Danny gets KNOCKED UP

So, finally, I saw KNOCKED UP ... My Review:

KNOCKED UP Review:

- Right now, Judd Apatow has become something of an unlikely super-producer in Hollywood, and after seeing Knocked Up, it's very easy to understand why. The guy just gets comedy, in a way that many others out there now making these movies fail to grasp. Apatow always places a premium on character above all else, and his characters become fully realized thanks to a combination of great dialogue and great casting. When you take naturalistic, free-flowing dialogue and give it to relatable, talented actors not cut from the usual Hollywood cloth, you automatically have a winning formula, and Apatow has now perfected the art of taking the unremarkable and making it funny, sweet, and a step above the dumbed-down, condescending nature of the by-the-numbers comedy.

For me, it all comes back to the seminal Freaks and Geeks. It was one of those instantly magical shows that was so far above almost anything else on TV at the time, it's no big shock to see why then-network execs were simply clueless as to how to handle it. For me, it was one of those shows that I was so impressed with, that it instantly made me a fan of anyone involved with the show. Whenever anyone from the cast pops up on TV or film, I am happy to see one of the old Freaks and Geeks gang again (Arrested Development is another that falls into that category). And because of Freaks, and then Undeclared, I am forever interested in anything that bears the stamp of one of the show's creators, chief among them Apatow, who now seems to be the go-to guy for taking what COULD have been run-of-the-mill fare and giving it a unique, down-to-earth spin.

Such is the case with Knocked Up. This COULD have been crap, based on the somewhat gimmicky premise. But although it is, of course, a suspension of disbelief to see frumpy Seth Rogan with knockout Katherine Heigl, so much of the movie feels real and authentic that rarely are you left thinking "aww, that would never happen." Instead, we get a movie where every character, big and small, is drawn so naturalistically that you'll see something of your friends, your coworkers, your family, etc, in each of them. In Freaks and Geeks, part of the magic was that rather than being some glamorized Hollywood version of high school, it WAS high school. Here, again, this isn't really some candy-coated version of young adulthood - the humor isn't funny because its contrived, but because it rings true. All of the little asides about growing up, about friends, about family, about being forced into a situation with someone else under the most awkward of circumstances - all of that observational humor feels spot on, and this is where many of the film's funniest moments come into play.

The banter between Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan, particularly their mushoom-laced trip to Vegas. The scene where Heigl and her sister are unable to bypass the line for a nightclub, and chew out the doorman. Rogan and his roommates bantering about the merits of the Jewfro. Jonah Hill's Stephen Hawking impression. Katherine Wiig being passive aggressive. Rudd and Rogan bonding over DeNiro impressions.

These are among the many scenes that capture this film's style of humor so well - low-key, underplayed, the kind of banter that really occurs between people. And again, so much credit has to be given to this troup of actors. For one thing - Seth Rogan. He is one of those guys that has always been a standout, but who, really, expected him to carry a movie like he does here. Well, those of us who saw the classic Freaks ep where Rogan thinks he might be gay when he finds out his girlfriend is a hermaphrodite - WE knew how great he was. Rogan has that dry, stoner sense of humor, but he has an uncommon ability to elicit pathos as well. Watching him, he instantly feels like a guy you'd want to hang out with, and you really feel for him when things start to get crazy. If anything, Rogan makes his character her a bit TOO slovenly. In Knocked Up, the guy is not just an overweight slacker, but a total loser with no job, no money, and a tendency to blurt out inappropriate remarks, like when he tells Heigl's niece the meaning of the term "prick." I expected Rogan to play the shaggy everyman, but I admit, I was slightly surprised at how far out-there his character was. But don't get me wrong - this is a career-defining performance for Rogan, and he does an awesome job at being funny, empathetic, and multi-dimensional.

Rogan is surrounded by an awesome band of stoned-out misfits, many of them Apatow alums. It's great to see guys like Jason Segel, Martin Starr, and Jay Baruchel again. Segel in particular is hilarious as Rogan's right-hand man. Jonah Hill is another nice addition to the cast. You've gotta love these guys as they all feel legit. These are the guys who in college sat around getting high all day and then move into some house together, subsisting on Ramen and planning get-rich-quick schemes. You've met these guys, I've met these guys. And hey, even James Franco makes a funny appearance as himself, giving props to his Apatow roots.

Paul Rudd is one of those guys who I almost want not to like, just because so many people seem to blindly love him just because it's the cool thing to do. But what can I say - Paul Rudd is awesome. He's one of the funniest actors out there right now, someone who can do broad (Wet Hot American Summer), or, as with Knocked Up, he can play the everyman, the straight man, the put-upon married guy who really just wants to get away to meet with his fantasy baseball league. I also love the man-crush dynamic between Rogan and Rudd, and what their relationship reveals about Rudd's character. As with Freaks and Geeks, Apatow makes a great point about how these good-looking, seemingly-happy people who appear to have it all figured out can be just as miserable and directionless as anyone else. The parallel drawn between Rudd - who got married, had kids, and settled down in the traditional manner, and Rogan, who did everything ass-backwards but may have inadvertantly met the woman of his dreams, is handled really well. Both are equally on the verge of freaking out but for very different reasons.

Meanwhile, Leslie Mann almost steals the movie as Heigl's frustrated older sister. Her character is bitchy, whiny, a know-it-all, and obnoxious - not very likable at all - but I think that's the point. I think she kind of represents every guy's fear of what a woman might eventually become, and every woman's fear of what they are really like. I love the complexity of this character - like so many people I know, she is on the surface, all grown up. She is aging, and looks it. She has two kids, a husband, stability. But her attitude is immature, her views are shallow. She swears like a kid who just discovered the f-word, overloads on red bull, and feeds her fragile ego by trying to bypass the lines at nightclubs. In many senses, she is the most immature character in the movie. Again, Apatow creates these contrasts and subtley gets at some really interesting truths through his humor - pretty cool for a comedy of this nature.

Katherine Heigl - I've never seen her act in anything else before Knocked Up, but she is instantly likable. As I said, she's a knockout, but she has that air of approachability, a slight sense of dorkiness that is very endearing. Heigl does a really great job here, no doubt. My one complaint is that her character is just a bit ... ambiguous. I never felt like I 100% got who she was, why she worked in television, why she was so quick to like and then love Rogan, who was so over the top in his loser-isms as I metioned above. I guess she almost HAD to be kind of this amorphous every-woman, or else it would have been too difficult to write her as a real match for Rogan. But there was never exactly that one moment where you were like "oh, okay, I see why they are clicking and why she falls for him."

While I did have a slight feeling of something being off about the central romance, in the end, I can't say enough about Knocked Up. How many comedies really make you think about life like this one does? From a laugh-ratio standpoint, Knocked Up knocks it out of the park - hilarious dialogue and that same funny-because-it's-true humor that Apatow brings to all his projects. Kudos to Rogan and the rest of this great ensemble for pulling this off with so much nuance and intelligence. Not perfect, but overall one of the best comedies you'll find.

My Grade: A-