Knocked Up

KNOCKED UP
PARAMOUNT
RELEASED 24 August 2007
Judd Apatow (writer/director) and Seth Rogen (writer/actor) really left their calling card with 2006’s ‘The 40 Year Old Virgin’, and with ‘Knocked Up’ they have definitely created the funniest movie of 2007.
Seth Rogan play Ben, your typical late twenties lad drifting through life, living with his stoner buddies and coming up with business ideas like a ‘movie star’s naked appearances’ website, which doesn’t sound like a bad idea except for the fact that an identical site already exists. Of course, Ben and his mates haven’t even bothered to check, so their months of work is wasted. Wasted is also what the lads are virtually every night of the week. One night out leads to Ben hooking up with Alison (Katherine Heigl), an attractive TV presenter who has one too many drinks and falls for Ben’s stupid dance moves. Waking up in the morning turns out to be embarassing for both parties. Alison realises Ben doesn’t have much going for him (ie no job, no money, and the social habits of a teenager) and they awkwardly say their goodbyes. Two months later, Alison feels sick and a pregnancy test confirms the worst – her one-night stand has left her expecting. So Alison and Ben decide to date each other to find out if there’s any chance they might be able to be bring up the baby together.
‘Knocked Up’ is one of those rare comedy films that is funny from start to finish. Not only is it hilarious, but it highlights the many obstacles modern relationships face, and the possible future of a couple which is played out by Alison’s older sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd), who have a family and wonder whether they can ever expect to have any fun again. Ben can have fun with the kids, but Debbie worries about Ben’s suitability to become a parent when he whistles to one of the kids as if she’s a dog. You can’t help but laugh at Ben’s friends (Jay Baruchel, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill, and Martin Starr), and there’s a superb sequence where Ben and Pete have a boys’ night in Las Vegas and take too many ‘mushrooms’ at the circus in the vain hope of proving they can still party hard. Even the hotel furniture becomes funny in the hands of these two ‘past it’ party animals.
All to often these days, people bandy the term ‘classic’ around about films that are merely good entertainment. But there is no doubt that ‘Knocked Up’ is an instant classic. Where this month’s excellent ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ delivers action from the opening scene and never loosens it’s grip on you, ‘Knocked Up’ does the same only making you laugh right from the off and still keeping you laughing two hours later.
If you enjoy ‘Knocked up’, you’ll be delighted to hear there are plenty more movies coming from the same team over the next twelve months. See the ‘Super Bad’ review on this page, and remember the titles ‘Walk Hard’ (Apatow, out 18th Jan 2008) and ‘Drillbit Taylor’ (Rogen, Owen Wilson, out 28th March 2008).
FIVE OUT OF FIVE