Knocked Up (2007) September 22, 2007
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Judd Apatow
Arriving along with a wave of publicity and brandishing almost universally positive reviews from critics stateside, Knocked Up is already being hailed as one of this year’s biggest successes. And that’s not to say that it doesn’t deserve the adoration or the big box office figures because, as you would expect, the film has plenty going for it: from a script by current Hollywood it-guy Judd Apatow, to a cast of comic actors who are presently taking the industry by storm. But calling this foul-mouthed romantic comedy “explosively funny” as one poster states, may just be doing the film a disservice.
For it’s not necessarily the non-stop humour that lifts this tale of loser-makes-good above the rest, but rather its genuine warmth and charm; something the trailer doesn’t necessarily give away. Just like Apatow’s previous directorial outing, The 40 Year Old Virgin, we are drawn in to a potentially stupid adolescent-targeted comedy which then slowly reveals itself to have a heart of gold. And that’s Apatow’s secret. Not his skill for funny dialogue, or his relaxed improvisational shooting style (if he made a film every year he could single-handedly keep Kodak in business), but his knowing ability to give character relationships some proper meaning.
In this particular story, the central relationship is between Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a twenty something man-child, and Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), an up and coming TV producer who has just gained an on-air promotion. When the two meet at an LA nightclub, Ben manages to overcome his normal demeanour and the couple have a regrettable, on Alison’s part at least, one-night stand. From here the movie’s title dictates the events: Alison finds herself pregnant and so decides to contact Ben for his support. Instead of letting her struggle alone, Ben does the decent thing and opts to see if the two can make it as a couple. Now, as the two polar-opposite personalities try to deal with their impending situation, they realise that maybe their unlikely romance could work – as long as their friends and family don’t ruin it first.
Seth Rogen proves himself to be an effective leading man, his natural dorky charm playing well into a character who is the definition of ‘slacker’, while Katherine Heigl manages to hold her own alongside an almost exclusively comic-background cast. Ben’s gang of idle friends in the movie (played by Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel and Martin Starr) have the relaxed interaction of a group of real friends, whilst Paul Rudd joins the fray in a role that lets him exercise his penchant for improvisation. Also worth a mention is Alison’s sister (and Apatow’s real-life wife) Leslie Mann, who is a strong presence in any scene she inhabits.
The writing is also good – very good actually, but alongside the knowledge that the cast are often let loose to ‘conversationalise’ the scripted dialogue, it becomes hard to effectively judge the outright jokes as a product of the script. Instead, it’s easier to point to the scenes of a more dramatic nature, such as Ben and Alison’s discussion about keeping the baby, or the marital arguments of Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann) who provide balance to the main plotline, to see that Apatow has captured a strong sense of realism alongside the crude gags and pop-culture references – which remain frequent and unapologetic.
With such a skilled comedy filmmaker and a high-class comic cast behind the project, Knocked Up was never going to be a complete disaster. But rather than listen to the almost overwhelming amount of hype with regards to the laughter content, you’d be better just going in wanting to be entertained – because that is almost a certainty. The film is consistently funny, even at its overlong 129 minute running length (a product of free-spirited shooting?), but I personally found more smiles than laugh-out-loud moments, probably because the constant one-upmanship of the banter teaches you to never expect the final punch line.
Part of the success of this film lies in the universal appeal factor it holds, despite at first glance appearing like a targeted comedy. There’s something for male and female audiences, as well as for young and old - while those who don’t appreciate the crudeness may find comfort in the sweet moments, and visa-versa. Apatow’s affinity for writing male group conversations (a theme which can be traced back through his work from 40 Year Old Virgin to Freaks & Geeks) holds steady here, with these scenes being the comedy-heavy areas of the movie - but even if the humour doesn’t completely live up to its hype, Knocked Up’s soft centre makes it more than just a one-trick pony.
Comments»
The year’s most over-rated film !
Ok Shaun - care to elaborate on that point for us? What did / didn’t you like?
I’m no prude but the continual foul language and particularly the rant at the end down the phone just because the gynaecologist had the temerity to be somewhere else really put my back up.
The foul mouthed rant by Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles was genuinely funny cos it was in complete contrast to what had gone before but in Knocked Up it just made think the main character was a total prat.
At the end of the day the film just wasn’t funny enough.