some funny parts, horrible ending

Rating: 4/10 (27 June 2007)

I've heard quite a bit of buzz about this film, and I have some affection for writer/director Apatow's previous works, so I was reasonably (though cautiously) optimistic about this heavy-handed pregnancy farce. Sadly, it's only about 2/3 of a good movie. After setting the audience up with some pretty raucous humor and a pleasingly cynical sensibility, the film eventually betrays the audience and degenerates into sugar-coated romantic comedy tripe of the foulest kind. I kept expecting or hoping for some kind of surprise, something or anything to pay off on the promise of some of the early parts of the film that were amusing.
I've seen the press reports hailing Seth Rogen as a "breakout" comedy star because of this film. But I felt no real star quality around him at all. He's still just an amusing side character, not someone who you can really accept as the focus of an entire film. His character should be likable in an obnoxious kind of way but eventually he just becomes annoying. He can make us laugh, sure -- as when he tosses toys at the kids to get them to "fetch" -- but it's really Katherine Heigl's reactions that make it funny for the most part. Not the stuff that stars are made of, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Heigl become sort of a new Cameron Diaz. She's got the necessary looks and she has the star presence, which in the case of this film -- coupled with Leslie Mann's solid turn as her paranoid married sister -- makes Rogen and Paul Rudd's weary "man show" type performances feel pretty tired.
Not really worth seeking out, maybe worth a laugh or two on late night cable at some point.