Knocked Up
January 1st 2008 22:33
Seth Rogen plays Ben, a low-aiming Jewish Canadian that's illegally staying in America, smoking weed and living off a small legal settlement. Through the mystical power of alcohol, he manages to convince Allison, played by Katherine Heigl, into having a one-night stand with him.
Allison is a kind of American princess, from a family of successful blondes with dazzling smiles and very white walls. It's near lunacy to imagine that the ursine-like Ben could ever hope to place his hairy knuckles on Allison's body. Luckily, for the plot, Allison gets pregnant, forcing the couple to come together to try and work through the pregnancy.
There's some talk of abortion, but Apatow wisely sidesteps this issue with ease... that movie would have had a lot of problems in the US, and everyone would have felt some degree of discomfort.
No, this movie whizzes past that point: Allison decide to keep the baby, and Ben, admirably, is willing to help her through it. No matter what your personal politics are, you can appreciate the good-natured desire to raise a child, despite the odds.
The odds are certainly against Ben... he's unemployed, lazy and smokes weed an awful lot. Eventually, Allison tires of his unreliability and crass personality, leaving him to raise the child on her own.
"Knocked Up" is a wild success because of the way the movie plays out... in tribute to the great classics, Ben does the right thing in the end, realizing what he needs to do. This means leaving his pack of male hyenas behind, getting a job and flying straight, which he does, because he wants to be a part of the family. It's touching and even emotional at times.
Earlier this week, I wrote on David Denby's New Yorker article, where he praised "Knocked Up" for its roguish comedy and bully charm, but condemned the misogyny of the film. Katherine Heigl has also stated publicly that she felt the move was misogynistic.
All this is still here. Denby's point was that the movie is not really about the pregnancy, but how Ben, living his life like a big, tubby boy, needs to grow up, move past the belching fraternity of the male comraderie, and step into the shoes of the man. To do this, he needs motivation, which is what Allison and the pregnancy represent.
In Denby's words, women, in this film, are just 'vehicles'. It's sad, true and, yes, misogynistic, especially when you hear the harridan-like shrieking from Allison's sister, Debbie, played by Apatow's wife, Leslie Mann.
As Joe Queenan writes in The Guardian:
"Infatuated by Apatow's success, Hollywood has turned over the keys to the industry to the 40-year-old producer/director/screenwrite r...
...Thus, the situation today is very much like back in the days when John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase and the rest of the Saturday Night Live alumni turned out third-rate movies faster than anyone could possibly see them, and dominated screen comedy until Robin Williams came along to make things worse."
My opinion of "Knocked Up" is much more favourable than Queenan's... I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. Yes, the female characters are little more than blonde cutouts, a reason for men to remember that they want to have sex. It's disturbing, but still, there's the idea that Apatow set out to make a movie where a loser-stoner needs to grow up to be worthy of an amazing woman. The problem is that Apatow didn't know how to write a strong female role, and didn't have the screen time to flesh her out.
Still, it's a warm, enjoyable movie, and one that'll set the tone for 2007, especially when taken in consideration with "Superbad" which is like a spiritual prequel. Despite the complaints, I'm pleased to see comedy move in this direction, which uses real human concerns as a backdrop for great dialogue and odd characters.
I say: A terrific movie, and a great movie for a night home with the girlfriend. Mine loved it, and was touched by the dedication shown by Ben.
See it for: Paul Rudd, one of the Apatow-crew, plays Allison's brother-in-law, and his dry wit never gets old.
*this image is from the Halifax Daily
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Comment by Mr Nice Guy
Pop Culturist
Without doubt, this one came from the clouds and caught most of us by surprise.
Warm fluff? Sure.
But everyone from our 15-year-old through loved it.
Nice review.
Cheers and Happy New Year
MNG
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
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There is something in this film that I think male audiences can appreciate... the men in this film enjoy the company of their friends, they enjoy being crass, vulgar, geeky, or whatever - they enjoy being boys!
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
I really enjoyed this movie and I did not want to. I guess I thought it was "beneath me." Oh how arrogant I was.... Loved Paul Rudd!
Mis
Comment by Cibbuano
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Paul Rudd on the Daily Show
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Denby's comment about the women as 'vehicles' is very true though. Was the same with The Forty Year Old Virgin, Bruce Almighty, all those comedies featuring male 'enlightenment'.
Michaelie
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Michaelie
Flick Wit
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
I loved Superbad too!!
Comment by Vixter
People
Diet Food Lifestyle
CHEATERS
1 For The Road
Have you seen Superbad? I will suss to see if you have a review - that one is a "bewdy!" I laughed out loud a lot.
Comment by Cibbuano
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I laughed and laughed and laughed...