Knocked Up Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)June 13th, 2007
"Knocked Up" Delivers the Goods
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
"Knocked Up" finds a delicate balance between a
sentimental chick-grows-up-flick and a
pseudo-stoner comedy. Ben (Seth Rogen) is as
average-looking but fun-loving as they come.
Entertainment for him comes by way of inhaling a
bong while donning a scuba mask, boxing opponents
with gloves set afire, and setting up a website
enterprise that features celebrity nudity. His
greatest feat, however, is making $900 in savings
last so darn long. He is surrounded by his
motley group of goofballs. Their astounding
level of irresponsibility, among other funny
things, leads them to contract a serious bout of
Red Eye. You just have to watch the explanation.
Alison (Katherine Heigl) is sweet and lovely but
somewhat of an underachiever. She lives in the
pool house of her control-freak sister (Leslie
Mann) and her brother-in-law who is unable to
cope with the control-freak-sister. Scoring a
big promotion at work for the E! channel (which
provides lots of opportunities for celebrity
cameos), Alison and her sister go to a local
club. And you know how the story goes. Alison
dons her beer-goggles. Ben's sense of unbridled
humor is not the same as being good looking.
Unsafe sex ensues. And 8 weeks later, Alison has
an "aha" moment when she can't stop throwing up
and she's putting on a few pounds.
What happens is the while Ben and Alison probably
would never have ever seen each other again,
Alison feels that Ben should know. And they both
decide to try to graduate from one-night-stand
infatuations to loving and romantic partners. Of
course, this new direction takes some getting
used to for this couple. And, among other bits,
there's an especially funny sequence in which Ben
just can't bring himself to have sex with a
pregnant Alison because he's afraid that he might
hurt the fetus. You just have to watch the
explanation.
There is the obligatory act where Ben and Alison
find that this arrangement might be more trouble
than it's worth. Alison, now obviously pregnant,
goes with her sister back to that club where they
encounter resistance and tenderness from a
bouncer. Ben heads off to Vegas Alison's
brother-in-law where, at a strip club, Ben
hilariously warns him that he's in danger of
getting red eye. You just have to watch the
explanation.
As you can tell, a film like this is better seen
than described. That's a good thing. And
"Knocked Up" is relevant, hip, and
up-to-the-minute. It's not just the peripheral
references that inhabit their setting. The
characters talk about Spiderman 3. There is a
reference to the hit-TV show LOST. And even the
ubiquitous Ryan Seacrest is a good sport as he
lampoons his celebrityhood. The film is a
surprisingly fresh, if potty-mouthed and somewhat
long, rendering of romance and responsibility in
2007. But all is forgivable, because the
material is always engaging. These people are
very funny, but also likable and real.
Grade: B+
S: 3 out of 3
L: 3 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
____________________________________________________________________________________
Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. http://sims.yahoo.com/
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
