Advertise here.
 |
Title: Knocked Up
|
| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, though the film is actually very conservative on it's view on sex and responsability, this is still a filthy movie with lots of language and frank discussions about sex. Recommended for ages 17 and up. |
Being a movie fan has been frustrating this year. Remember the threat fifty years ago that television would kill the theater business? Well, I don't, but that was because I wasn't born yet. The fear was there though, and the fear is here again. With "24," "The Soprano's," "Lost," "Heros," and the immortal "American Idol" there are good reasons to stay home and watch TV. On the other hand, go to the theaters and there are pretty much only a few movies to chose to see. "Spider-Man 3," "Shrek The Third," and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" are on more then 11,000 screens nationwide, and if you aren't a fan of fantasy blockbusters, there is no reason to leave the theater. Even fans of these franchises are getting burnt out on familiarity that is being found in the theaters. Besides, even fans of these franchises (the real ones anyway) admit to these movies being either bad or severely disappointing.
 |
All hope for creativity and quality for the movies seemed "Lost" this year, and the invitation to stay home and watch quality programming was too much to pass up. Then a film like "Knocked Up" comes along to restore your faith in the movies. And yes, just as the title implies, this is a movie about a girl getting knocked up (or in PC terms, she was...never mind, I almost forgot this was a family website). The girl who gets "Knocked Up" (man, I'm going to LOVE writing this review) is Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), a business woman who works for E! as an assistant to Ryan Seacrest, who appears to feel a bit underrated as a TV persona these days. Alison gets a position as being an E! reporter and getting her own show, when she and her sister Debbie (Leslie Mann) go to a dance club to celebrate the promotion.
 |
While there Alison meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogan), a fat, immature guy who she has a few drinks with, goes to bed with him, and...well, do I really need to tell you? Now that Alison is pregnant, it's time to learn more about Ben. Ben turns out to be a bit of a shocker though. He smokes weed with his junkie buddies, he spouts movie quotes with glee, and he's making a website where you can download all the nudity scenes in Hollywood movies (though he's a little late in the game, seeing as how the internet was created for that very purpose in the first place). What is unique though is for all his faults, Ben is actually a nice guy. He acknowledges that he got Alison into this mess, so he better help out in whatever way he can. During the course of the movie, Ben changes.
 |
He goes to the doctor appointments and maternity meetings with a certain sense of fascination and wonder. He never pictured himself as a father figure or family man, but helping Alison plan for the birth of the baby and go shopping for baby stuff gets Ben excited about the idea of being a father. The problem comes in that Ben doesn't know what to do. He has no job, and he's never planned for anything like this before. The advice he receives isn't much better. When he asks his dad for advice on marriage his dad responds "What do you want from me? I've been divorced three time." Debbies husband Pete (Paul Rudd) offers more helpful advice by telling Ben "Marriage is like an episode of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' except it's not funny."
 |
The struggles this previously uncommited male has to deal with provide conflict that is not only funny, but also very human and realistic. Events like these are certainly never planned, and there is great turmoil in decided what to do about it. Even though Ben is the main character though, Alison's storyline is the heart and soul of the movie. Since it's her body on the line and her life that's going to be altered the most, most of the difficult and painful choices land on her shoulders. Does she want to keep the baby? How's her life going to change because of this? Does she really want to marry Ben just because he's the father? For that matter, is this baby going to affect all of her future choices in life, including her career?
 |
While these are all though choices to make, the movie knows how to walk the line so that they are dealt with seriously yet with a sense of humor. Because, hey, with most of these situations retrospect reveals how funny the situation really was at the time. A running gag about how Ben didn't use the condom properly results in the movies biggest laugh as well as most touching revelation. There's been much talk about whether or not sex education is a good thing or not. I don't think the debate is whether or not sex education is good or important, it's how it's taught. Judd Apatow's previous film "The 40 Year Old Virgin" presented a world that was (sadly) very realistic while sharing an important message of how great it can be to hold onto your virginity until marriage.
 |
"Knocked Up" presents the same world with a different situation. It's finds humor in the dilemma of getting a girl you don't know pregnant and what the next steps are. These movies are funny because of the likable characters and the situations that are realistic, but very funny when you look back on them. Truth be told, these movies are great tools for sex education as warnings, parables, and laughter all at once. With so many bad movies out there right now, most of which have hundreds of millions of dollars trying to convince you they're good, "Knocked Up" proves to be the most worthwhile film out in the theaters. Trust me folks, the movie to see this summer is not "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Spider-Man 3," OR "Shrek The Third." No, the movie to see this summer is "Knocked Up." Not only is it better then the previous mentioned films, but it gives people reason to stop watching TV and go to the movies.
 |
