Knocked Up (2006)
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. I talk about all things in life, but try to focus on my passions of music and design. Please read more about me, if you’re interested. Thanks for visiting!
I just saw Knocked Up with a good friend today. Aside from the prepositional verb title, the movie was enjoyable. It had a lot of humor and yet still managed to find a way to apply the adult themes and make it work. Judd Apatow appears to have made a decent comedy. I wouldn’t see it over and over again, but a good Monday evening was had by all.
While there are definite points in the story that feel like they’re reaching too far, or are there just for the sex sells factor, it follows a logical progression and is believable. Apatrow’s writing and dialogue are appropriate for the time and manage to incorporate popular culture without the feeling of instant staleness that many movie writers create.
Allison Jones’ casting was good. Seth Rogen (40-Year-Old Virgin) and Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy, The Ringer) played good opposites, yet their relationship never became unbelievable. The same can be said of Paul Rudd (P.S., Anchorman) and Leslie Mann (Orange County, Big Daddy), though in many ways that relationship grated on the view more than the leads’ (which I will attribute to the script and give the actors the benefit of the doubt). Relative newcomer Jason Segel (how i met your mother, Freaks & Geeks) plays a surprisingly good “best friend” and “creepy neighbor” at the same time, though that character feels heavily borrowed from his television personae. The other friends were good, but less enjoyable. Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Serenity) manages some funny moments, but his TV executive feels a little forced.
I have to give especial props to Jonathan Karp, the music supervisor. He chose good music throughout the movie. He managed to create an atmosphere that sounded hip and trendy, yet related to the action on screen in interesting ways. In the titular scene, his choice was especially cogent. The music is at an interesting disconnect from the action on screen, and yet fits it well. At no point did I feel the music distracting nor inappropriate for the action. I won’t rush to the record store and buy the soundtrack, but Karp and the music staff created a good track that serves the movie.
Overall I give the movie an unscientific 7 out of 10. Borrowing liberally from Black Champagne, I can break that score accordingly:
Script/Story: 6
Acting/Casting: 7
Music: 7
Action: N/A
Humor: 7
Eye Candy: 3
Fun Factor: 6
Replayability: 4
Overall: 7
