Knocked Up (2007)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Judd Apatow

Writer (WGA):

Judd Apatow (written by)

Release Date:

1 June 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Save the due date

Plot:

For fun loving party animal Ben Stone, the last thing he ever expected was for his one night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she's pregnant.

Plot Keywords:

One Night Stand | Condom | Dancing | Pot | Party

Awards:

3 wins & 13 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10	8:30 PM	E
Wed. Nov. 11	2:00 PM	E
Wed. Nov. 11	4:30 PM	E

Cast

Seth Rogen	...	Ben Stone
Katherine Heigl	...	Alison Scott
Paul Rudd	...	Pete
Leslie Mann	...	Debbie
Jason Segel	...	Jason
Jay Baruchel	...	Jay
Jonah Hill	...	Jonah
Martin Starr	...	Martin
Charlyne Yi	...	Jodi
Iris Apatow	...	Charlotte
Maude Apatow	...	Sadie
Joanna Kerns	...	Alison’s Mom
Harold Ramis	...	Ben's Dad
Alan Tudyk	...	Jack
Kristen Wiig	...	Jill

Also Known As:

Untitled Judd Apatow Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, drug use and language.

Runtime:

129 min | 133 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Ireland:16 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:12 | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-13 | USA:R (certificate #43288) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIB | Sweden:7 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Philippines:R-18 | France:Unrated | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Taiwan:R-12 | Norway:11 | Denmark:7 | Singapore:M18 (also unrated version) | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (theatrical rating)

Filming Locations:

Del's Saloon - 12238 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Christina Aguilera was offered the role of Alison, but turned it down in order to focus on her music career.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Ben tells Alison that he was struck by a postal vehicle and got compensation from the British Columbia government. Postal services in Canada are federal, not provincial, and any compensation would be through a crown insurance agency, not the government. However, in British Columbia, vehicle insurance is run through a British Columbian government Crown Corporation called ICBC, which insures all motor vehicles, including postal vehicles.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jay: I got to get off! I got to get off! Got to get off! Got to get off!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Seth Rogen/Spoon (#33.2)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Manuel's Got a Train to Catch

Decent, but I don't see what all of the fuss is about.

I went into the theater not knowing what to expect, not having seen the trailer, and two hours later I felt I had seen a decent movie, quite funny at times, but I couldn't figure out what everyone was making such a big deal about. Compared to a lot of what passes for comedy in the cinema these days, Knocked Up is great, but it's hardly the "instant classic" that I've seen it called in many professional and IMDb reviews. It's certainly worth seeing, but maybe at a discount matinée instead of a full-price evening show.

Much of what is wrong with Knocked Up is simply an over-reliance on Seth Rogen to deliver the laughs. To be sure, Rogen is a funny guy - he handled the jump from second-tier supporting actor (a la 40 Year Old Virgin) to leading man surprisingly well, appearing confident and charismatic. The problem is that as the film goes on, he just doesn't get a whole lot to work with from his supporting cast. Rogen doesn't have enough in him at this point to carry an entire film on his shoulders, but often he is forced into that role, providing the only humor in many scenes (especially in the second half of the movie). At times it almost seems as if Rogen has landed in the wrong film, delivering clever quips and laughs while the barely-likable characters around him remain too serious. Paul Rudd manages to break this up, taking some of the burden off Rogen, but Katherine Heigl and Leslie Mann's unfunny and quasi-sympathetic characters drag them down.

To be sure, the first half of Knocked Up is great, but by the second half the script becomes mired in slow, cliché drama. Marital dissatisfaction and the loss of youth are interesting themes to explore, but in doing so, Knocked Up fails to establish a consistent tone. As the film trudges past the 90-minute mark, it is sometimes humorous, sometimes dour, often clichéd, all resulting in an awkward mix of styles.

Overall, Knocked Up was a good effort, but a little more editing of the script would have helped a lot. I don't mind long movies at all, but 20 minutes could have been trimmed from this film to good effect.