"Knocked Up": Some Funny Moments For Mature Audiences

Last night, I took the time to watch Knocked Up. This is one of the comedies by Judd Apatow. I had previously seen SuperBad, 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Rock Hard. I thought that the 40 Year Old Virgin was ok. I really hated Superbad but I did enjoy Rock Hard. So, I was really prepared to dislike Knocked Up. I was watching it mostly because I had it available.

Let me also be clear that the Judd Apatow comedies are for mature audiences only. They have bad language, obscene jokes, drug use, and nudity. In each of his films, there is almost a pride in pushing the envelope of what is normally presented in a mainstream comedy.

Knocked Up started out like the 40 Year Old Virgin. This time, the main character is Ben Stone, 20 or 30 something, who works with his group of friends to create a web site. He doesn't have money or a place to live. The other main character is Alison Scott, who lives with her sister's family. She's beautiful and she is trying hard to make it at E Entertainment. The title of the movie tells us what will happen.

Despite a beginning that really rubbed me the wrong way, I found that I kept watching. I found that the characters started winning me over. The three stand outs for me were Seth Rogan as Ben Stone, Paul Rudd as Pete, and Leslie Mann as Debbie. Katherine Heigl does a solid job as Alison Scott, the woman who gets pregnant, but the others really steal the show. I thought that Paul Rudd's immitation of Robert De Niro is hilarious.

Yes, I admit it. I found myself laughing and I watched the whole movie. In the end, I enjoyed it. I can't really explain why. There are numerous parts that I wished they had dropped. For example, I don't believe that the repeated drug use helps the story at all.

As a married father of two children, I found that this movie covered a lot of territory that I haven't seen before in these types of movies. Unlike SuperBad, I found the situations fresh and interesting. Indeed, it brought back lots of memories which is probably why I kept watching for more. For parents who don't mind "shock" humor, this has some very funny moments.

I would say that if you've liked Judd Apatow's other movies, go see this movie. If you haven't seen them before, start out with this one or the 40 Year Old Virgin. For those who dislike Judd Apatow movies, you probably won't like this one either.