For anybody who doubted that writer/director Judd Apatow could craft a worthy follow-up to 2005’s “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” prepare to eat your words: “Knocked Up” confirms that Apatow is one of the most hilarious and consistent comedic talents working today.
The film is another masterful example of Apatow’s ability to combine no-way-did-he-just-say-that gags with observational humor that works because it involves fully-developed characters instead of well-worn archetypes.
On the surface, with its not-so-original plot, “Knocked Up” doesn’t seem much different from the countless formulaic romantic comedies that unceremoniously take the direct-to-video route. You’ve probably seen it in the trailer: Pot-smoking slacker Ben (Seth Rogen) meets ambitious career woman Allison (Katherine Heigl) in a bar and has a drunken one-night-stand with her. After Allison finds out she’s pregnant and decides to keep the baby, Ben realizes that he has some serious growing up to do. And of course, lessons will be learned by all.
However, “Knocked Up” is able to transcend its generic storyline through its characters and observations. For instance, Rogen’s character could have easily been a stereotypical stoner, but he turns out to be a well-intentioned person who isn’t quite ready to mature yet knows that he will have to be responsible as a soon-to-be father.
Although “Knocked Up” is essentially a Hollywood product, it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Instead, as with Apatow’s other projects, the film has a lived-in feel. With perfectly cast actors who fit their developed roles well enough to deliver seemingly improvised dialogue and straight-out-of-nowhere pop culture references that one would never find in typical Hollywood hackwork, “Knocked Up” seems more like a personal pet project than a piece of focus group-driven mediocrity.
That isn’t to say that “Knocked Up” is perfect: The film doesn’t quite reach the inspired comic greatness of “Virgin” (nothing here compares to the damn-near-legendary “You know how I know you’re gay?” and chest-waxing scenes in Apatow’s earlier film), and at a running time of two hours and nine minutes, it is at least 15 minutes too long.
Despite these minor flaws, though, “Knocked Up” brings the laughs without compromising Apatow’s commitment to creating multi-dimensional characters that the audience will actually care about.
“Knocked Up” will hit theaters June 1.
