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Judd Apatow's The 40 Year Old Virgin was a ribald and yet surprisingly warm-hearted vehicle for Steve Carell and the hit comedy acted as a showcase for the unique talents of the endowed director. In this highly anticipated follow-up by the same troupe, Carell does make a charming cameo as himself, but this slobberknocker of a comedy is headlined by the director's actor alter-ego, Seth Rogen. Unfortunately for Apatow, even though Rogen is perfectly cast as a dead-end loser, the Canadian's Ben Stone is just not as intriguing as Virgin's Andy Stitzer. However, Rogen does have to share the limelight with Katherine Heigl and, even though both are extremely important to the most diverse groups of society, getting your leg over is universally seen as more trivial compared to the birth of a child - hence Rogen has the more serious subject matter and half of Carell's dominance as a leading character.
To compare the two films though isn't pointless but simply unnecessary. Knocked Up does what it sets out to do: a comedy by and for adults filled with hilarious uncouth jokes and slightly coarse characters - pubic region shaving is funny in a juvenile sense but never gross. After Heigl's E! presenter, Alison Scott, ventures out into a club with her sister (Mann) to celebrate her job promotion at the glitzy cable station, anyone can realise something will come of the awkward moment she and Ben share at a crowded bar - he is a happy-go-lucky nerd while she is too cool for school. Consequently Alison beds the stoner with no money, no ambition, and no ideas on life in general and falls pregnant, and the loser-gets-lucky formula that Apatow has perfected in the television show Freaks and Geeks comes to fruition.
Improvisation is seemingly the key to many continuous laughs - Ben's housemates are constant sources of hilarity, Mann (Apatow's wife in reality is excellent as an uptight housewife) and Rudd (stalwart of many hit comedies in recent years) are always reliable. One continuous laugh relates to Ben's friends competing in a bet - one of the group members isn't allowed to shave in return for his rent being paid for a year - and this sparks unremitting references to bearded men, many of which are cinematic. In fact, Apatow has used much of the dialogue in the film as a springboard for filmic homage - "You look like Scorsese on coke!" coupled with Star Wars references always draw a chuckle for viewers in-the-know so to speak. Along with Jonah Hill et al as able support, Ken Jeong's Dr. Kuni and Kristen Wiig's Jill deserve special mentions for their highly sarcastic turns.
This brings us to the two leads in this almost screwball drama. Rogen's wannabe webmaster is a sad no-hoper of the highest degree reading the instruction manual of Western norms he has never managed to master. Heigl is perfectly able as a bona fide career woman who plays the taboo-orientated subject in her favour, never falling for the easy jokes she could introduce with effortlessness - after all, after getting to know Ben, her state of affairs is desperate and certainly not the opportunity for laughter in her eyes. Alison never teases Ben and her sweet nature never grows stale. Her struggle as a sensitive stunner in a sensitive situation is believable, unlike Ben's rejuvenation as a job and apartment holding citizen in the final act.
Problems arise with the film's glorification of drugs, overlong running time and flawed structure. These are all relatively minor individually but collectively they bring about annoyance. In addition, Apatow could also be seen as celebrating one-night stands but the script says so much about the importance of condoms in an indirect way that that argument is rapidly countered. Surely though only a character like Hugh Hefner could "just do it already" with a Heigl-like girl when he is so unsuitable, and not Ben Stone? Apatow has opened up a distorted view of filmic reality which is both artificial (a certain prom queen candidate never dates a guy still void of a first kiss) and very authentic at the same time (it could actually happen!).
The summary
Thankfully not dumbed down for a younger audience, Knocked Up is undoubtedly very funny and would make an excellent date flick because of a sturdy moral core. Unfortunately, the storytelling side of proceedings isn't as must-see as hyped and Apatow and co. never really kick things into the higher echelons of their capabilities. Inevitable cash at the multiplex will bring about Hollywood clout for Apatow and Rogen, and it will be interesting to see what path the duo and their chums take next.
