Theatrical Review of Knocked Up

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You would think a movie called "Knocked Up" would feature more gross-out humor than the latest creation from Judd Apatow already does. Sure, there is a cringe-worthy joke in which three characters get pink eye from farting-bare assed-on each other´s pillows. And there´s enough references to breasts becoming bigger and drooping, male reproductive organs poking a fetus in the face during sex and other bodily functions to fill two or three movies. Surprisingly, these attempts at sophomoric humor don´t hold the movie back.

While celebrating her promotion at the E! Network, Alison and Ben (Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen) hook up while both are plastered. He is an out of work slacker, living with a motley crew of friends, beer bongs and no responsibilities; she is on the fast track to becoming the next big thing on television. Eight weeks later, Alison tells Ben she´s pregnant, which leads to all sorts of break ups, make ups and hijinx between Alison and Ben, as well as her sister Debbie and her husband Pete.

I´ll confess: I´ve never seen "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" or "Freaks and Geeks" or "Undeclared," all of director/writer Apatow´s previous work. Comedies, especially mainstream ones, tend to go for laughs at the expense of a particular group or person, effectively nullifying the effect of the joke. As unenthusiastic I was about seeing "Knocked Up," I can´t help but be charmed by it. It´s not revolutionary or well plotted-one storyline is carried through most of the film only to be dropped; the charm rests solely on the shoulders of the cast, particularly Heigl and Rogen.

Let´s face facts: as a movie going audience, we root for the underdog to rise up and capture his ultimate prize. It doesn´t matter what the prize is, we want our protagonist to reach out and grab it. It´s unsurprising, really, since we´re all the underdog in our own ways. Who hasn´t seen the perfect guy/girl across the bar or in a crowded room and wished they had a chance with them? And who hasn´t mucked up a relationship to the point of nearly no return? We can identify with all the characters in "Knocked Up" to one degree or another, allowing us to bring our own emotions and experiences to the table and making Apatow´s job easier.

Got all that? Good, so let´s talk specifics.

Really, the main problem with "Knocked Up" is its running time: an unconscionable 129 minutes for a comedy. By the time Alison is giving birth in the climax, we feel as though we´ve gone through the entire pregnancy with her. While there are time jumps, the story seems to gloss over the important parts, asking us to fill in the blanks. The first three-quarters of the production flow just fine; it´s the final quarter where the problem lies. In one dramatic moment, Debbie and Pete are fighting since he is feeling trapped, with no interests of his own. The next time both characters show up, they are living happily in the same house again. So what happened?

Did Pete put his interests on the back burner for his wife and kids? Did they come to an agreement about having a night out with the guys (or the girls, in her case) off screen? And for all the time devoted to their marital issues, why didn´t the audience get any resolution to the story? It´s like a piece of a train track being missing, expecting to see how the train gets to the other side…only to be shown it got there. How did it happen? If you´re going to make a 2+ hour comedy, don´t drop a plotline or leave an important piece of the story out. It´s sloppy. (It is entirely possible the missing piece was cut in editing.)

Another issue all comedies seem to share is a painfully unfunny second half. It´s possible the jokes are still there, but the audience is growing accustomed to them and not finding the proceedings as funny. It´s also possible there is a misguided attempt to make every film-comedy or otherwise-have a dramatic hook in it, as if having a baby wasn´t enough. Throughout the film, Ben is a slacker, though he tries to start doing the right thing for Alison and the baby. Then, all of a sudden, it´s as if a light bulb went off in his head about needing to provide for both of them. There are moments in which Ben asks his father for advice which are ill advised; roll this scene up with the introduction of the father and we save time. The outcome of the film is never really in doubt. Remember what I said about the underdog?

It´s entirely possible I expect too much out of movie characters, but halfway through the film, I wanted to personally bitch slap all of the people Ben lives with. One guy walks out of the bathroom, proudly proclaiming he has shaved his pubes and balls. They all partake a bit too much in the bong and alcohol despite not having means to support themselves. Not a single one-outside of Ben, and it takes him most of the film-thinks it´s a good idea for them to grow up. It´s maddening, in a lot of ways, to think these people are physically able to procreate and to live in the world yet don´t have the will, the discipline or the want to be what they can be.

That´s a recurring theme in the film, the idea of becoming something bigger and more mature than these characters already are. Alison consistently tries to mold Ben into her idea of dating material, not to mention a father figure. In that respect, she and Debbie are on the same page. Both want their partners to devote their lives to them when, in reality, they are trying to do that without the pushing on their own.

If it seems I´m a bit ambivalent about "Knocked Up," I am. Heigl and Rogen buoy the film with their sheer pluckiness and comic timing. He´s got the "gee, how did I get here?" vibe, someone we´d mostly believe in the situation presented. Heigl is a bit harder to identify with, being the beautiful prize. And, thanks to a script seemingly out to "get" married women, Leslie Mann as Debbie is the weak link in the cast. Whether it´s her paranoid conspiracy theories that Pete is cheating on her or the unending tearing down of Ben, someone needed to reign in the characterization.

"Knocked Up" isn´t a bad movie; it just retreads storylines and characters we´ve seen before without adding anything new to the mix. For that reason, it gets a 6 out of 10. It´s another disposable summer film which will be forgotten about in a week.

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