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Hollywood's reigning auteur of raunchy romantic comedy, Judd Apatow, scores a knockout with 'Knocked Up' (UNRATED), his extremely funny and sweetly endearing follow-up to 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin'. With generous helpings of acerbic great humor, sexually graphic dialogue and surprising emotional honesty, Apatow turns the most simple of premises — (a one-night stand stretching to nine months), into a thoroughly winning and frequently hilarious reflection on the pleasures and pitfalls of marriage and parenthood. Likable "everyman" schlub/Apatow regular Seth Rogen ('Freaks and Geeks') and luminous Katharine Heigl ('Grey's Anatomy') strike comic sparks as the mismatched couple, whose drunken tumble into bed will forever change their lives — "For Better or Worse." Pudgy, bass-voiced actor/writer Rogen leaves the comic sidekick roles behind as Ben Stone, a genial, pot-smoking slacker living in squalid arrested development with a motley collection of underachievers: Jay (Jay Baruchel), Jason (Jason Segel), Jonah (Jonah Hill) and Martin (Martin Starr). When not firing up the bong or playing juvenile pranks on each other, Ben and his buddies spend their days logging actresses' nude scenes for a website they're allegedly going to launch — that is, if they ever stop partying long enough to do actual work. Ben goes out-of-his-way to avoid anything resembling gainful employment, 24-year-old Alison Scott (Heigl) is a career woman on the go. To celebrate her promotion to on-air personality at E! Entertainment Television, Alison goes club-hopping with her older sister Debbie (Leslie Mann), the married/harried mother of two little girls. Although Ben hardly fits the image of 'Mr. Right' (or even 'Mr. Right Now'), he and Alison hit it off immediately in a trendy hotspot, dancing and drinking their way back to the scene of the crime, i.e., her bedroom. Eight weeks later, Alison discovers she's pregnant by a flabby doofus too broke to pay his cell phone bill. Not that Ben's exactly jumping for joy about becoming a father. The tense exchanges between Debbie and Pete vis-à-vis everything from childcare to his mysterious nights out give 'Knocked Up' a prickly edge that somehow never turns shrilly melodramatic. The laughs keep flowing consistently, even as their marriage serves as a cautionary tale to Ben and Alison, whose relationship is fraught with its own share of issues, both petty and serious. 'Knocked Up' never sounds an overly discordant note, due in large part to Apatow's obvious affection for all his characters. He portrays their foibles, anxieties, and insecurities truthfully, not maliciously. Apatow's empathy for his characters is most evident with regard to Debbie, who could have easily been written (and played) as a shrewish caricature of an entitled, "desperate housewife," but comes across here as essentially decent, fiercely protective of her family, and vulnerable. In one of the film's funniest and most sharply revealing scenes, Debbie attempts to harangue her way into a nightclub, only to be put in her place by the bouncer, who bluntly tells her exactly why she and the massively pregnant Alison are not getting past the velvet rope. There's an uncomfortable grain of truth in this scene; and many others that gives 'Knocked Up' an emotional resonance that lifts it above most crowd-pleasing summer comedies. Make room on your "Classic-Comedy Shelf" for this guaranteed SMASH HIT !! 'Knocked Up' (UNRATED) is a MUST-SEE MUST-OWN !!Read full review
Let's just say for all intents and practical purposes you are totally bored with real stupid comedy and you've watched up all your soap operas. Where do you soon turn? Of course, where else will most agreeably turn when everything else fails? The DVD Comedy Section! Judd Apatow takes his views on life, love, and comedy very seriously. So seriously that he continues to pour out film after film of hilarious uncharted territory we all can not seem to get enough of. Like most films Apatow produces, we learn to expect a different kind of experience. Apatow normally, if not mostly, likes to push the envelope as far as possible on what the audience perceives as either plain stupid, ignorant, gross, profane, incoherent, embarrassing, in your face, or unacceptable when it comes to embracing the current common societal views on decency. Apatow somehow is able to walk this thin line in his films without totally alienating most people. The common thread in most all of his films seems to revolve around characters that we somehow would love to hate, however, can't seem to ever get to that point. We always conditionally forgive these people regardless of how they act. Most of the characters tend to always redeem themselves with us before the film ends. The common fallacy we might make when trying to explain a film to someone who hasn't seen it before is saying something like, "Hey man! Have you seen that film called Knocked Up? That was totally awesome!". Of course when the person, that doesn't really understand that you are a film expert film buff, goes home and watches it, then they might never listen to another one of your opinions again. Mostly, the film as with any film, either has a shelf life (i.e. A life of its own or it doesn't). My opinion is meaningless when it comes to judging a comedy. We just have to see if it's going to be a long-term