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By: Billy Nord »
May 30, 2007
Oven Bun Comes Out Moist and Scrumptious, Knocked Up Worth the Cankles
By: Matt Sklar
Knocked Up, Judd Apatow's sophomore directing effort, doesn't stray too far from the winning formula of his first film, The 40 Year Old Virgin. Take a guy who's in a state of arrested development, put him in a situation where he has to grow up, add a good measure of profanity and graphic sex jokes, but balance it out with enough good natured sweetness at the core so no one gets too offended. But whereas Virgin stumbled with an overlong 3rd act that got too bogged down in sentimental schmaltz, Knocked Up ultimately succeeds as a raunchy yet smart R-rated comedy, thanks to a sharp script and a strong performance by star Seth Rogen.
Rogen plays Ben, an affable pothead who spends his days getting stoned with his equally un-ambitious roommates. His self-described ideal life changes when a drunken one night stand with Allison (Katherine Heigl), a successful and way out of his league career girl leads to an unplanned pregnancy. The film charts their relationship as they decide if it's worth staying together for the sake of the baby. Though the plotline can basically be described as '9 Months meets any early Adam Sandler film', Apatow is more concerned with subverting the romantic comedy genre and giving his actors room enough to build their characters through improvisation.
Although Apatow still seems to have a hard time writing for women (most of the female characters in the film come off as neurotic and needy), he's strongest when showing how men really think and talk to each other. When Ben is together with his roommates, quoting movie lines in between bong hits, their casual cruelty towards one another is both hilarious and real. The scenes' improvisational feel are helped by the fact that Apatow cast the film with his 'stock company' of regulars. Ben's roommates are played mostly by cast members of his brilliant-but-cancelled tv shows Freaks & Geeks and Undeclared (Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, and Martin Starr, as well as Jonah Hill, star of the upcoming Rogen-scripted Superbad). Other Apatow alumni show up in smaller cameos, including James Franco and Loudon Wainwright (who also contributed songs for the film). Additional standouts include The Office's Craig Robinson as a club bouncer, SNL's Kristen Wiig as a network exec, and L.A. comedian Charlyne Yi as a stoner girlfriend.
Like Steve Carell in Virgin, much of the film hinges on Rogen's performance and how much of his slacker doofus charisma can carry the film. With his kickin' Jew-fro and marble-mouthed Canadian delivery, Rogen is the opposite of what you'd expect from a typical romantic male lead. But it's that quality that makes him so believable in the role. And unlike say, Vince Vaughn's character in The Break-Up, Ben is genuinely likable enough where you can buy the mismatched pairing of the lead couple. In the end, you find yourself rooting for the pair to make their relationship work.
OTHER OPINIONS
Judd Apatow's Beautiful Baby
It's a... Hit!
9 1/2 Months
Posted by The Apiary at May 30, 2007 4:01 PM