Knocked Up - 2007

Why I Watched It: The trailer looked funny and NUVO gave it a good review.

What I Thought: Knocked Up was really, really funny. I can't say that about most comedies that hit the big screen these days. I knew Knocked Up was Judd Apatow's second movie (40 Year-Old Virgin being the first), but my hopes for a good follow-up were low. Comedy just isn't something Hollywood seems good at lately.

The jokes were a bit crude but that had more to do with the subject matter at hand than poor taste on the writer's part. It was actually kind of interesting because a lot of the jokes involving sex, pregnancy, or childbirth simply would not have been appropriate in any other movie. But that's what Knocked Up is all about! There's a good dichotomy between slacker/smoker Ben Stone (the funny Seth Rogen) and the career focused Alison Scott (the very cute Katherine Heigl) without turning either character into a cliche. In fact, the whole time I was watching Knocked Up I was constantly amazed that the movie stayed consistently funny, interesting, and unique. I get the feeling this exact movie could've been handed to [insert trendy SNL star here] at any stage in the writing, directing, or acting process and this movie would've simply fallen into obscurity. But it didn't, and that's what makes Knocked UP so special.

I think the romance half of the movie really deserves as much mention as the comedy half. Knocked Up was as sweet and touching as it was funny, which says a lot for a movie based around a one-night stand and an unexpected pregnancy. Ben and Alison are total opposites in lifestyle, but they both have genuinely sweet personalities. It turns out they are each what the other needed and some of the film's best moments are when one finally starts to appreciate the other for who they are. Ben's friends as well as Alison's family also do a pretty awesome job of being funny without being cheap.

Highlights: Vegas on shrooms, pinkeye, autoerotic asphyxiation pointers, shopping for gynecologists, Iris Apatow as the coolest fucking little girl in the world, and "Credit bush, that's some rare shit. You almost never see that!"

Who Should See It: Anyone that could use a good laugh and, nowadays, that means everyone. Knocked Up had myself, my chick-flick roommate, and my action-flick friend all laughing at the same time. "You almost never see that!" For it's boundary crossing humor, Knocked Up would be the perfect date movie if it wasn't for the scary preggers stuff and the bad birth control advice. But hell, if your sig[nificant other] can't joke about sex then what the fuck are you doing with them anyway?

How Soon: It's in theaters now, but it'll be just as funny on DVD. If I were you, I'd save it for a slow week during the summer when you find yourself between megablockbuster releases with nothing to watch. It might even be at the second run theaters by then!