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Knocked Up ain't no Knock-off! MOVIE: Knocked Up DIRECTOR: Judd Apatow CAST: Seth Rogan, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann |
| THE QUICK HIT: |
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Looks like The 40 Year Old Virgin was no fluke. In fact, with Knocked Up, writer-director Apatow improved on its predecessor: Success-minded production assistant Alison (Katherine Heigl) celebrates her promotion to on-air personality with a night of alcohol, dancing, and a meaningless hook-up with underachiever shlub Ben (Seth Rogan). His inability to even get the condom part right leaves Alison pregnant by the absolutely wrong guy. Their awkward managing of the situation could have been a one-joke flick, but in the right hands it is masterfully funny. GRADE: A- |
| THE BIG PICTURE: |
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How many films have subjected us to similar
stereotypes? The reluctant groom and/or the reluctant, frightened
father-to-be. One of the worst examples of this has to be Last Kiss,
where a young woman is demonized as a seductress and the wimpy, simply,
unlikable boyfriend gets to keep his long-suffering girlfriend. Well
throw all the clichés out the window. Seth Rogan as Ben is a revelation
of natural slackness. He’s a Jewish illegal Canadian, for one thing, as
are most of his stoner roommates. And sole non-Jew roomie Martin has
agreed to a beard-growing challenge, which subjects him to endless
shoe-bomber and pubic-hair insults throughout the movie, not to mention
gems like these: “Hey Crocket, how's Tubbs doing?” and “How did it feel
changing your name from Kat Stevens to Usef Islam?” By delivering such a guileless and believable sperm donor, Knocked Up has the sweetness of The 40 Year Old Virgin without the overboard slapstick laughs. E anchor Alison (Katherine Heigl) isn’t particularly fancy in her role as mom-to-be, but she does a fine job of demonstrating complete denial of the obvious as well as hormonal meltdown. And fans of film prosthetics will get the biggest charge out of her massive dark-brown and flushed belly (it looks more like part of Billy Joel, not Heigl) and the most shocking prosthetic vagina shot in all of film history. Further complicating the plot are Alison’s sister and brother in law, the parents of two kids and unhappy in their marriage. Paul Rudd as bro-in-law Pete is a likeable cad, and shrill sis Debbie is played by Leslie Mann—both outstanding. A key cameo by Harold Ramis as Ben’s dad demonstrates both the epitome of unconditional love as well as the possibility that underachievers may be born, not made. Ben's dad: “I love you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me.” Ben: “I'm the best thing that's ever happened to you?” Ben's dad: “Yes.” Ben: “Now I'm starting to feel a little sorry for YOU.” The film’s a delight—good heartfelt laughs, surprising turns of events, and satisfying conclusions that steer clear of cliché. |
| TECHNICAL MUMBO JUMBO: |
| ODD FACTOID: The kids who play Debbie and Pete's children are Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow's (the director) real children |
| Review by Sha Harrison |