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Knocked Up (2007)

Director: Judd Apatow

5

Critics' rating

Average user rating
2 reviews

Synopsis

The director of The 40-Year Old Virgin takes on parenthood.

Movie review

From Time Out New York

A big, fat, gooey smile fixes itself to your face early on in Knocked Up, an impossibly sweet and unerringly sympathetic comedy of misfortune. As writer-director Judd Apatow’s follow-up to The 40 Year-Old Virgin, the movie also has the good sense to be dorky often. Apatow’s strength has always been his patience for freaks and geeks mustering confidence in a too-cool world. But what may make Knocked Up even more audacious than Virgin isn’t just its neat reversal of the premise—these characters are a bit too lucky in the sack—but its elegant transition over the course of two hours into a rare realm of American humor, where comedy becomes philosophy.

Ben (Rogen, in a career-making performance) takes his habitual stoning and movie-tits ogling seriously—as does Alison (Heigl) her chirpy, blond ascent to celebrity-interviewer quasistardom. They’re not meant to hook up, but that’s exactly what happens one drunken night on the dance floor; two months later, what Ben assumes to be a booty call is actually a tense status report, each panicking into accusations. (Apatow’s ear for dialogue has, if anything, sharpened; he also ducks the obvious abortion angle with a bit of visual humor in front of an ultrasound that heralds stronger directing chops.) Deciding to grow into intimacy, the two eventually reach the demystified end of romance, the script adding realness with every turn. Ultimately the film says that fate has a way of kicking you up a notch, if you can somehow let yourself rise to the occasion (very scary, and not just to breeders). Apatow can certainly claim this saw to be true.

Author: Joshua Rothkopf 2007-06-11 22:15:22

Time Out New York Issue 609: May 31–June 6, 2007

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User reviews of this film

  • SchleyC/O'09 said...
    Posted on May 20 2008 13:10 Wow Mystic....Thanx for that...um...review...
    Report as inappropriate
  • mystic said...
    Posted on Jul 01 2007 01:09 Vastly over-rated and not that funny. Major problem with credulity is huge flaw. Rudd is not aging well and looks and acts like an actor; No mention is made of how the character makes a living, but at this age, to live in a luxuriously furnished home like this he must be a CEO, and CEOs have time off every night? Pullease!!! And where are his parents and other friends and colleagues?
    First half of film's premise is cute but a one joke thing.
    Once it careens into obstetrics, it's not funny, and becomes padded and over-long-Looked at my watch 3 times!! Another flaw is that the doofus (nicely played) is tit-crazy but has sex with this georgeous gal while she has a bra on (but bottomless)? Pullease!!! Nice performances by the two women, but drunk or not, that character would never ever ever ever ever go for that doofus. End of story. To be funny, it HAS to be believable. And it's not.
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Knocked Up

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Cast & crew

Director: Judd Apatow

Producer: Judd Apatow, Shauna Robertson, Clayton Townsend

Cast: Seth Rogan, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow full cast

Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Romance

Rated: R

Duration: 128 mins

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