A few years ago, if I had seen the trailers for Judd Apatow's Knocked Up,
I probably would not have said to myself, "Now, that is a movie I need
to see." One-night stands? Potty humor? Excessive profanity? R rating?
Sounds more like something to avoid. But as much as those factors caused
me to question how much I would enjoy the film, I couldn't help but be
intrigued; Apatow's Freaks and Geeks, which I embraced when it arrived on DVD, was a brilliant show, and while The 40-Year-Old Virgin was pretty crude for my tastes, it had heart. So after hearing many gushing reviews, I decided I'd better check out Knocked Up and see if it lived up to the hype.
The first thing I'll say for Apatow is that he is loyal. No fewer than five Freaks and Geeks
alums put in an appearance, starting with Seth Rogen as kind but
clueless schlub Ben Stone, whose drunken shenanigans with Allison Scott
(Katherine Heigl), a beautiful, ambitious young correspondent who has
just received a promotion, lead to her pregnancy. While Rogen's
character was the least developed of the "freak" crowd of which he was a
part on Freaks and Geeks, he made a strong impression nonetheless, and when he showed up in Virgin,
this time in a chattier role, it became easier to envision him as a
leading man. Ben may be a loser who's never worked and whose last name
seems to be a nod to his favorite activity, but he really carries the
movie, especially when we realize that despite his inertia and rather
foul mouth, he's actually a very sweet guy.
Other familiar faces from Freaks and Geeks
include Jason Segel and Martin Starr as two of Ben's perpetually stoned
housemates. There are echoes of their characters from that show in
their performances here; Jason is intense to an intimidating level,
while Martin is put upon by the others. (The quartet of guys with whom
Ben resides all share a first name with the actors who portray them; the
other two are played by Jonah Hill, who had a brief but memorable role
in Virgin, and Jay Baruchel, from Apatow's short-lived television series Undeclared.) James Franco shows up as himself putting in a plug for Spider-man 3, which several characters later go see, perhaps in a sly show of support for Franco by Apatow, who not only directed Knocked Up but wrote the script. Leslie Mann, who had a brief role on Freaks and Geeks as a teacher on whom Bill had a crush and in Virgin
as a disastrous potential date for Andy, plays Allison's shrill sister
Debbie, whose seemingly ideal marriage to the melancholy Pete (Paul
Rudd, from Virgin) is crumbling despite the presence of two adorable daughters (Maude and Iris Apatow).
Among the few cast members without a previous Apatow connection, Harold
Ramis, who looks and sounds remarkably like Rogen, is both funny and
tender as Ben's dad, and SNL cast member Kristen Wiig is
hilarious as Jill, a higher-up who quietly offers Allison icily
insincere congratulations for landing a plum position. Bill Hader, also
of SNL, doesn't stand out much as Allison's co-worker Brent but is still amusing, as is Alan Tudyk as Jack, her too-cheerful boss.
All of these characters add to the film in one way or another, but the
success of the movie really depends upon Rogen and Heigl, and they play
off one another very well. While they don't seem like a very likely
couple, the circumstances of Ben and Allison's meeting and subsequent
hook-up are believable; chalk it up to a gentlemanly gesture on Ben's
part and Allison's promotion-induced adrenaline. Besides, she may be a
knockout, but she's also very down-to-earth and doesn't seem to think
herself better than Ben, at least until he tells her about his "job",
which involves pin-pointing all the nude scenes in various films for
chronicling on a website he and his buddies are working on, and
confesses that he's spent all of his adult life thus far living off the
money he received when a mail truck ran over his foot. Despite her
dubious impression of how he spends his time, once she learns of the
pregnancy and decides to keep the baby, she's determined to at least
give their relationship a shot, and he's willing, at least on some
level, to step up to the challenge of being a father.
In romantic terms, I preferred Knocked Up to Virgin,
as I liked both parties equally and was really rooting for them to end
up together. While Ben's lethargic pals aren't as engaging as Andy's
co-workers, they still form a decent support system; meanwhile, the
friendship that develops between Ben and Pete is charming, and Allison
shares some nice moments with her sister. In terms of vulgarity, I can't
decide which of the films is cruder. Both are quite heavy on the
profanity and the explicit references to sexuality, though what we
actually see on screen is somewhat limited. I didn't find the movie any
more offensive than I expected; reviews and my prior experience with Virgin
left me well prepared. Still, despite the ultimately fairly warm and
fuzzy undercurrent, this is not a film I would recommend to all
audiences. My parents are intrigued enough by what they've heard to want
to check it out; I suspect they will find it equal parts funny,
touching and mortifying.
I won't heap "movie of the
summer"-type accolades on this film, but I will say that fans of
Apatow's first film should enjoy his second, which may do for Rogen what
Virgin did for Steve Carell. I don't think either comes close to capturing the perfect blend of hilarity and drama found in Freaks and Geeks,
which was situated firmly in PG-13, if not strictly PG, territory. I'd
like to see him do a movie more in that vein, but until he does, his
first two film outings are worthwhile efforts. Just get ready to click
the ol' internal mute button a few dozen times...
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