Knocked Up (2007)

Written by Nick Da Costa | Saturday, April 5, 2008 |

Judd Apatow, the current King of Comedy makes the likes of Sandler and the Farrelly Brothers look like meek and tired peasants in comparison and his latest effort Knocked Up is yet another classic in the making. Not since Anchorman blew up Will Ferrell as a major star have I laughed quite so explosively. Seriously, I popped ribs watching this, it’s just that funny.

Seth Rogan plays chubby slacker Ben Stone whose life ambitions consist of getting high with his stoner mates while fooling themselves their movie perv site is a) an original and b) a basis for a career. On the flipside of this comedic coin is Katherine Heigl’s Alison, a gorgeous and ambitious movie exec who just happens to have hit it big with an on air promotion with the E! channel. Celebrating her success, cosmic chance results in her bumping into Ben at the bar and then after some boozy dance floor moves, bumping uglies in the bedroom. With most films, the morning post-mortem has already stretched the implausibility to a disastrous extent as Alison wakes to Ben’s pasty ass, and then weeks later to the horrifying news that she is pregnant. Where else is there to go except for schmaltz, and the same tired obstacles of most rom-coms, you might say, but through a combination of a witty, heartfelt script and brilliantly genuine performances Apatow skips past these pitfalls effortlessly.

Rogan is a star. He is the centre of some brilliant and outrageously funny banter with his group of friends, including the wickedly dry Jonah Hill. There’s an authentic camaraderie onscreen, with overlapping dialogue, loose, deadpan delivery and improvisation; the recurring dirty beard man skit is a highlight. Though Heigl is a little too straight to compete with some of the comedy onscreen, she still shares the same loose performance style of her co-stars that never lets her seem out of place. In fact at no point does it feel like a group of actors revving up to hit their marks; no sense of artificial coercion on the part of actor or director and it’s nice to feel surprised by comedy instead of knowing you’ve been lead there with a hook and a punch line. There’s a moment later in the film where the excellent Paul Rudd (Pete), playing long suffering husband to Alison’s sister, Debbie (played by the equally fantastic Leslie Mann), replicates the rapport he shared with Rogan in ‘40 Year Old Virgin‘ to brilliant effect, drunkenly rapping on coupledom with a caustic honesty that’s refreshing.

What really makes this film special is a clever balancing of the comedic moments with a sometimes edgy take on relationships and the body politic. Though it never sinks too deep into relationship counselling or the pro-choice discussion, touches like Ben’s gallant (at least in this day and age) decision to both stand by Alison and raise the baby, while gently courting her and painful discussions Alison shares with both her sister and mother about whether a one night stand can produce anything genuine are surprising, and elevates the film far above most puerile comedies.

Unfortunately, this balance doesn’t quite manage to last the distance as by the third act there’s a quite tangible slowing of the energies in the film as it slips too far to the side of the serious, and the once thick and fast, whip smart jokes are pushed aside for a rather maudlin chewing over of the couples differences. Most comedies know not to outstay their welcome, and though the performances are no less accomplished, it almost becomes dull.

Thankfully, the climax saves the film from a shark jump bringing back together all the aspects that made the first two acts great; the touching and very natural relationship Rogen and Heigl share onscreen, the hilarious banter between the stoners and most importantly the very real take on love and the responsibilities that come with it. It’s a testament to Apatow and the cast that there’s still so much more to say about the film, from the small details such as Kristen Wiig’s scathing cameo as Alison’s boss or the surreal interludes such as farting pillow pinkeye and Ben and Pete’s mushroom experience at Cirque Du Soleil which leaves them perplexed at the number of different chairs in their hotel room. This is a truly unique piece of cinema and destined to propel each of the cast and most importantly Apatow into the stratosphere.

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