Like most everyone else who enjoys a good laugh, I anticipated the delivery of Knocked Up in theaters, for I had heard nothing but positive things about Judd Apatow’s latest.
To say that I was a little disappointed by it would be a little...harsh. After all, I’m the kind of guy who prefers to look at the glass half-full (when it comes to these matters, anyway).The comedy, which stars Katherine Heigl (TV’s Grey’s Anatomy) as Allison Scott, an up-and-coming entertainment journalist on the fast track who gets pregnant with slacker Ben Stone’s (The 40-Year-Old Virgin’s Seth Rogen) bundle of joy after a drunken one night stand, is pretty funny.
It is grounded in simple realities – should Allison go it alone? should she get to know the baby's father better? should Ben make an effort to quit being a doof and grow up, already? – and that is one its strongest points.
Another one is the show-stealing Leslie Mann, as Allison’s sister. She and on-screen hubby Paul Rudd bring to Knocked Up a subplot pregnant with marital angst that is alternately heartbreakingly infuriating and hilarious.
The movie’s story makes for a surprisingly touching experience – to see these people face something as new and as scary as the unexpected is rather gripping – albeit a longer one for which I’d prepared. (The movie clocks in at 129 minutes, and the first half has a better flow.)
Allison and Ben are completely wrong for each other, yet they are willing to work on their relationship for the greater good. I loved and respected that tremendously.
My Rating ***
Photo: Universal Pictures.
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