...another must have for any HD-DVD collection.
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Seth Rogan shows us average guys the way in the incredibly funny and entertaining "Knocked Up." His character takes us out for a fun night on the town and shows that without any dancing skills, limited desirability to smoking hot members of the opposite sex and a strong degree of nerdiness; we can score the hot chick! Of course, a night of passionate, awkward and drunken sex can have consequences and "Knocked Up" would not have been a complete or compelling film beyond fifteen minutes of length if the character did not have to endure the consequences of his steamy and passionate night with the girl that every guy wanted. He knocks up (hence the film´s title) the titular beauty, portrayed by Katherine Heigl and she decides against abortion and enters a strange and unusual relationship with the overweight and average guy that is well below her typical standards. It seems to be the best solution for the unborn baby and also works nicely for the plot.
Ben Stone (Seth Rogan) is a Canadian citizen living without employment in the United States. He has milked an accident settlement for most of his life and is down to his last couple hundred dollars. He and his roommates Martin (Martin Starr), Jay (Jay Baruchel), Jonah (Jonah Hill) and Jason (Jason Segel) are all working to create a web site that points out the exact second of celebrity nudity in films and also denotes if there is full nudity or just topless nudity. They spend their days watching films and finding and document each scene, but do not seem to be in any real hurry to launch their site and begin to make a living from registrations and advertisements on the site. Their lack of initiative allow them to smoke weed, get drunk and do all sorts of nerdy things that they deem to be far more enjoyable than work. Ben spends most of his money on beer and sometimes food, but barely exists on his limited settlement. He is a nerd with limited direction and even more limited income.
Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is a beautiful young newscaster that finally gets her break to be a reporter in front of the camera and not just a background beauty. She has gotten the promotion because of her long blonde hair, lovely smile and perky chest. Her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) is in a less than perfect marriage to husband Pete (Paul Rudd) who takes unexplained work trips and spends a lot of time away from home. Alison lives with Pete and Debbie and often fills in when Pete and Debbie´s work schedule prohibit them from taking their children to work and doing other things. She is a third wheel in their marriage, but a voice of reason. They couple take a hand in Alison´s affairs and act as the big sister and brother who attempt to guide her through her life and help her with decisions. Alison is a professional women with a defined direction and she has a fairly strong supporting family in Debbie and Pete; even if the married couple has trouble keeping their own lives in order.
One night, Debbie decides to take Alison out on the town to celebrate the new promotion. They get into a busy night club because of Alison´s beauty. Ben and his roommates are at the nightclub as well. When Alison has difficulty in ordering beers from a busy bartender for her and her sister, Ben grabs two from a cooler behind the bar and hands them to Alison. This first meeting between the two finds a few glances exchanged and Ben´s honest wit and straight sense of humor allows him to later approach Alison and continue the conversation. When Debbie has to leave to tend her children, Alison stays behind and drinks more alcohol and dances with Ben. They two of them get completely smashed, despite Ben´s continual reliance on the dance move known as "Rolling the Dice" and they end up in Alison´s bedroom. Drunk and not completely in control of their actions, Ben and Alison engage in sex. Ben fumbles with a condom and mistakes Alison´s frustrations as meaning he should do it without the condom. Of course, we know what happens because of this.
A dozen home pregnancy tests confirm that Alison is indeed pregnant and she reluctantly calls Ben; whom she was turned off by during breakfast the next day. She tells him that she believes she is pregnant and they agree to meet with a gynecologist to confirm her suspicions. They are far from the happy couple when they are told that Alison is indeed pregnant. Ben quickly becomes a jerk and pushes himself further away from the expecting beauty. Time passes and the two decide to each play a part in the baby´s life when Alison tells Ben she is going to keep the child. This brings about an abrupt change in both persons´ lives. Alison has her new job at risk and is afraid that her pregnancy will force her bosses to fire her. Ben has absolutely no money and the environment he inhabits is not conducive of a father to be. He needs to change for the better to support Alison and the baby.
The story moves on to show the awkward relationship between Ben and Alison. It is volatile and the highly unlikely couple has great difficulty in finding romance and love. Alison finds a cuteness about Ben and can look past his weight, but clashes with his attitude towards things. During an earthquake, he even leaves her behind to rush outside. Ben is in awe of Alison´s beauty, but is unwilling to change his ways to fully support her and her pregnancy induced moodiness does not help matters any. They eventually split and Ben discovers that he deeply wants to be with Alison and changes her ways. Debbie is against Ben, but Ben finds a good friend in Pete, whom was kicked out of the house by Debbie. Pete talks Ben into trying to patch things up with Alison, but this fails miserably. It isn´t until Alison is entering labor that they finally come back together and Alison discovers that Ben is the person that she wants to be with and Ben finally steps up to the plate and shows that he can be a father who can provide for both her and the baby.
"Knocked Up" is not the slapstick and sex fueled comedies that "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "American Pie" represent. It is certainly a very funny film and does have its share of adolescent bedroom, beer and drug humor, but behind all of the laughs, there is a serious and heartwarming story. The film looks at human nature; specifically the concepts of maturity and parenthood. Having a baby is a game changer and it isn´t something that can be taken as completely hilarious. "Knocked Up" becomes serious when it has to be and shows that a degree of maturity is required to become a parent and that childish ways and things need to be put away to become a father. The film´s premise is that an average Joe meets the object of everyone´s desires and on its surface the film gives the impression that the movie is just about the portly guy landing the bodacious babe. Down deep, "Knocked Up" is a story that simply suggests that when two people are to become parents that regardless of who they are, they need to mature and prepare to accept the tremendous amount of responsibility that comes with parenthood. This is a very funny movie with some very serious themes.
Ben Stone and Katherine Heigl are both perfect in their casted roles. Hiegl looks like the girl that every man desires and she certainly stands out in a crowd. Her character is a real person with real concerns and looks past her beauty. It is an asset, but she is not driven entirely by her looks. For us males, Seth Rogan exemplifies many of our traits and desires. Many of us love to drink with the guys and play ping pong in a driveway. We love our movies and sitting down with the guys to enjoy them. We act adolescent and joke about sexual exploits. Okay, maybe not all of us are like this, but the character isn´t entirely stereotypical. My favorite things include video games and movies. I´ve been mostly single the past couple years and must say that I love to spend time with my friends and do some of the things shown in this film. I´ve been to the clubs and I´ve found myself waking up with somebody the next morning and remember the conversations the next day with my friends afterwards. "Knocked Up" is a film that perfectly nails these experiences in growing up and the characters and their actors are great examples of this growing up.
"Knocked Up" is a movie that has succeeded because of its comedy and its serious themes. I know I´m not the only one who can relate to many of the situations in this film through my own experiences or those of close friends. It is a movie that many of us can relate to on some level. For some viewers, it is the concept of landing the hot girl. For other viewers, it may be a reminder of what it was like to hang out with the guys and talk about and do stupid stuff. For some viewers, it may be the reminder of the unexpected pregnancy and what followed afterwards. Some may simply want to watch the movie for the laughs. It is a comedy that can be both downright funny and often heartfelt. "Knocked Up" has a raunchy title and premise, but it is far more below the surface than just a good looking blonde with a nice pair of breasts. Sure, every guy has wanted to land the gorgeous girl and "Knocked Up" does show a slightly different approach to doing so. I´m certainly not suggesting every reader desiring a beautiful and leggy blonde head out to the nearest night club and get bloody pissed (British term) and impregnate the object of one´s desire. It is funny in pictures and it was damn funny in this movie, but it is not a situation that is quite as funny in real life. Beyond the humor, there is a solid story.
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