Knocked Up

A comedy should entertain and I have no choice but to say that I didn't laugh once during the whole two hours - in fact, I didn't even get the feeling that I should be laughing. Whenever a situation that seemed like humor was approaching, it was usually ruined by some vulgarity, stupidity, or the scriptwriter's failure. This film clearly targets a younger audience in their teenage years, which is the reason for the naivety, insincerity of the storytelling, and cheaper humor. It remains true that the film can convey some timeless differences between the female and male perspectives on the world and relationships, but a film like Barefoot in the Park can sell romance and immaturity of relationships twice as effectively with infinitely greater elegance and style, and any episode of The Simpsons can reveal the struggles of parenthood and marriage in a lot funnier and more cultivated way. The main female characters, led by Katherine Heigl, are a good aspect of the film, as well as the awareness that American studios produce infinitely dumber and more poorly crafted films in the same genre. Overall impression: 40%. (10/12/2010)

What if this man got you pregnant? Although Knocked Up doesn’t offend me in any way, and in its genre I even liked it, I am rather horrified that this type of routineer humor might well dictate the trend across the Pond for the next few years. To start with, Apatow isn’t Kevin Smith. Apatow also tries to make pop-culture references and “coolly crude" talk almost anywhere, but where Smith uses these ingredients to impart something or at least for entertainment, Apatow throws out random references to a movie/TV show/game or the word “fuck" and carries on with something else. Nothing comes of them, they lead nowhere and the movie would give exactly the same impression even without them. Luckily Knocked Up isn’t purely a comedy. Basically a classic romantic genre piece where, to lighten things up, we have a couple of characters who stir up the otherwise rather serious waters. The cast is pleasant and so in the end what harms the picture most is the over-ambitious length. Some scenes are just crying out to be cut. An ideal movie for a date. Both of you will find something you like about it, you’ll have fun and you’ll have enough time to devote to other activities without really missing anything happening on the screen. (10/04/2007)

Ambitious, but at the same time objectionable in its clumsiness. It can be overlooked that a beautiful girl starts with an unknown unsympathetic weirdo, but not the development of their relationship. Confessions come in a very forceful way and the comical situations do not at all correspond to the current mood. In addition, the only character that one can identify with is the been-upon Alison. The main hero is a boorish ignorant, who can ruin everything and still has a sense of victory. The script doesn't make it any easier for him at all, because he is given a gang of unfunny druggies as friends, who only leer and desperately make remarks. Apatow I take mercy on mostly because I endured this sweaty endeavor for more than two hours, occasional chuckles (De Niro's shoes) and the beautiful Katherine. (10/18/2007)

Judd Apatow proves why he is one of the revered filmmaker demi-gods despite the overly long runtime (for the genre). This is because of his incredible sense of creating parallels between the viewers’ own lives, wherein finding "one’s own thing" is not all that much of a problem. Despite the flurry of vulgarities and low humor, it works. This is especially thanks to Rogen's sympathetically civil charisma of a sweaty redneck and Heigl's ability to make even the most emotional moments believable. The ending is beautiful. (08/28/2009)

Judd Apatow confirmed his genius to me with this amazing film and, most importantly, disproved the myth that a great romantic comedy (even if at times it wasn't that funny) doesn't need to have a frugal running time "for the sake of its own success" if there’s a how and a what to tell. I probably would have snickered if someone had told me I would love a two-hour comedy (mostly a comedy.:)) whose central theme is unplanned conception. But Knocked Up isn't just any comedy, it's first and foremost a wonderfully human story with an well developed script in which two seemingly completely different people (sometimes hilariously, sometimes bitterly) who have very little in common gradually find their way to each other. Seth Rogen's fecal humor is brilliantly contrasted here with the delicacy of Katherine Heigl, who is wonderfully endearing in her sudden pregnancy and impossible not to love. The absolute pinnacle of the "romantic comedy" genre for the last 10 years. (05/18/2013)