Dear _______,
Recently over the weekend I watched the new hit (and it is a hit) comedy from writer and director of
40 Year Old Virgin and Producer of such critically acclaimed TV Series as
Freaks and Geeks and
Undeclared, Judd Apatow. Not a follower of any of the series' or a huge massive fan of
40 Year Old Virgin, I was completly knocked down by
Knocked Up.
As everyone has made clear, the couple of Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl are completly unbelievable. Until you see the movie. I was blown away by the chemistry between the unlikely couple. The actors were able to play off each other to create an effective audience driven desire to become emotionally involved with their relationship, like they were your best friends that finally got together after many years. But the chemistry does not stop there. According to an interview on NPR's
Fresh Air, Seth Rogen and all of his roommates are all as much friends on the screen, as off. This provides for excellent jokes and improv which really show what Apatow's directing is all about. Seth Rogen and his friends joke about some of the nastiest things ever heard in a movie, but at the same time it captures what that character's life is about: the want for sex, pot and starting up a celebrity porn site akin to Mr. Skin.
With that let me tell you that the best part of
Knocked Up is that it is real. With as many F-bombs dropped, and disgusting things talked about, it has been agreed that
Knocked Up captures what being a twenty year old in this day and age is about. Apatow writes the truth of the realities, emotions and responsibilities that effect a couple when an unexpected baby is due, or even just a baby. This really makes the movie shine. So many of the movies that come to theaters are sent out to a supposedly dumbed down audience, but
Knocked Up leads the way in creating movies that are more smart and interesting to the common audience.
What may make you stand offish is the plot line. Two people have one night stand, Katherine Heigl's character decides to keep it. Then the plot line follows the two people on a roller coaster of pitfalls of both relationship and baby expecting. Does not sound to much different from a movie like
Nine Months, except this is a one night stand. But the real difference is yet again the reality of the characters and plot. Another fantastic writing choice by Apatow, was placing Paul Rudd and Leslie Manning (Apatow's wife) as a comparison of what Rogen and Heigl's relationship might become. This makes the movie about the joys, realities and yet again the responsibilities that entail having a baby. Not concentrating the aspect of the film on the baby allows the characters in
Knocked Up to have actual faults and a full character arc, unlike majority of the movies that grace our screen these days.
The supporting actors Paul Rudd and Leslie Manning are the people that steal the show though. The comedy that ensues through these characters drive the movie forward. By showing the present and future comparison, the characters reach a full arc, and so does the movie.
This movie is the most intelligent comedy I have seen in a long time, and for that aspect alone, it deserves praise. During a summer of Threesomes (
Spiderman, Shrek, Oceans and Pirates)
Knocked Up stands alone in my movie of the year category.
I give this movie a 10 out of 10.
Craig Terry
Labels: Movies
