Knocked Up

Knocked Up is not just the summer's funniest movie, it's a comedy classic, said Stephanie Zacharek in Salon.com. On a par with such breakthrough comedies as When Harry Met Sally and The Graduate, the movie bears weighty insight beneath its exterior of profane one'“liners and filthy sight gags. Like Woody Allen before him, writer'“director Judd Apatow knows that 'œgreat comedies work on us the way great dramas do: They burrow deep inside, planting time'“release capsules of mood and feeling that may self'“activate hours, or even days, later.' The setup may seem hackneyed at first, said David Edelstein in New York. A slacker named Ben (Seth Rogen) impregnates the gorgeous Alison (Katherine Heigl) during an unlikely hookup, which draws the two together as parents. Who hasn't seen the old one'“night'“stand'“leads'“to'“unexpected'“pregnancy bit? But for a premise so pat, imagined through very traditional family values (Alison never even considers abortion), 'œKnocked Up feels very now.' Its main concern is modern manhood; its portrait of Ben and his friends as overgrown adolescents is both hysterical and smart. Apatow's understanding of the modern woman isn't as deep, said Dana Stevens in Slate.com. Apatow clearly respects women'”his female characters aren't virgins, shrews, or whores'”but they aren't fully realized, either. 'œIn his next film, maybe he could honor women by striving to create female characters with the depth of humor and humanity he gives to men.'

Rating: R

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