Knocked Up Movie Review

Knocked Up (2007)

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Written by: Judd Apatow
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Allison discovers she's pregnant after a one night stand with Ben. The only thing they have in common is the baby.

Verdict
It's a raunchy comedy with some heart. The story is predictable, but the sub-plots of the support characters add to the movie. It's one of Judd Apatow's better comedies, but it lacks the insight and humor of his earlier series Freaks and Geeks.
It depends.

Review
You know the premise going in, that's not a mystery. The first few scenes contrast Ben's (Seth Rogen) day with Allison's (Katherine Heigl). He's the going nowhere stoner, Ben, while she is the professional on the rise, Allison. For some inexplicable reason they hook up. The mistake is apparent the next morning. Then the mistake becomes huge. she's pregnant. She wants to tell him, but soon realizes it was a mistake to even consider telling him. He's just not father or even boyfriend material.

Knocked Up - As brash as the title.

This is the odd couple, a story we've seen, but with a new premise. It has the typical Apatow dead pan humor.
     Debbie (Aliisons sister): "I don't give a [flip] about Ben."
     Pete (Debbie's husband): "Sorry Ben."
     Ben: "I didn't think she did anyway."

The movie also explores the marriage of Debbie and Pete, Allison's sister and brother in law. It compliments the story with a couple that's been married for a while to a couple that doesn't know if marriage is right for them. It works towards the theme and keeps the pacing quick. When Allison and Ben run into Allison's friends, there's a nice subtlety. She tries to avoid them to no avail, but then introduces Ben as her friend. She's embarrassed by him, and he doesn't realize at all, having no problem telling her friends that they met over a one night stand.

I found Rogen annoying which works for the character. I liked the Harold Ramis cameo as Rogen's father, though Jason Segel may have been the best character in this movie. He's one of Ben's roommates. It's a small role but he conveys creepiness and absurdity in equal measure.

The movie goes a little long in the last quarter. Wrap it up! They split and Ben grows up, gets a job, reads pregnancy books, and then he and Allison get back together during the birth.
I can't believe the movie showed the baby crowning multiple times. That was a bit much, because I dislike gross out humor. Gross out humor is always a failed attempt at humor. It's not clever, and it's not funny. I liked the credits showing baby photos of the cast and crew.