I was quite shocked that I really enjoyed this movie. It really isn’t your typical romantic comedy, though I’m not sure why. Perhaps because it tones down the caricatures more than most.

The first question I asked my friend after we saw Knocked Up was “Did you like it as much as The 40-Year-Old Virgin?” He wasn’t sure, and neither was I. In hindsight, it’s not a fair question. While they might appear similar on the surface, I appreciate them more for their differences.

Knocked Up is the story of go-nowhere slacker Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and upcoming entertainment reporter Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl). Celebrating a promotion at work, Alison goes out and has a drunken hookup with Ben; in the morning, after an awkward re-meeting, they go their separate ways. Until eight weeks later, when Alison tells Ben she’s pregnant. The rest of the movie deals with their uneasy relationship, Alison’s struggle with her impending motherhood, and Ben’s arrested development. The movie is full of great supporting characters, many of whom are played by alumni of previous Apatow projects (Virgin, Undeclared, and Freaks & Geeks).

By showing both sides of the situation, Apatow takes a big risk: he’s definitely more adept at crafting the guys’ stories than the ladies’. As good as the scenes with Alison and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann), I felt as though some of their plot threads were left dangling or underdeveloped. The scenes with the guys are where you get most of the humour: Ben’s group of friends are hysterical, and the scenes where Seth Rogen gets to act with Paul Rudd (as Debbie’s husband Pete) are among the best in the movie.

And as mis-matched as they might first appear, Rogen and Heigl have a great deal of chemistry. I almost believed that a girl that pretty would date a guy that…plain. (This is where I go on a slight tangent: if you don’t care about my theories of the movie, skip to the next paragraph.) Some people have a hard time imagining the situation: after all, that kind of “beauty disparity” is pretty rare. Even Ben admits it in the movie: “Wow, you’re a lot prettier than I am.” I’ve had a few people tell me that it’s just another example of the double standard: in Hollywood (and society) women are valued only for their looks, while men can be attractive for charm or wit or sense of humour. While that’s certainly one way to look at it, I have another. Apatow’s work is centered mainly on nerdy guys, like I imagine he was at one point, and like I am still. When a nerdy guy gets a girlfriend, even if she’s just slightly prettier than he is, he can’t believe it. Apatow’s trying to show the audience how us geeks feel when a pretty girl pays us attention, but because it’s Hollywood, you have to get an absolutely stunning woman to really get that across. It’s still kind of a double-standard, and you could argue with me about it, but that’s how I took it. Anyhow, back to the rest of the review.

Knocked Up is definitely a comedy, but there are moments of real conflict and pain. Compared to Virgin, which is silly fun most of the way through, Knocked Up has a lot of heartbreaking moments, where I thought to myself, “Okay, we’re not in a comedy right now.” Far from being a weakness, this is one of the film’s big strengths: Apatow’s always the best when his humour is tinged with pathos (see the previously mentioned Freaks & Geeks). The scene with Rudd and Rogen in their Vegas hotel room is the best in the movie: hilarious and real.

The movie wraps up a little too neatly, but it’s a Hollywood comedy, so you can’t really fault them for it, and even someone as jaded as me appreciated the happy ending. I think the biggest problem Knocked Up could run into is that people go in expecting another 40-Year-Old Virgin, as I did. Afterwards, though, I appreciated it for what it was, and think it stands tall on its own merits.

There are FIVE different kinds of chairs in this hotel room.

For what its worth, I’ve really enjoyed most of Apatow’s other films/shows, so this was a real disappointment. Sure, there were some laughs, but the overall tone is needlessly crude and mean spirited. I can’t believe people think this movie is “sweet.” It was remarkably dismal and sad if you take it at face value, and a total jerk off fantasy if you take a more cynical view. Was it supposed to be some kind of unsentimental gander at the harsh realities of getting laid in California? A sympathetic look at unsympathetic, miserable, shallow characters? A cloying laugh-with-us-or-else gender fuck, I think. I laughed, but the laughs weren’t worth the sick feeling in the gut.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as had quite mixed reviews from other people, but I really enjoyed this. Really funny and sweet. Paul Rudd does a great Robert DeNiro impression… who knew?

I laughed! Sure, it was immature and about an irresponsible fling that ends up in a BABY for goodness sake . . . but hey, it was funny!

Exactly what I expected it was going to be. Funny, but not constantly funny like Anchorman or 40 Year Old Virgin. All your favourite characters and then some. Too long for what it was though, I found myself wondering when it was going to end. I will buy it when it comes out on DVD though.

This is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while. It had some very Little Miss Sunshine-esque moments, but mainly because the humor was dark at times.

The characters were very lovable and character development was amazing.

Go see this if you’re in the mood for a good laugh and something different.

The movie was absolutely hilarious, touching, and relatable.

As an added bonus, it’s the first I’ve seen of Alan Tudyk since his character died in Serenity! It was good to see Wash alive and kickin’ ;)

I loved this movie! It was absolutely hilarious, and made me seriously think about having children. That, and making sure that I’m not a controlling psycho-bitch like Debbie in the movie.

Everyone I talked to said that Knocked Up was funnier than the 40 Year Old Virgin. Very bold statement people! Granted it was a funny movie, but in my opinion it didn’t come close. The movie runs over 2 hours and there are times you kind of wish it would hurry up. The cast is extremely funny and work well with each other.