Is it possible that writer/director Judd Apatow has just created the perfect comedy? After a century of trial and error, have we finally found a movie so fresh and so hilarious that it will change the landscape of cinema from hereafter? Has there at long last been a stoner comedy created that appeals to stoners, stoner's girlfriends, stoner's mothers, and everybody else in the crowd NOT stoned? The answer to these questions is.... No. But with his latest and greatest achievement, Knocked Up, Apatow has come as close as we've ever been before.
Much like his previous hit The 40-year Old Virgin, Apatow serves up an entrée of stoner comedy with a side dish of the female perspective. But unlike The 40-year Old Virgin, Knocked Up never falls on its ear and looks for a place to go. The arc of the characters are in many ways a mirror image of the ones from The 40-year Old Virgin. Instead of the many fears and obstacles tackled by Steve Carell in order to get laid, Knocked Up deals with the many fears and obstacles to be tackled by Seth Rogen after getting laid.
Now, Im not trying to get onto any body's hit list, but I am going to go ahead and make a pretty bold statement here. Not only do I think Seth Rogen has what it takes to be a movie star, but I think he is MORE charismatic and MORE fun to watch than Steve Carell. Yes, yes I know what you're thinking:
"Blasphemy! How dare you sully the good name of Steve Carell!"
But the most astonishing part of Knocked Up, and what ultimately makes the film a resounding success, is the fact that the audience somehow becomes more and more intrigued and interested in Rogen's character as the movie goes on. As Katherine Heigl's character slowly but surely falls in love with him, so does the audience. His character, (Ben Stone) is like a bad oldie. When you first hear it you hate, but then you find yourself singing it in the shower, and before you know it you're buying the CD. So with that being said, let's jump right into the rest of the on screen performances, because that's really what this movie is all about.
Whether you're hooked on NBC's "The Office", (Who isn't?) or you're one of those people who watches The 40-year Old Virgin every time it comes on HBO Zone at 1:00am (Again, who isn't?), you'll be able to immediately pick out at least a few actors you know and connect with in this movie. Besides Rogen and Paul Rudd, who are both sent from heaven, there aren't many characters transported over from The 40-year Old Virgin. As always, Apatow's wife Leslie Mann shows up and delivers a very bossy albeit funny performance. There are cameos out the wazoo, not the least of which are James Franco, Steve Carell, Harold Ramis, and Ryan Seacrest. But the main attraction here is Rogen and his stony friends. Their jokes and constant verbal abuse are a bottomless well of laughter, and you will laugh pretty much whenever they are all on screen. The gang consists of Jay Baruchel, who Apatow first discovered for their failed Fox Pilot "Undeclared", Jonah Hill, Martin Starr, and Jason Segel. Much like Rudd and Rogen in The 40-year Old Virgin, its these guys who keep the audience laughing with a constant supply of jokes.
As I stated earlier, Rogen is so much more charismatic and hilarious than I would have ever imagined. He readily steps from the background to the foreground and manages the spotlight better than some of our so-called "Comedy Greats". Next to Rogen, however, Katherine Heigl fails to offer much more than a pretty face. She plays the part well, but fails to contribute any humor to the story. And while their situation is certainly presented from both points of view, hers is never really as fully explored as Rogen's, and there is a level of complexity that Rogen was able to create which Heigl was not.
In this film, two people who hate each other have an unwanted lovechild and try to make their relationship work before the baby is born. Perfect material for a stoner comedy, right? Credit the filmmakers here people, the ability to take such a serious (almost taboo) topic and spin it into 2 hours of non-stop in your face hilarity is truly something to behold. This film is brash, immature, wild and totally uninhibited. Its as if somebody took Hugh Grants Nine Months and fed it shrooms, then slipped it a roofie, then gave it a big wet kiss and a slap in the face. Scene after scene you will wonder what will come next, and how they are going to top themselves. And yet through all the language, drug abuse, vomiting, farting, and more drug abuse, this film is ultimately about doing the right thing. And that is exactly the way comedies are supposed to be.
-Aaron Steven
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