Film Review - Knocked Up
Article written and published in Eish! Magazine in October 2007.
Knocked Up receives a Thumbs Up!!!
Release Date : 28 Sept
Ben Stone – Seth Rogen
Alison Scott – Katherine Heigl
Director : Judd Apatow
Picture your life the way you want it to be. A life with no responsibilities and everyday is a party. You get to live with your four friends in a post-dorm environment and watching movies is your career. This is the life for 23-year-old Ben Stone (Seth Rogen). He is the type of guy who has never heard of the word 'responsibility'. He spends his days watching movies for a website that he and his buddies plan on launching… someday. The website that they want to launch is called fleshofthestars.com which is a semi-porno website that documents the exact time and place in a movie in which a famous actress gets naked. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Except that, this website is not running and Seth is relying on the money that will probably run out, but he doesn't seem to mind.
Contrasting to the immaturity and irresponsibility of Ben; is Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl). A 24-year-old up and coming journalist who works behind the scenes at a well known television network E! Entertainment. Alison epitomizes responsibility and her career seems to be going where she wants it to be. However, she is living in the pool house of her sister and brother-in-law's suburban home and helps to look after their children. This doesn't deter her since she has just received news of a promotion at work. A chance to be in front of the camera, it seems things just can't get any better than this.
Like any normal person who has just received good news in their lives, the initial response is to go out and celebrate and that is just what she and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) does. At a chance meeting in the club, and many drinks later, Ben and Alison hook up. They wind up in a drunken heat of passion at Alison's pool house misunderstanding the concept of "just do it already!" Once they wake up the next morning, they realise that they have absolutely nothing in common and go their separate ways.
Fast forward to eight weeks later where Alison realizes that she's pregnant. She's faced with the dilemma of going it alone or getting to know the father of her unborn child. This is where the story unfolds. Where we discover the relationship between the only role models that the young couple have : Debbie and Pete (Paul Rudd) and how it affects Alison and Ben. We also witness a bit of male bonding and a touch of insecurity in the men. Yes, men have insecurities. This is discovered over some magic mushrooms and a cirque du soleil show in Las Vegas and thus begins the real question. Will Ben change his slacker, lazy ways and consider a transition? Or will changing his entire lifestyle to suit someone who is probably not even his soulmate be too much of a problem?
This movie works on so many levels, because director Judd Apatow believes in taking life and exaggerating it just a little to add some humour. It is heartwarming, yet funny, yet relatable. "Through life's difficulties we see humour." It is also a perfect reflection of how people's emotions can get in the way. How we all perceive someone a soulmate and stand by our judgments, not giving a chance unless of course we're confronted with a situation like this. We're also confronted with the new age phenomena. The age in which, if a parent does not know the answer, the child is told to 'google' it, showing us that technology reigns supreme. The age in which heterosexual men are comfortable enough to say 'I love you man' without being drunk. We also get to witness the behind the scenes of a television network and their criteria of what 'sells'.
There you have it! A light hearted story of a serious issue which begs the question, "What would you do if…?" I suggest you watch this movie so you can find out if Ben grows up and finally takes responsibility in contrast to the beginning of the movie. Audiences be warned! This movie is not for the fainthearted. If explicit sex scenes, nudity and footage of childbirth makes you uncomfortable and queasy, then and only then, do you have a reason not to watch it…. Although you will be missing out on the funniest comedy ever.
