatow, "Knocked Up" revels in adolescent humor. There's goofy sex, naturally, and Ben's four loser roommates are always playing disgusting, gay-panicky tricks on one another. On the distaff side distaff side n. The female line or maternal branch of a family. [From the idea that spinning is women's work. , it's never convincingly established why Alison decides to have the child. Nor is anything about her past romantic life, which could theoretically explain why she keeps reaching out to a man who's kind of repulsive when she's sober, ever mentioned. All that and a lot more of this movie is built on boys' wish-fulfillment notions. Yet, rather amazingly, Apatow and the profoundly believable Rogen tell us a great deal about the way people think, behave and, however awkwardly, mature when the situation demands it. It's the "Sideways" of the "Something About Mary" subgenre sub·gen·re n. A subcategory within a particular genre: The academic mystery is a subgenre of the mystery novel. , a raunchy raun·chy adj. raun·chi·er, raun·chi·est Slang 1. a. Obscene, lewd, or vulgar: "[He] cartoon laughfest that takes its emotional issues dead seriously. Rogen, a funny presence in "Virgin" and on Apatow's TV shows "Undeclared" and "Freaks and Geeks Freaks and Geeks is an American television series, created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 TV season. Although the show, considered a comedy-drama, garnered much critical acclaim and a devoted cult following, repeated ," proves himself a first-class actor here. Other than a witty line of banter, Ben is hopelessly unequipped Adj. 1. unequipped - without necessary physical or intellectual equipment; "guerrillas unequipped for a pitched battle"; "unequipped for jobs in a modern technological society" to relate to women. But even if he doesn't know how to do it at all, he genuinely wants to be responsible. Rogen persuades us through every incremental step of Ben's sentimental education, and does so without the exaggerated neurosis neurosis, in psychiatry, a broad category of psychological disturbance, encompassing various mild forms of mental disorder. Until fairly recently, the term neurosis was broadly employed in contrast with psychosis, which denoted much more severe, debilitating mental movies usually attach to scared first-time fathers. Heigl does pretty well with Alison, too, despite the character's underdeveloped aspects. She's essentially the straight man of the piece yet has to perform its most outrageous comic acts as well (because, as we all know, boys think pregnant ladies are just the funniest). Heigl pulls it off and has the extra added comic advantage of Alison's job as producer/on-air announcer for the E! channel. This enables Apatow pals such as Steve Carell Steven John Carell (born August 16, 1962)[1] is a Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated American comedian, actor, producer and writer, who rose to fame as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, from 1999 to 2004. to make natural cameos as themselves and also leads to the most amusing thing Ryan Seacrest Ryan Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American radio and television personality. Seacrest is also a former children's game show host, who gained prominence as the host of the reality television amateur-search series American Idol. has ever done. And whether or not you really buy it, it can't be denied that Ben and Alison accommodate, fight with, disappoint and surprise one another in ways that not only ring true but bear a kind of interpersonal honesty that many real couples can only aspire to. That, more than anything, makes this unlikely pair a genuinely attractive couple. For contrast, "Knocked Up" also brings us into the marriage of Alison's sister, Debbie (Leslie Mann, the director's real-life wife) and Pete (Apatow regular Paul Rudd). They have a nice house in Brentwood and two cute little girls, played by Apatow and Mann's own daughters. But something is missing, and both spouses, in their funny/poignant ways, grasp at the youthful independence Ben and Alison are so questionably about to give up. None of these ideas are new, nor do they play out in particularly unexpected fashion. Unless, of course, you weren't expecting a movie packed with vulgar gags to know so much about life. Bob Strauss, (818) 713-3670 bob.strauss(at)dailynews.com KNOCKED UP - Three stars (R: sex, nudity, drug use, language) Starring: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann. Director: Judd Apatow. Running time: 2 hr. 9 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: For a male fantasy gross-out comedy, this tale of a beauty and a beast bonding over an unexpected pregnancy has surprising emotional intelligence, along with some great laughs. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Katherine Heigl, left, and Seth Rogen play an unlikely couple who, following a one-night stand, find out they are expecting a baby in "Knocked Up." |
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