‘Knocked Up’:
Creative conception

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

Laughter is good medicine. If you’re feeling down, there’s nothing like a good laugh to cheer you up, even if it’s for just a while. Most recent movies haven’t exactly been the cure for the blues, but that has changed with the release of Knocked Up.
This film will keep you in stitches from beginning to end. There hasn’t been an R-rated movie this funny since The 40-Year-Old Virgin in 2005. Writer/director Judd Apatow definitely has a knack for comedy. The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which Apatow also wrote and directed, was just the right kind of funny — raunchy, but not disgusting.
Knocked Up deals with a little more serious subject matter, but it’s just as funny. The characters in both Virgin and Knocked Up are likable, relatable people. Many of the actors from Virgin have returned for Apatow’s latest undertaking, including Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. Steve Carell makes a brief, but funny, cameo.
Katherine Heigl (Izzie from Grey’s Anatomy) leads the cast by playing Alison Scott, a seemingly responsible 20-something with an up-and-coming career at the E! Entertainment Network. Her bosses have just promoted her to an on-air interviewer and a celebratory night is in order, so Alison and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, who is also Apatow’s wife) head to the club.
At the bar, Alison meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a slacker with no job, even though he has aspirations of running a celebrity porn Web site. He and his friends are a bunch of stoners, and drunken nights filled with drugs are a frequent occurrence.
When Alison and Ben meet up while trying to order beers, both already are completely inebriated. After a little chit-chat and a couple dances (Ben has some hilarious moves), they head back to Alison’s place for a one-night stand. The next morning, realizing they have nothing in common, they go their separate ways. Six weeks later, Alison finds out she’s pregnant.
Alison decides to keep the baby, so she and Ben attempt a relationship. Alison’s ever-changing hormones make for plenty of conflict as she and Ben try to get to know each other.
They share the screen with Debbie, Alison’s married older sister who has two small kids. Debbie has some problems with her husband Pete (Paul Rudd), and their relationship serves as an interesting comparison to Alison and Ben’s situation. Plus Rudd and Rogen have a scene reminiscent of their "You know how I know you’re gay" scene from 40-Year-Old Virgin.
What’s nice about Knocked Up, besides the humor, is that Heigl plays Alison just right. You sympathize with her situation and understand it’s a mistake that could happen to anyone because everyone slips up from time to time. She actually thought she was being responsible during her one-night fling. The casting of Rogen also is a perfect choice. He has a regular-guy look about him, and passersby on the street would definitely wonder how someone like Ben could land a girl like Alison. Throughout the film, he goes through a variety of emotions about Alison and the baby. As the movie goes on, you do grow to like Ben, and it’s fun seeing him try to prepare himself for fatherhood.
Knocked Up is funny take on a serious topic. Best of all, it doesn’t lose steam in the middle, but maintains the same level of humor throughout.
Apatow’s writing is creatively smart, and you won’t feel like you’ve seen it before. However, you just might want to see it a second or maybe even a third time. ••
Movie Grade: A