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SYNOPSIS:
They say that opposites attract...well, for super-slacker
Ben and career-girl Alison that's certainly the case - at
least for one intoxicated evening.
Two months and several pregnancy tests later, Ben and Alison
go through a hysterically funny, anxious and heart-warming
journey that leads to huge laughs in the most outrageous comedy
of the year!
MOVIE
REVIEW
Judd Apatow strikes box-office gold back in 2005
with the Steve Carell’s comedy, “The 40 Year-Old
Virgin”. A movie that touches on love, sex and possessed
lots of heart, crude jokes abound as well. Reprising the same
old formula and his usual cast of merrymen, Apatow once again
brought us another comedy hit, “Knocked Up”. I
somehow missed its original theatrical run so I’m glad
it’s now on DVD with plentiful of extras to go with
it.
Ben
Stone (Seth Rogen) is an apparent slacker holding no proper
job, with only a few hundred dollars in his account, spend
his days smoking pot and goofing around with his group of
wacky buddies. Their only ambition is to start a la Mr Skin
website which explains why it’s perfectly justifiable
to watch nudity all the time because they are in fact “working”.
On
the contrary, Alison Scott (Grey Anatomy’s Katherine
Heigl) is an upcoming host of the famous entertainment program,
E! In short, Alison is a young, beautiful career-minded lady.
Before long, Venus and Mars met in a nightclub when Alison
and her sister, Debbie (played by Mrs Apatow, Lesile Mann)
decides to celebrate Alison’s promotion there. After
a few drinks and dance, Ben and Alison soon hit it off and
had a no-frills one-night stand followed by an awkward breakfast
session the next day and off they were to their usual routines.
As
fate would have it, Alison soon realizes she’s pregnant
and the father of course is Ben Stone.
Apatow
who also wrote the script never let the audience lost touch
on his main objective despite many distractions along the
way. As always, there are plentiful amount of bantering between
Stone and his group of buddies (including Jonah Hill from
“Superbad”, Jay Baruchel and Martin Starr) which
is highly entertaining in my opinion or offensive depending
on individual views. Remember that “You wanna know how
I know you are gay” joke in “40 Year Old Virgin”.
Here, we have a "Dirty Man" competition and endless
heaps of beard insults.
And
then there’s the subplot between Debbie and her husband,
Pete (Paul Rudd) whose marriage is on the rocks. This subplot
has the potential to branch out of his own due to the incredible
performances from Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd, oh got to credit
Apatow’s real-life cute daughters as the couple’s
onscreen offspring. Natural performers at such tender ages.
And
back to Alison and Ben who took the unusual route of trying
to get to know each other after the affair. Their responsibility
to their unborn baby and their best to adapt to each other’s
lives. Take for example, during an earthquake, Ben rushes
out of the house with his pot-pipe instead of rushing first
to Alison’s aid. Apatow instill such believable funny
true-life moments that you really want to empathies with Alison’s
plight and root for the characters.
Clocking
in at over 120 minutes, “Knocked Up” for a comedy
indeed is a little bit too long. For example, Ben and Pete’s
trip to Vegas can trim down a little and perhaps some exchanges
between Ben and Alison. It must be hard for Apatow to trim
it down as I’m sure he has reels of funny footages on
the cutting floor. (P.S. You can glimpse some of them under
deleted scenes).
Nevertheless,
“Knocked Up” is definitely one of the best comedies
of the year. The amazing box-office has proven that a R-rated
comedy with no A-listers can perform exceptionally well so
long as it’s equipped with a good script and cast. Not
forgetting cameos from James Franco (who will be starring
opposite Rogen in “Pineapple Express” next year),
Ryan Seacrest, Steve Carell and Jessica Alba.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
18 Hilarious Deleted Scenes, 4 Extended Scenes and Alternate
Cuts – As mentioned in the review, there must
have been tonnes and reels of footages left after editing
and here are 18 of them for your viewing pleasure. There's
a hilarious scene where Jonah Hill keeps ranting about Ang
Lee and "Brokeback Mountain". Insane.
Line-O-Rama
– This is a fun montage of the cast mouthing several
versions of the same line.
Making
of the Roller Coaster Scene – Actor Jay Baruchel
is scared of taking the roller-coaster ride. And this five
minutes feature is basically the concrete proof. And the rest
of the guys? Started vomitting after 7 times on it.
Directing
The Director with Judd Apatow – I just can’t
believe they actually had so much fun making “Knocked
Up” that they even brought in Capote’s director
Bennett Miller to do this seven minutes short.
Laugh
Out Loud with the Gag Reel – As the title says,
gag reel. Actors cracking up, forgetting their lines etc.
Topless
Scene: Web Design Company – Don’t expect
anything explicit, it’s just Seth Rogen doing a scene
without a shirt on.
Loudon
Wainwright III – A featurette on the song done
for the movie.
Audio
Commentary with Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Bill Hader –
I must rate this the best commentary track of the year. Apatow
and Rogen is joined by Bill Hader (who acted as the editor
for E! in the movie and more familiar to the audience as the
other cop in “Superbad”) and the trio rattles
in such fun, rowdy fashion that it’s akin to an addictive
sports commentary. Hader even resorts to voice impersonations.
Crazy stuff.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1, DVD transfer is
excellent and has no noticeable dirt. Dialogue is as clear
as you can get. In all, raise your hands and shout excellent!
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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