forgettable film like "Flashdance", or something else. I'm certainly not knocking the directing talent of Adrian Lyne or Don Simpson as a producer, but there is so far a film can carry you after 30 years. For instance, I can only remember the gal (Jennifer Beals), I thought I would never see again in another film, and the Michael Simbelo "Maniac" song. I'm certainly glad the Jennifer Beals didn't just disappear from the scene, but she has hardly starred in another major role in her acting career. Jennifer is definitely still holding her own and looking better than ever, which is a miracle. She is only about 6 months younger than me, and my body looks like it's been trampled by a herd of hippos. I'm just saying, in trying to pinpoint a single formula that makes Apatow's films so very memorable, you'll just have to go back and watch it 20 years later. That's the most important litmus test for the next generation of comedy analyzers. Some say that the inner sanctum of loving a film is loving the main character. Seth Rogen is definitely fun and delivers us the most astonishing silliness one could ever imagine. Ben Stone is a likable guy who could just as well be your best friend or cousin. Bad behavior is expected along the way and Rogen as Stone delivers it up as best he knows how. Simply put, you actually feel sorrow for this green and pitiful idiot who has no clue how he has screwed his life up. Instead of taking us down an even more pitiful story-line, Apatow shows us that even this guy can make good decisions and turn his life around. Cheers to everyone who made Knocked Up!!!Read full review
After watching this movie my husband and I both agree it is one of the best we have seen in a while. Be forewarned that much like The 40 Year Old Virgin (same director) this movie is not for everyone. AND is rated R for a reason- language, drug use and a couple of (not so glamourous) sex and partially nude scenes, including the crowning of the baby's head at the point of birth. That aside, the storyline maintains the perfect balance between reality-based humor and the seriousness of reality. We found ourselves laughing out loud throughout the entire film. In fact, we laughed so much we woke up the kids... oops... Anyway--- Alison meets Ben at a nightclub. She is out with her sister celebrating a job promotion she has received. After A LOT of alcohol she and Ben hook up for what each thinks is a 1 night stand. However, 8 weeks later Alison learns she is pregnant. And the baby is Ben's. At the beginning of the movie Alison and Ben seem like complete opposites. She is physically attractive, has a successful career and is (usually) a very responsible person. Ben, on the other hand, although charming, is overweight, unemployed and is basically the stereotypical stoner. He and his friends, who are also roommates, are aspiring to launch a website that lists nude and sex scenes in movies according to actress, they have a "dirty man" bet going to see how long 1 of them can go without a shave or hair cut and they get high on pot on a daily basis... Despite thier obvious differences these parents-to-be try very hard to support each other and honestly give thier "relationship" a go for the sake of thier baby. The movie also has a great ending- not at all what I expected and quite heartwarming... A definite MUST SEE comedy!Read full review
What an unexpected masterpiece! From the twisted, semi-dry, slightly askew mind of Judd Apatow comes a hilarious follow up to 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin'! Now, of course, greatly less slapstick without the fall-down funny moments brought on by Steve Carrell, these movie definitely pulls you in a keeps you entertained the entire way through. Judd Apatow is quickly turning into a Kevin Smith type of movie maker, using many of the same characters from 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and then uses them again in 'SuperBad' which followed later this year. In this movie there are many clever cameos, Ryan Seacrest stands out at the beginning as one of this movies bright spots. While this movie is vulgar and very raunchy, the characters are quite likable and easy to relate to. While this movie deals with drug use and casual sex, it also does a good job of showing the characters care about one another and connect as a family. It is definitely a must own, as you would not soon get sick of watching it. I would rate it about 8.9/10, and only this low because of the pure unbelievability that someone who looks like Katherine Heigl would be willing to sleep with Seth Rogan.Read full review
Knocked Up (2007) is a movie recommended to anyone with a heart for comedy. the movie stars Seth Rogen as Ben Stone, a stoner from canada claiming to live in the u.s. illegally. one night, he goes out to a club and meets Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, who is also wife of Judd Apatow, the director of the movie). they have some drinks and later on decide to leave and go back to her house and sleep with each other, but Ben decides not to use a condom because Alison was getting impacient. she ends up getting pregnant and Ben tries to support her in every way possible. the movie also stars Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Jason Segal, Martin Starr and Jau Baruchel. Knocked Up will have you laughing from start to finish.
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