Knocked Up

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Year:	2007
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Judd Apatow
Genre:	Average parental mirths
Starring:	Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann
Rating:	3/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478311/
Tagline:	Expected in cinemas soon.
Favourite line:	"Can't have a bunch of old pregnant bitches running around."

My first Judd Apatow movie.
Just what was I letting myself in for?

The plot:
Geeky, lazy weed-smoking schlub Ben (Seth Rogen) goes to a nightclub with his buddies.
Successful, beautiful, career-driven Alison (Katherine Heigl) goes to a nightclub with her sister.
Meeting at the bar, the pair wind-up getting it together later the same evening and, foolishly – though believing he is following instructions – Ben fails to rubber up.
Skip forward eight weeks and, yep, Alison is pregnant and, worse still, Ben is definitely the father.
But can she seriously consider building a life for herself and her child with such a loser?

I’ve actively avoided the Apatow stable of comedy, chiefly as a result of the disappointment I felt upon watching Anchorman. The best comedy movie of all time? Are you kidding, folks?
Well, when this popped up on the late night ITV schedules, I felt the time was right to take the plunge. Worst case? Just delete the fucking thing and forget it ever existed.
As it happens, I was pleasantly surprised.
Whilst never hitting a ten on the belly laugh scale, the humour being amusing rather than out and out funny, it was nevertheless fairly consistent in it’s mirth-making. At least the first two thirds or so. Not many minutes went by without at least a minimal titter – the lesser known, more likeable cousin of the massive titter – and it all barrelled along rather nicely for about ninety minutes. Inevitably things started to run out of steam as the film dragged its way to a conclusion, some two hours ten minutes after the fucking thing started, a frankly ludicrous length for most films, never mind a smart but ultimately silly comedy.
Rogen is well cast as the schlub, and Heigl looks pretty enough, without ever really adding much. The sister, Debbie, played by Leslie Mann is one of the least sympathetic characters I’ve encountered for a while. Tight-lipped, with a face that appears to be stretched across her skull to the point of tearing, she bullies, bosses and moans about her husband in a spectacularly joyless way. I think you were meant to be on her side.
Trust me, I wasn’t.
For a movie that seems to be considered quite anarchic and ‘out there’ the over-riding message is depressingly conformist: Have children, get married, buy a house. You’ll be happy that way. Pretty depressing stuff, but not altogether unexpected.
All in all, a mixed bag, then. For every point of criticism, there was a good line from Rogen. For every good line, a thing to annoy.
Not great.
But better than expected.