Publications
Partners
What it's about:
Ben (Seth Rogen), an amiable slacker, meets Alison (Katherine Heigl), an entertainment reporter, on a night out celebrating her promotion at work. One drunken thing leads to another and one night's fun comes back to bite Ben in the form of looming fatherhood, while Alison is forced to confront the value of her career against being a mother. With a large group of friends and family trying to help, the soon-to-be parents must get to know each other, deal with their new responsibilities and decide the right thing to do.
What we thought of it:
An unplanned pregnancy seems to be obvious fodder for comedy, but has been little utilised in the mainstream. Possibly because many people find the thought of a dependant horrifying, and the situation comes with a whole load of responsibility and difficult decisions. Writer/director Judd Apatow seems to thrive on milking laughs from awkward and serious situations (as in his 40 Year Old Virgin), and manages to perfectly balance sentimental romance with cruder "guy" comedy in one of the funniest films to come out of Hollywood this year.
Rogen and Heigl are great as the odd couple – dopey, good-natured Ben drifting through life with joint in hand and the eloquent career orientated Alison, with her eyes on the stars. His initial response to the pregnancy is hilarious and it's downhill from there.
But the cringe worthiness doesn't stop there. We're treated to the effects of pregnancy on their sex life and numerous visits to the doctor and plenty of emotional outbursts. Set against the backdrop of Alison's sister's miserable marriage and Ben's irresponsible house mates, there are jokes aplenty.
Apatow keeps the dialogue semi-natural and goes for constant laughs rather than big set ups, which pays off as the characters – no matter how bizarre – never come across as forced. Dealing with issues everyone can relate to, Knocked Up should have even the most cynical amongst us smiling.
- Ivan Sadler
Ben (Seth Rogen), an amiable slacker, meets Alison (Katherine Heigl), an entertainment reporter, on a night out celebrating her promotion at work. One drunken thing leads to another and one night's fun comes back to bite Ben in the form of looming fatherhood, while Alison is forced to confront the value of her career against being a mother. With a large group of friends and family trying to help, the soon-to-be parents must get to know each other, deal with their new responsibilities and decide the right thing to do.
What we thought of it:
An unplanned pregnancy seems to be obvious fodder for comedy, but has been little utilised in the mainstream. Possibly because many people find the thought of a dependant horrifying, and the situation comes with a whole load of responsibility and difficult decisions. Writer/director Judd Apatow seems to thrive on milking laughs from awkward and serious situations (as in his 40 Year Old Virgin), and manages to perfectly balance sentimental romance with cruder "guy" comedy in one of the funniest films to come out of Hollywood this year.
Rogen and Heigl are great as the odd couple – dopey, good-natured Ben drifting through life with joint in hand and the eloquent career orientated Alison, with her eyes on the stars. His initial response to the pregnancy is hilarious and it's downhill from there.
But the cringe worthiness doesn't stop there. We're treated to the effects of pregnancy on their sex life and numerous visits to the doctor and plenty of emotional outbursts. Set against the backdrop of Alison's sister's miserable marriage and Ben's irresponsible house mates, there are jokes aplenty.
Apatow keeps the dialogue semi-natural and goes for constant laughs rather than big set ups, which pays off as the characters – no matter how bizarre – never come across as forced. Dealing with issues everyone can relate to, Knocked Up should have even the most cynical amongst us smiling.
- Ivan Sadler
