Knocked Up
(2007)Writer/director Judd Apatow's follow up to The 40 Year Old Virgin. With a penchant for the aptly titled, his second feature as director is about pot-headed oaf Ben (Seth Rogen) and hot, entertainment TV presenter Alison (Katherine Heigl), who find themselves expecting after a one night stand. ... More
Being both good people at heart, they try to make the situation work. This involves getting along with each other, and their respective 'families' - Ben's stoner friends, and Alison's blunt sister (Leslie Mann) and sister's detached husband (Paul Rudd).Hide
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Directed by Judd Apatow
Starring Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Martin Starr
Written by Judd Apatow
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 3 providers
Flicks Review
BY Flicks Writer
Story: great pot-headed, lovable Ben gets lucky and one night scores out-of-his-league, hot entertainment TV presenter Alison. Inebriated copulation leads to impregnation. Ben and Alison, being both good people at heart, try to make this work.
So the film is situational in nature, and Apatow leaves his actors on loose reigns. That’s not to say it’s wayward or sloppy, rather it has the very appealing feel of being improvised. This creates a refreshing ‘casualness’ in each scene –moments are real, and funny (often both). It’s very pleasing to watch a comedy where the jokes spring naturally from the situation or character, and aren’t forced.
Whilst it doesn’t always avoid clichés and some moments are noticeably weaker, the overall effect makes for a distinctive mainstream comedy.
Seth Rogen (The 40 Year Old Virgin) as Ben and Katherine Heigl (from tv’s Grey’s Anatomy) as Alison, are an inspired choice for the lead roles. Rogen personifies the film’s tone; he’s relaxed, crude and has puppy dog eyes. Heigl has an extremely watch-able quality. She steals the show later in the film when frustrations boil over and she starts to rark shit up. One of the film’s most memorable scenes has the two on the way to a clinic, arguing full tilt in the car. This leads to a priceless confrontation during the check-up.
The support cast is also bang on – Ben’s friends (played by Rogen’s real life friends) are just like yours. Alison’s disapproving sister is played by Leslie Mann as a peculiar, control freak of a woman. Alison’s sisters’ husband is played by Paul Rudd – an extremely detached middle ager.
Without specifics, the ending is a good example of Judd Apatow’s (tv’s Freaks and Geeks, The 40 Year Old Virgin) fresh breath in mainstream comedy. How many Ben Stiller / Adam Sandler / Will Ferrell movies wimp out at the end? After hearty laughter they tack on a crap ending just to ‘conclude’, to tie it all up. You may as well leave ten minutes before it’s over. Knocked Up’s conclusion feels natural.
Apatow skillfully mixes the longing of a romantic comedy with some pretty frank relationship observations. I feel the latter owes much to the maligned, but underrated The Break-Up (with Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn). That film is brutally honest in its depiction of the seeming impossibility of even communicating with the opposite sex, let alone dating them. While Knocked Up does this, it doesn’t push it nearly as dark as the The Break Up does, and finds a middle ground sure to please many a girl and boy.
Reviewed by Paul Scantlebury.
The Peoples' Reviews
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Knocked Up
A well-acted and watchable comedy which, given its massive sleeper success, will act as a barometer by which future comedies will undoubtedly be matched up against.
The atypical ebb and flow relationship dynamics of all Hollywood comedies are still there, but made less annoying by a frank and syrup-free approach.
This was a very accessible movie, I recognised characters or situations that I was familiar with. It was funny without sacrificing realism, and was even a bit, dare I say it, moving. It would be very hard to dislike this movie.
funny movie, but sometimes bittersweet with real emotions about being married and having kids. heaps of laughs though!
Went along to the see this movie because Katherine is hot. I remember laughing all the way through, but by the next day the movie was but a distant memory.
This was so funny... I loved it and will see it again. It's just better than most films... the actors are interesting and not your typical main actors. The story is real basic but for laugh out loud funnies don't go past this!
Showing 5 of 7 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
91%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
1/2 Believe the hype, Knocked Up is one of the funniest films of 2007. It's too early in the year to crown it the supreme funniest title, but save for something so funny your head explodes in the theater, I think it'll take the title by year's end. Seth Rogen, we web slackers salute you!.. Full Review
Funny, but its lacking at the core. Judd Apatow's comedy takes the guy's side of things, but how does the woman feel about all of this?.. Full Review
Good fun, probably more so for those who have been through the whole baby thing. It's a little lengthy, and does have a tendency to slip into pregnancy cliches, but ultimately it's a refreshing, amusing, and surprisingly touching comedy... Full Review
1/2 The nice thing about Apatow's comedies is that he recognises the human element, avoids easy stereotypes, and works in some character development amid all the funny stuff... Full Review
I reckon, in about a decade, we might look back on Knocked Up and call it a "comic masterpiece". For now, just grab the least easily offended of your friends and go see it... Full Review
Uproarious. Line for line, minute to minute, writer-director Judd Apatow's latest effort is more explosively funny, more frequently, than nearly any other major studio release in recent memory... Full Review
Ultimately, what makes Knocked Up a terrific film--one of the year's best, easily--is its relaxed, shaggy vibe; if it feels improvised in places, that's because Apatow trusts his actors enough to let them make it up as they go, like the people they're playing... Full Review
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