I was knocked out by “Knocked Up.” Maybe it’s just a testament to the relative ugliness and stupidity of most studio-made shock comedies. But by comparison, director-writer Judd Apatow’s very funny follow-up to his even more perceptively hilarious “40 Year Old Virgin” is just about as good as R-rated Hollywood farces get.
Anchored by lesser known stars and set around a showbizzy Los Angeles, it may not be for everyone. This dialogue-rich satire about the big city 21st-century mating game runs a tad wild on the raunchy side and has plenty of sexist stereotyping to offend folks on both sides of the gender wars. And yet, while merrily discharging graphic zingers regarding biblically unsanctioned sex acts, pop culture trivia, bong hits and gynecological hell, it also develops characters that speak with a ring of truth to many of us agonizing our way through the post-sexual revolution minefields of modern romance.
The humor comes out of recognizable life situations, especially if you too share profanity-peppered anecdotes and real intimacy with your pals. It’s set in motion on a boozy night of celebration when E! Entertainment producer Alison Scott (“Grey’s Anatomy’s” gorgeous but accessible Katherine Heigl) is promoted to an on-air slot. As gals these days have been occasionally known to do, she ends up in a one-night stand with a slacker well below her station, unemployed dreamer Ben Stone (“Virgin’s” Seth Rogen). Unfortunately, birth control attempts are abandoned at the last minute and — eh, voila! — our sympathetic heroine finds herself, yes, knocked up.
The abortion option is dispensed with quickly, avoiding any unfunny controversy. So now Alison must decide whether to allow the well-intentioned but irresponsible Ben to be a part of her and/or her baby’s life. Ben’s motley clique of fellow stoners — hysterically played by cast members from Apatow’s long-defunct (but still beloved) cult TV comedy “Freaks and Geeks” — would inevitably be part of the package she may or may not be willing to accept.
Meanwhile, her own posse isn’t exactly offering a ringing endorsement of coupledom and blissful family life. Alison can’t help but see her own potentially fraught future in the marital aggravations between her sister Debbie and brother-in-law Pete. Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd nearly steal the movie in these roles with their dead-on and yet still droll portrayal of love’s long-term realities.
Esoteric references to movies and television — including major insult to “Lost” star Matthew Fox — make for some of “Knocked Up’s” most amusing one-liners. But a birth scene sight gag will surely be the most talked-about. In any case, you shouldn’t miss what is the best big mainstream movie of the summer so far.
‘Knocked Up’
4/5 stars
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Paul Rudd
Director: Judd Apatow
Rated R for sexual content, drug use and language
