Knocked Up
From the man that brought you “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Role Models” brings you “Knocked Up”; an up to date slapstick comedy that is sure to have you in some form of laughter, be that at the predictable story-line, or the wonderful characters that fulfil the tale.
If from the title you haven’t already guessed, Knocked Up follows the comic story of one couple who are unexpectedly having a baby together. A baby who was accidently conceived by a drug-using father named Ben (Seth Rogan) and a mother who is still living with her sister, Alison (Ketherine Heigl). This somewhat unlikely couple come to meet in a night club whilst Alison is, for once, letting her hair down and also letting a humorous and flattering man (also known as Ben) buy her drinks. As the night continuous, Alison and Ben are left to bond and soon after numerous drinking games and sessions on the dance floor, they decided to call it a night and head back to Alisons. I bet you can guess what happens next, can’t you? Yes, that’s right, no condom.
And so the inevitable happens, whilst the audience and Alisons peers are fully aware of what the vomiting, no eating and stress means, Alison typically remains blissfully unaware, until one slightly obnoxious colleague points out the reasoning behind these mysterious bodily disasters. Pregnant. Now all Alison has to do is contact Ben, the father. But that’s not so easy. With Ben not being the most responsible of men, he has no phone, no money, shares a flat with 4 other men and is currently working with his friends to set up their own online website of movies that contain nudity. Understandably, Alison is somewhat reluctant to call. Eventually, the plot must move on and Alison reveals all to the naive and confused Ben who thinks their date arranged by Alison was because she actually liked him and not to reveal that she’s actually furious at the fact she’s carrying his child.
And so, Alison and Ben decide for the sake of the baby that they will try to give it a shot. But this is where the fun starts. Unlike chalk and cheese, the world’s most unlikely couple start to find they actually like each other, Alison being a bit more reluctant, starts to loosen up and soon the couple start to, dare I say it, fall in love. But can Ben rid of his old ways? After all, having samurai swords in the kitchen isn’t the safest environment for a baby, is it?
However, it is through Bens fun-loving character that we see the acting skills of Seth Rogan. When you’re a young, male actor, usually you would specialise in playing young males and considering Rogan has appeared in more than one comedy, I would have to say that although he did the best he could, there wasn’t room in the plot to develop the character of Ben into something different from a young, misfit. A type of character that Rogan seems to play quite a lot and so specialises quite well in. With this much anticipation, he didn’t fail to please and the audience could not ask for anything more from this humorous and cheerful performance that did not damage his typical comedian-like status.
A typical comedy, Knocked Up didn’t disappoint. If it’s a predictable, easy-going, romantic comedy you’re after, then this is the one for you. Little drama and often long in parts, but still a good relaxing film that will let you forget all your troubles as you try to recover from the strong dose of laughter that is spoon-fed to you throughout. Overall, a pleasing film.