[Movie 299 / Day 315]
Ben Stone (Seth Rogen, at his best) is a stoner who with his stoner housemates is about to launch an ill-fated website. Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is a TV exec that gets her dream promotion to front of camera. During the ensuing celebration, she meets Ben, who, in a massive stroke of luck (mainly thanks to alcohol) is chosen as Alison’s one-night stand.
Unfortunately, in his drunken state, Ben misunderstood Alison and didn’t use a condom and a couple of months later she realises that she’s pregnant.
The rest of this unconventional romcom is spent following the pair as they struggle to come to terms with the news and prepare to become parents.
Like Judd Apatow’s other raucous comedy, THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, there are plenty of laughs to be had. Unlike the earlier movie however, the laughs in KNOCKED UP rely less on set-piece gross-outs and more on the conversations between the characters – and some of those conversations are very funny indeed. Ben and his stoner buddies (including funny men Jonah Hill and Jason Segel) ripping it out of their bearded friend Martin; Alison’s sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) and her husband Pete (the fantastic Paul Rudd) arguing over more or less anything; Ben and Pete doing Robert DeNiro impressions over dinner; even Ben’s reaction to the news that Alison is carrying his child – all of them are used to elicit many laughs, often through a haze of swearing. On top of that, the on-screen chemistry of the main characters (especially Ben and Alison and Debbie and Pete) are fantastic, they really do compliment each other.
At the heart of the movie is a sweet love story, as Alison and Ben get to know each other and finally realise that, despite their obvious differences, opposites do sometimes attract and they do make a good couple after all. Along the way are many situations that are recognisable from real life, at least to any parent that might be watching; including dealing with the changes the female body undertakes during pregnancy and the realities of having a ‘natural’ birth. The combination of both crude jokes (during Ben’s stoner phase) and the sweetness at the core of the flick makes this romcom truly accessible by both sexes.
Rating: 
[ IMDB rating: 7.5 / 10 | IMDB link | Running time: 133 mins ]