(Note: Though it is not that prominent on the menu, you can select between the Extended and Theatrical Cuts of the film, both at start-up and with live toggle during playback.) This is not one of Universal's top-tier next-gen new releases. This transfer looks pretty good, but has enough flaws that I remain somewhat disappointed. This is a re-encode of the same master used for the previous HD DVD, and there is no quantifiable difference between the two. ’Knocked Up' features the film's unrated 133-minute cut, spread across a BD-50 dual-layer disc and presented in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 video (1.85:1). I didn't buy all of Apatow's sentiments, but there's no doubt he's a major new talent, and that 'Knocked Up' is one of the year's brightest, most engaging movies. These days, it's rare to find genuinely hilarious comedies like 'Knocked Up' that are about people and ideas.
KNOCKED UP MEANING MOVIE
The jokes do teeter on the edge of sheer vulgarity (further exacerbated by the "Uncut and Unprotected" version with four minutes of added racy material), but still Apatow always manages to keep the movie from veering into the grotesque. Yet, even if you can't totally swallow Apatow's male-centric view of maternal crises, 'Knocked Up' is simply too damn funny not to embrace. Tellingly, the word "abortion" is rarely uttered (otherwise, Apatow wouldn't have a movie). Indeed, the premise itself - that a woman as alluring, successful, and together as her would not only sleep with a schlub like Ben but think of reforming him into a model father - smacks of frat boy wish-fulfillment. Apatow paints his male characters with far more nuance than he does his female characters, and the movie's many detours into male anxiety arguably come at the expense of focusing on Alison’s dilemma - after all, she is the one undergoing the most dramatic changes. Though Heigl is endlessly charming and is arguably the glue that holds the movie together, the complaint is a valid one. 'Knocked Up' crackles with energy, intelligence, and wit in every scene.įor all of its charms, however, there has been some concentrated criticism leveled at 'Knocked Up,’ with some viewers arguing that the film's female characters - particularly Alison - are presented simply as male fantasies. Apatow has a knack for refreshing cliches and tropes with his seemingly off-the-cuff, staccato dialogue and terrific casting. As he showed so well with ' 40 Year-Old-Virgin,' and recent producing efforts like 'Superbad' (also starring and co-written by Rogen), Apatow builds his stories around three-dimensional characters that are developed strongly enough so we recognize them as real people, then puts them through such a wringer that universal comedy bursts forth like a fountain of inspiration. 'Knocked Up' is a perceptive comedy that far exceeds its sitcom premise. Will he rise to the challenge and do her proud? Ultimately, Alison delivers an ultimatum to Ben - shape up or ship out. Likewise, the disapproving glances of Alison's friends offer little solace, while Debbie's deteriorating relationship with Pete is hardly a model for wedded bliss. Of course, Ben's "day job" of spearheading an Internet porn site with his beer-guzzling cronies doesn't exactly inspire confidence. In a turn of events that seem to happen only in Hollywood movies, Alison decides to keep her baby and to give Ben a chance to become the ideal daddy to their child. But Alison is single (which, in a romantic comedy, is the equivalent of having cancer), so when a drunk night out leads her into the arms of chubby, sad-sack loser Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), she goes for the quickie and wakes up. She seems to have everything - looks, brains, a great up-and-coming gig at E!, and the support of her loving sister Debbie (Leslie Mann, also Apatow's real-life spouse) and brother-in-law Pete (Paul Rudd). Now, the 21st century gets its own blockbuster take on the same formula with Judd Apatow's winning sleeper 'Knocked Up.' Katherine Heigl (TV's 'Gray's Anatomy') stars as Alison. Robinson in 'The Graduate' (1967), Dudley Moore finding the perfect '10' (1979) in Bo Derek, or Tom Cruise seducing prostitute Rebecca De Mornay with a flick of his Ray-Bans in ' Risky Business' (1983), when all of the right elements are in place, audiences can't help but be charmed by the disreputable louse redeemed by the love of a good broad.
Whether it's sad sack Benjamin being seduced by Mrs. It's a shopworn theme, but it can be spun into comedic gold in the right hands. Hollywood cinema has seen more than its fair share of pathetic losers who, through the charity and guidance of beautiful, worldly women, learn to mature and accept life's responsibilities.
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