Knocked Up

Director:  Judd Apatow
Writer:  Judd Apatow
Cast:  Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd

I really enjoy and look forward to Judd Apatow’s films.  Not only do I really appreciate and connect with his style of writing and sense of humour, but I enjoy seeing the reappearances of his regular cast and crew in the same way other people do with Kevin Smith and the Frat Pack films.  I loved Knocked Up and probably already decided in my mind that I liked the film before I saw it, but the appearance of Freaks and Geeks alumni like Martin Starr who plays a pothead who looks like Cat Stevens really cemented that love for me.

Although the trailer and taglines for Knocked Up make the film appear every bit as gimmicky as The 40 Year Old Virgin, I much preferred how the plot unfolds here.  The coming together of odd couple Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl happens very early in the film and a scene where they promise not to ‘fuck each other over’ puts the focus of the film more on the preparations and tribulations of impending parenthood and relationship dynamics as opposed to just whether they will last as an couple.  Surprisingly, the subplot about a marriage strained by a husband’s secret nightly outings is also given quite a bit of depth.

Apatow is quite a prolific producer (Talladega Nights, Anchorman, 40 Year Old Virgin etc) but he doesn’t write nearly as many screenplays and I often forget and pleasantly relearn how much he excels at writing natural dialogue and how so many lesser Hollywood onscreen relationships seem like they’re voiced by people from another planet.  Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl are both very likable characters and of course, they are supported by a very funny supporting cast.  I don’t think this will be quite the star-making performance that it was for Steve Carrell but if it works out that way for Rogen, I’d be more than happy.

I don’t want to say too much about what happens in the film for fear of spoiling it.  I think the trailer already gives away too much of the good stuff.  At the end of the day, its another installment to the very fine catalogue of work by Apatow and I look forward already to whatever he’s working on next.