KNOCKED UP

Director: Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin, Produced Anchorman, and Ricky Bobby)
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann

According to RottenTomatoes.com Knocked Up is the best reviewed major release of 2007 (so far). Of course, by the same source Knocked Up is a better reviewed film than The 40 Year Old Virgin, the most recent (and truly much better) film by Judd Apatow. What does this tell me? Well, it tells me that film review ain't an exact science. I think it also says that it's easier to get comfortable with a style or subject the second time around, because Knocked Up shares a lot of similarities with the Virgin, everything from the adolescent humor to the sweet characters, even many of the same actors appear in both films. Truth be told, it's simply not as good a film, but by no means does that indicate it's a bad one.

Knocked Up (just like Virgin) is primarily a story of an adult-aged adolescent, not wanting to grow up, but eventually learning that it's a better place. Both films are slaps in the face of the millions of man-children refusing to leave the comfort and ease of their youth. Okay, maybe they're not slaps exactly, maybe they're just nudges, light nudges. Because both of these films really do seem to long for those youthful moments while at the same time saying it's even better to grow up and take some responsibility.

Knocked up begins with the Heigl and Rogan characters drunkenly hooking up after a night of celebration at the local dance club. Yes, there is a big bit of disbelief to suspend on this. I mean Katherine Heigl, she of the blondness and hotness, and Seth Rogan, he of the un-chisled chubbiness, hooking up? I don't think so. The fact that this is a silly comedy you're watching makes this concept go down a little easier, but wow, is that ever a lot to swallow.

Anyway, and this should be no surprise to anyone who has read the title of the film, Heigl soon finds herself pregnant and tries to start a relationship with the lovable loser Rogan, who does have some charisma and sweetness down beneath his off color way of talking. After the baby is made, the rest of the film is just a step-by-step journey toward acceptance of responsibility for Rogan, and of course Hegl convincing herself that the chubby loser can be a quality father of her child.

So, after describing the film you might think the story revolved exclusively around Seth Rogan as the chubby, pot-smoking man child who impregnated some random hottie, but it doesn't. Even though his character is the one driving the story arc, in a lot of scenes he felt relegated (slightly) to the background for me. In large part I think this is because Rogan doesn't quite have what it takes to be the center of a feature. There are certainly dissenting opinions on this, and in major reviews, but for me I just don't think Rogan was star-quality. At all. He was fine in his role, but I felt he was upstaged by Heigl and Paul Rudd in nearly every way. Hmmm, doesn't upstage seem like a bad word choice in a movie review. I mean, what's the film equivilent of "upstaging"? "Outcameraing'? Anyway, my point is even though the Hegl character didn't have much 'growing' to do in this film, she was hardly pushed to the periphery in the script. She did a fine job in her first starring turn, and in many ways this feels like her film.

I will say that this movie is funny. And since this is a comedy, that would seem to be pretty important. I didn't laugh nearly as much as in Virgin, or Wedding Crashers, or even Borat, but I did laugh. So there you go.

Standouts: More sweet comedy from Apatow.
Blowouts: Nothing truly failed, although I didn't feel Rogan was the best choice for the lead.

Grade: B