Is ‘Knocked Up’ sexist?

What happened

Knocked Up director Judd Apatow this week fired back at one of the film’s stars, Katherine Heigl, after she told Vanity Fair that the comedy was “a little sexist.” Heigl said the men in the movie were goofy and lovable, and the women were shrews. “I am just shocked she used the word SHREW,” said Apatow. “I mean what is this the 1600s?” (Hollyscoop)

What the commentators said

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Poor Heigl has faced a “Salem bitch hunt” since the comment got out, said Meghan O’Rourke in Slate. Nobody’s denying that Knocked Up was laugh-out-loud funny, but most women who saw it will admit they felt a little squeamish about it. The film was a “hilarious exploration of the difficulties of family life in the post-feminist age,” but it did portray the men as amiable slackers and the women as “killjoys.”

Apatow is one of "the smartest people in Hollywood," said Ted Casablanca at E! Online, so he can defend himself, and his movie. He said characters "are sexist, at times," because the film is about immature people who grow up and learn how to be parents. But how mad can he be, with people talking about his film six months after its release?

“A friendly reminder to actresses who grace the cover of Vanity Fair,” said Neel Shah in Radar Online’s Maglomania! blog. “Your words may be recorded. And then repeated. Loudly.” At least Heigl woke up and began “backtracking” quickly, saying that making “Knocked Up” was the best experience of her career. That should improve her chances of being “invited to participate” in another Apatow “cash cow.”

Heigl has little to worry about, said Leslie Gornstein in E! Online. “Studios don't care” when stars trash their own movies, “as long as that mouthy actor can still bring in the cash and look hot while doing it.” Only time will tell, of course, but judging by how beautiful Heigl looks on the cover of Vanity Fair she has the star power to get through this spat with no lasting bruises.