Knocked Up

Think of one of the worst outcomes of a one night stand and you’ve got yourself the premise for Judd Apatow’s new comedy Knocked Up.

Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) spends his days hanging out with his friends, smoking up, and watching films to catalog their nudity for a Mr. Skin-type web site he and his friends are designing. He is able to fulfil this lifestyle by living off compensation from an injury he had. On the other end of the human spectrum is Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl). Alison is career-driven as evidenced by the promotion she receives early on in the film from the E! Network to be an on-air interviewer. While celebrating her promotion, Alison and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann), run into Ben and his friends at a nightclub. After drinking the whole night, Ban ends up at Alison’s place, which is the pool house belonging to Debbie and her husband Pete (Paul Rudd). Whether it was the alcohol, a lack of communication, or a failure to make sure that the safety harness was fastened and the hands were securely in the ride at all times, there is a misunderstanding about Ben’s frustrating attempt to put on a condom. This results in a pregnancy.

The rest of the film follows Ben and Alison’s attempts to get to know each other, a task somewhat daunting, funny and frustrating when they realize that there is a good chance that they would not have been together if alcohol was not involved.

This is director Judd Apatow’s second feature film, following The 40-Year-Old Virgin. The creator of the cult TV show Freaks and Geeks, Apatow mixes comedy and emotion perfectly in his writing. Knocked Up shows the complexities of human behaviour and emotion when people are thrown into an unintentional situation with the unlikeliest of partners.

Seth Rogen plays the stoner thrown into a responsible role trying his best to keep afloat in the new world he has been propelled into. Katherine Heigl plays the strait-laced Alison with the right amount of disdain upon seeing Ben in her bed the morning after. Leslie Mann plays Heigl’s older sister as a mother of two desperate to reclaim the days of her youth, while Paul Rudd’s character shows the same longings for the past with a hint of resentment rather than desperation. Both actors do a great job in portraying being tired of the life they find themselves in.

Knocked Up is a raunchy comedy with romantic undertones. While the movie will make you laugh, it will also make you think and maybe tear up once or twice.